Representatives of the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention(MESECVI) participated in the 10th Conference on Femicide/Feminicide. Not One Woman Less!: Strengthening EU-CELAC Cooperation in the Struggle Against Feminicide/Femicide, and in the workshop “Towards a gender approach for media treatment of VAW and femicide/feminicide: challenges and opportunities for cooperation between the European Union and Latin America,” that took place on November 8th and 9th, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. Both meetings offered spaces for cooperation and exchange of ideas and good practices between organizations in the European and Latin American region, representatives of civil society, representatives of the United Nations, and experts in the field.
The MESECVI experts shared recommendations for effective implementation of legislation on femicide in Latin America. The Conference allowed a more in-depth look at the challenges regarding access to justice, revictimization of women, gender stereotypes, gender perspective in the treatment of cases of violence against women, among other issues.
Likewise, the vice-president of the Committee of Experts of the MESECVI, Tatiana Rein Venegas, the Expert of the MESECVI in Brazil, Leila Linhares Barsted, and the Technical Secretary of the MESECVI, Luz Patricia Mejía, participated as speakers in the workshop on the media treatment of violence against women and femicide, where they delved into the construction of cooperation spaces between women’s organizations, government entities, the private sector, and the media, as well as recommendations for bi-regional cooperation.
The MESECVI has been working on a “Comprehensive Model Law to prevent, punish, and eradicate the violent death of women based on their gender (Femicide/Feminicide)” which will be considered for approval during the 15th Meeting of the Committee, which will take place in Washington, D.C in December 2018. The Brussels meetings mentioned above are aligned with the efforts of the MESECVI to enrich the Model Law with contributions from academics, law practitioners and other experts in the subject.
The MESECVI is a systematic and permanent multilateral evaluation methodology that is based on exchange and technical cooperation between the States Party to the Convention and a Committee of Experts. MESECVI analyzes progress in the implementation of the Convention by the States Party, as well as persistent challenges to an effective State response to violence against women.
