Meeting on Safe and Violence-Free Digital Spaces on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Today, national and international parliamentarians, parliamentary and government staffers, political party and civil society representatives, as well as specialists from international organizations, gathered at the National Assembly of Panama to participate in the meeting “Building Safe, Inclusive and Violence-Free Digital Spaces”. The meeting was co-organized by the National Assembly of Panama, the Ministry of Women of the Republic of Panama, and ParlAmericas in collaboration with the Forum of Women of Political Parties of Panama (FONAMUPP), the Association of Women Parliamentarians and Former Parliamentarians of Panama (APARLEXPA), and the International Republican Institute (IRI).
The event, held on the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 30th anniversary of the Belém do Pará Convention, aimed to promote the empowerment of women in the digital realm, recognizing both the potential of technology to amplify their political participation and its role in perpetuating gender-based digital violence.
The opening remarks were offered by Member of the National Assembly Yuzaida Marín (Panama), President of the Committee on Women, Children, Youth, and Family of the National Assembly and Second Vice-President for Central America of the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Network for Gender Equality; H.E. Niurka Del Carmen Palacio U., Minister of Women of the Republic of Panama and President of the Inter-American Commission of Women; and H.E. Patricia Atkinson, Ambassador-designate of Canada to Panama.
The event featured the participation of Gloria Camacho, President of the Committee of Experts (CEVI) of the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI) of the Inter-American Commission of Women of the Organisation of American States (OAS), and Marcela Ríos Tobar, Regional Director of International IDEA for Latin America and the Caribbean, who spoke about international standards for the eradication of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. The session was moderated by Member of the National Assembly Grace Hernández (Panama), Secretary for the Committee on Women, Children, Youth, and Family of the National Assembly.
The Honourable Representative Catherine Juvinao Clavijo (Colombia), First Vice-President for South America of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network (OPN), and Member of the Chamber of Deputies Brenda Ogando Campos (Dominican Republic), President of the Permanent Committee on Gender Equality of the Chamber of Deputies, shared their countries’ experiences on legislation to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
The event also included a session where representatives from the Women’s Secretariats of various political parties in Panama offered reflections on strategies to facilitate political party spaces that are free from digital violence.
