VZCZCXRO2569
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHMU #2656/01 3652000
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 312000Z DEC 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1882
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 002656 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/CEN PASS TO ABOTTNER G/IWI, KBRESNAHAN G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KWMN KCRM NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: RAISING AWARENESS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, HUMAN TRAFFICKING
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 142614 
 
     ¶B. MANAGUA 2295 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Post marked the International Day for the 
Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 days of 
activism against gender-based violence from November 25 to 
December 10, by engaging with women's rights organizations, 
universities, civil society, the media, and the Nicaraguan 
police commissariats for women and children.  In cooperation 
with the University of Central America (UCA), on December 6 
we organized a forum entitled "The Diverse Faces of Violence 
against Women" and screened the film "Human Trafficking" to 
raise awareness of the connection between gender-based 
violence and trafficking in persons.  Leading national daily 
La Prensa ran an op-ed by the Ambassador highlighting the 
U.S. commitment to combatting violence against women. The 
passionate response to the human trafficking film reveals 
there is a demand for information on this topic.  End Summary 
 
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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS VIOLENCE AGAINST HUMANITY 
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¶2.  (U)  As part of our efforts to engage with local media to 
call attention to gender-based violence during the 16 days of 
activism, the Ambassador drafted an op-ed entitled "Violence 
against Women is Violence against Humanity" which ran in 
leading center-right national daily "La Prensa" on December 
¶6.  The Ambassador reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to 
defending women's human rights, advancing women's economic 
and political empowerment, and combating trafficking in 
persons.  He also underscored the need to address underlying 
causes of violence such as poverty, lack of economic 
opportunities, and weakness in the judicial system--key 
factors that enable violence against women to continue 
unabated. 
 
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DIVERSE FACES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 
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¶3. (U) In partnership with the Program for Interdisciplinary 
Gender Studies at UCA, the Embassy organized a forum on 
December 6 entitled "The Diverse Faces of Violence against 
Women," with the participation of Commissioner Mercedes 
Ampie, Chief of the Police Commissariats for Women and 
Children; Sylvia Torres, former Fulbright scholar and gender 
specialist with the Millennium Challenge Corporation; and 
Grethel Lopez, National Director of Casa Alianza, a G/TIP 
grantee and one of the leading NGOs involved in protection 
and reintegration of trafficking victims.  Although Aminta 
Granera, Director General of the National Police and post's 
nominee for the 2007 Women of Courage Award, had previously 
agreed to be the keynote speaker, she was unable to 
participate due to a scheduling conflict.  PolCounselor 
delivered opening remarks to kick off the program. 
 
¶4.  (U)  After the panelists' remarks, in keeping with the 
theme that violence against women comes in many forms we 
capped off the program with a screening of the film "Human 
Trafficking" followed by an informal reception.  The audience 
was riveted by the film, and clamored for it to be shown to a 
broader audience.  Several UCA professors expressed their 
interest in including the film as part of the gender studies 
curriculum.  Another participant suggested we show the film 
on one of the public television stations.  One participant 
remarked that the U.S. Embassy's backing of the event gave 
the topic greater weight and legitimacy. 
 
¶5. (U) Commissioner Ampie discussed the role of the women and children's police commissariats in dealing with violence against women, explaining that the commissariats began in 1993 as a pilot project aimed at reducing intrafamiliar and sexual violence, at a time when the National Police began to incorporate a gender focus into all of its projects. There are now a total of 32 commissariats nation-wide, including seven new centers that opened this past year which have been extended to the Atlantic Coast where violence against women is especially problematic. Ampie proudly noted that the Nicaraguan approach toward victims' assistance is being used as a model in neighboring countries such as Honduras and Guatemala. The commissariats have 625 volunteers assigned to work with victims prior to the initiation of the legal process, and often accompany the victims in case of death threats. Although the program works closely with the relevant District Attorney's office, the lack of legal assistance prevents many women from seeking justice. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) As there is no law against intrafamily violence in 
Nicaragua, many acts of violence against women are treated as 
offenses or misdemeanors which carry no penalty.  There has 
been a 36 percent increase of reported cases of violence 
against women this year, an indicator that more women are 
coming forward to "break the silence" about gender-based and 
domestic violence.  In a separate meeting with Poloff, Ampie 
lamented that the judicial system in Nicaragua is susceptible 
to corruption and is biased against women so that most of the 
cases that come to the attention of the police are never 
processed by the judiciary or are treated with impunity.  She 
explained that the police are now trying to place greater 
emphasis on prevention by working with the entire family 
rather than simply with the woman as victim, but the 
commissariats (which receive funding from the Swedish 
government) need outside help to strengthen and sustain their 
programs.  Since victims of violence need to be examined by a 
medical doctor assigned to the Institute of Medical Forensics 
under the auspices of the Supreme Court before they can take 
any legal action, women who have been sexually abused often 
give up rather than submitting to medical examination. 
 
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GENDER VIOLENCE IN NICARAGUAN CULTURE 
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¶7.  (SBU) Sylvia Torres delivered a passionate, if somewhat 
abstract, presentation on the cultural roots of violence 
against women and her theory on how the perpetuation of a 
patriarchal power structure leads to tolerance for and 
justification of gender-based violence and the subordination 
of women.  In addition to echoing Commissioner Ampie's 
concerns about the alarming statistics of violence against 
women and girls, Torres addressed the growing trend of forced 
child marriage, when parents marry off underage daughters, 
who have been raped and sexually abused, to their aggressors 
who are usually much older men.  In her view, the 
partriarchal family model suppresses the rights of women and 
translates into authoritarianism of the state.  Capturing a 
common sentiment among Nicaraguan feminists, she voiced 
solidarity with a group of nine women activists from the NGO 
Women's Network against Violence who have been under 
investigation by the Public Ministry since late November for 
their controversial intervention in 2003 on behalf of a 
nine-year old girl known as "Rosita" who was repeatedly raped 
and eventually impregnated by her step-father.  She 
criticized the goverment for going after women who are 
"defending the rights of women," while narcotraffickers, 
rapists, and other criminals are "out on the street." 
 
¶8.  (U) Grethel Lopez of Casa Alianza set the stage for the 
film with an articulate overview of the problem of human 
trafficking as a form of violence against women and girls. 
She described the increasingly sophisticated ways that 
traffickers use to stalk, lure, trick, and exploit their 
victims.  Children who have been abused in the home are often 
preyed upon by traffickers who lure them with false promises 
of a better life, travel to exotic places, or even gifts such 
as cell phones and money.  Even if rescued and returned to 
their home, victims of domestic abuse are likely to be 
revictimized by traffickers.  Organized human trafficking 
rings also increasingly resort to the use of an older female 
figure who functions as an intermediary or advisor and 
prepares victims to work as sex slaves after they are 
essentially held captive, deprived of food, and broken down. 
The female figure often is a trafficking victim herself. 
Asserting that the fight against trafficking in persons was a 
shared responsbility, Lopez expressed regret that even in the 
face of evidence of a trafficking crime, government and civil 
society often look the other way and do nothing. 
 
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SPREADING THE WORD 
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¶9. (U) After the conclusion of the film, there was an informal exchange with participants who voiced their appreciation for the Embassy's initiative on behalf of women. Although Nicaraguans are increasingly aware of the concept of human trafficking, they had never actually seen such a graphic portrayal of the phenomenon and its multiple facets. We also distributed Spanish versions of a fact sheet on USG efforts to fight trafficking in persons, the "Working for Women Worldwide" publication, and informational posters to raise awareness of trafficking in persons produced by the International Organization for Migration with INCLE funding.
 
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COMMENT 
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¶10. (SBU) Since final exams were being held the same week as 
our program, student attendance at the event was limited. 
Based on the positive response by professors and other 
attendees, however, we will identify additional opportunities 
to reach a broader audience and show the film in other 
educational settings.  Given the current climate of hostility 
between the women's movement and the Ortega government (Ref. 
B), this is an opportune time to demonstrate U.S. support for 
women in Nicaragua, particularly in the areas of ending 
violence, fighting trafficking, and promoting women's 
economic empowerment, education, and health. 

TRIVELLI