CONVOCATION 29 March 2015: NEITHER THE MIITARY NOR THE PATRIARCHAL INSTITUTIONS GUARANTEE THE SECURITY OF WOMEN

Neither the military or the patriarchal institutions guarantee the security of women

The laws and pertinent institutions should guarantee the security of women and girls.

In the contemporary context of our country, we see that laws reduce the rights of women and children. As denounced by feminist collectives on 8 March “after an attempt to impose a reactionary abortion law that the feminist movement stopped, the government approves a reform that attacks the most vulnerable women, the young women, negating their autonomy; it imposes a legislative change, shared custody, which ignores the reality of women who are separated; it imposes a call to the moral and traditional family order, undermining rights that took so long to obtain”.

We also see that the measures for protection against mistreatment are insufficient. Women continue to be assaulted for their sexual orientation and are denied sexual and reproductive rights. Women suffer other types of violence that condition their lives. Even the UN recommends expanding the concept of security to include food, environment, community and economy. In this sphere there is still much to be obtained.

But the security of women is also within our very selves. Laws that condemn or penalize the aggressor are not enough; the ultimate objective is that these aggressions disappear. To increase the force of the order that guarantees the measures of protection is not enough when, as occurs in the case of the military, it is they themselves who do not comply and also remain in impunity.

The security of women requires a profound change in the social structure and a change of mentality. It depends on our being able to make our own decisions to establish a society based on our needs and desires: security is the absence of violence against women and equality of access to power (political, economic and social): it is a matter of feeling equal to be able to be different.

As long as this is not considered a problem of the State, the situation will not change.


Women in Black declare as our own the demands of the feminist movement of Madrid for the 8th of March:

♀ A feminist economic policy that puts at its center the well-being of people, establishing sustainable measures that will guarantee autonomy and solidarity of all, men and women.

♀ An ambitious and preventive policy of protection against the macho terrorism that transforms the social affective bases into those that will really protect and sustain the victims and their children, both male and female; and that in the public sphere, will fight against the various sorts of harassments that we suffer just for being women.

♀ The elimination of policies dealing with control of one’s body. Recognition of sexual and reproductive rights of all women, as well as their rights and liberties as citizens.

♀ A system of lay education, both public and free, with a co-educational focus.

♀ The implementation of feminist social policies with equal representation of women.


Translation: Trisha Novak, USA - Yolanda Rouiller, WiB Spain