VZCZCXYZ0187
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0317/01 0782153
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 192153Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3351
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000317 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR S/TT FOR G/WI IRENE MARR 
FOR WHA/BSC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN KPAO PHUM PREL AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: EMBASSY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY EVENT 
HIGHLIGHTS EFFORTS TO FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 
 
¶1.  Summary.  Embassy Buenos Aires celebrated International Women's 
Day the week of March 8th with a variety of events and two op-eds 
centered around the UN theme of "women and men united to end 
violence against women and girls."  On March 10, the Ambassador, 
accompanied by Buenos Aires Provincial Governor Daniel Scioli, 
visited and donated equipment to a domestic violence shelter in La 
Plata, Buenos Aires.  The donation was made possible thanks to a 
grant from Southern Command's Minimal Cost Assistance Program.  In 
the afternoon, Embassy hosted a reception for over 100 women leaders 
and honored the Mission's International Woman of Courage nominee and 
a female Federal Police chief for their outstanding work in fighting 
violence against women.  Secretary Clinton's op-ed placed in the 
largest circulation paper in the Spanish-speaking world, "Clarin," 
and the Ambassador's op-ed carried in "La Nacion" -- meaning that in 
one single week, the U.S. message on domestic violence reached all 
readers of the country's major papers.  Press coverage of the events 
helped raise public awareness of USG commitment to work with 
partners to eradicate all forms of violence against women.  Several 
women legislators left our reception directly to help pass a new law 
targeting violence against women.  The Ambassador subsequently 
issued a statement congratulating congress for passing the law and 
wrote to congratulate the legislators who led the successful effort 
to enact the legislation.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Post kicked off its International Women's Day events with the 
publication of the Ambassador's editorial on domestic violence in 
paper-of-record "La Nacion" on March 10.  Under the title "Peace 
Begins at Home," the Ambassador noted women's contributions to 
society and highlighted that much work remains to be done to create 
a world free of gender-based violence.  The editorial commended the 
Argentine government for adopting noteworthy measures to combat 
violence against women, such as the Supreme Court's Office of 
Domestic Violence, which has already assisted over 2,172 domestic 
violence victims in Buenos Aires city since its inauguration in 
September 2008.  It also mentioned the Federal Police's Crime 
Victims Division and the Prosecutor General's unit for Crimes 
Against Sexual Integrity for their efforts to help victims as well 
as an emergency hotline administered by the Ministry of Justice's 
Victims Against Violence program.  The editorial praised the work of 
activists Dario Witt and IWOC nominee Nelida Borquez to underscore 
the message that men and women must work together to build a world 
free of gender-based violence. 
 
¶3.  Later that morning, the Ambassador, accompanied by Buenos Aires 
Provincial Governor Daniel Scioli and La Plata Mayor Pablo Bruera, 
visited Casa Abierta Maria Pueblo, a domestic violence shelter in La 
Plata, Buenos Aires.  The shelter is run by Ashoka Fellow Dario 
Witt.  Himself a survivor of family violence, Dario established a 
domestic violence shelter in 1997 that provides shelter as well as 
legal and counseling services.  His team offers workshops to empower 
victims by informing them of their rights, strengthening their 
decision-making skills, and boosting their self-confidence.  Since 
its founding, the shelter has assisted over 18,000 women and 
children.  Dario, who has received over 25 death threats, also works 
with abusers to rehabilitate them and prevent future violence. 
After touring the facilities and listening to victims' experiences, 
the Ambassador donated a washer, dryer, beds, pillows, plates, and 
utensils to the shelter.  The donation was made possible thanks to a 
Minimal Cost Assistance Program grant provided by U.S. Southern 
Command through the Embassy's Military Group. 
 
¶4.  In the afternoon, the Ambassador hosted a reception for over 100 
women leaders including a Vice President of the Supreme Court, the 
head of the Justice Ministry's anti-discrimination office and 
Argentina's most popular TV talk show host. At the event, he 
recognized two outstanding women leaders fighting domestic violence. 
 Both women were deeply moved by the recognition of their work.  The 
first honoree, Ms. Felipa "Nelida" Borquez, was post's nominee for 
the Department's 2009 International Woman of Courage award.  For 
more than 20 years, Ms. Borquez has championed women's rights to 
live free of domestic and sexual violence.  As director for a 
network of domestic violence centers in La Matanza, she has launched 
a public awareness campaign to educate women that by law, they have 
the right to file domestic violence complaints at any police 
station, not just stations dedicated to women's issues. 
 
¶5.  The Ambassador also recognized Federal Police Commissioner Ester 
Mabel Franco for her initiative in creating the Federal Police's 
first center to assist victims of sexual violence.  Established in 
1995, this division collaborates in investigations to collect 
evidence for use by judicial officials to prosecute perpetrators of 
sexual assault.  Recognizing that victims of sexual violence suffer 
trauma as they recount their experience during the investigative 
process, Franco has instituted procedures to instill confidence and 
trust between the victims and her police division. In 2008, her 
division filed the highest number of cases with the courts in ten 
years. 
 
¶6.  The Embassy's celebration of International Women's Day was 
widely played by Argentine national and provincial media. 
Largest-circulation newspaper "Clarin", pro-government "Pagina 12," 
regional newswire MERCOSUR Noticias, national wire service agency 
"Telam," Infobae, as well as provincial media like Radio del Plata, 
Diario Onco Matanza, and El Patagonico all carried stories on the 
day's events. 
 
¶7.  On March 12, Secretary Clinton's op-ed was the main opinion 
feature in the largest-circulation paper in the Spanish-speaking 
world, Clarin (circulation: 370,000), under the title "Improving the 
Condition of Women is to Bet on the Future."  This placement, in 
addition to Ambassador Wayne's bylined op-ed carried in newspaper of 
record "La Nacion" (circulation: 150,000) on March 10, meant that, 
in one single week, the U.S. message on domestic violence appeared 
in two separate editorials reaching all readers of the country's 
major papers.  The double editorial placement in one week was a 
first for the Embassy, the most important part of the successful 
press coverage of our International Women's Day activities.  Several 
members of Congress left the Embassy reception directly to vote in 
favor of a new law that addresses violence against women.  The law 
was passed by the lower house of Congress March 11th and will now be 
enacted into law (as it had already been passed by the Senate). 
Ambassador subsequently issued a statement welcoming the new law and 
sent letter of congratulations to women legislators who lead the 
effort to pass the law. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  The two op-eds and oress coverage of Mission events helped raise 
public awareness of the problems of violence against women in 
Argentina, as well as the USG's commitment to work with partners to 
eradicate this scourge.  Our recognition of the GOA's efforts in 
this area may enhance prospects for strengthened cooperation from 
the Argentine government to protect the victims, and punish the 
perpetrators, of this demeaning crime as well as to continue our 
work on a range of other important issues related to women. 
 
WAYNE