Content Warning: This email contains details regarding one of our cases that involves sexual assault, abuse, and harassment, as well as suicide.
Team—
I'm writing with some very exciting news. In a landmark ruling, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights established standards to protect girls from sexual violence and harassment in schools throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The case, Paola Guzmán Albarracín v. Ecuador, was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights and our partners at the Ecuadorian Center for the Promotion and Action of Women on behalf of the family of Paola, an Ecuadorian public school student.
The Court's ruling holds Ecuador responsible for violating Paola's right to life, personal integrity, private life and dignity, education, and her right to live free from gender violence and discrimination. The ruling also clarifies for the first time that the right to education must also include sexual and reproductive education.
This is a historic victory in the global fight for reproductive rights, and it wouldn't have been possible without supporters like you. Will you make your very first gift today in honor of Paola to help us continue working to secure reproductive rights as human rights?
This ruling comes 18 years after Paola, then a 16-year-old student, took her own life after suffering repeated sexual abuse from her school’s vice-principal. The Court found that Paola’s continuous abuse caused extreme suffering, and in turn led to her death by suicide.
This victory provides some overdue justice to Paola's family. What's more, this decision will also help protect thousands of girls in Latin America and beyond who face sexual violence at school and have no access to sexual and reproductive health rights.
This unprecedented ruling requires States within Latin America and the Caribbean to:
- Guarantee access to sexual and reproductive education adapted to the needs of girls and adolescents and adopt adequate actions to prevent human rights violations such as sexual violence,
- Eradicate gender stereotypes from educational environments and judicial systems, and
- Recognize that adolescent girls have freedoms, including sexual freedom and self-control of their bodies.
This ruling also requires Ecuador to implement structural change that will protect girls from predatory authority figures and awards full reparations to Paola's mother, Doña Petita, and her family so they can rebuild their lives with dignity.
This ruling is an important step in our work to ensure that women and girls' fundamental human rights are recognized and respected around the world.
I hope you'll make a gift today to help us continue fighting for justice and dignity for all. Your support will make a difference in the lives of women and girls around the world.
Sincerely,
Catalina Martínez Coral
Regional Director, Latin America & the Caribbean
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