On 8 March 2022, International Women’s Day, ABColombia’s special mention goes to Sisma Mujer, one of our partner organisations in Colombia.

Sisma Mujer is a Colombian feminist organisation that since 1998 has contributed to the consolidation of the women’s movement and worked with women victims of violence and discrimination in private, public and armed conflict spheres, for the expansion of their citizenship, the full validity of their human rights and the promotion of their role as transforming actors of their own reality.

Sisma Mujer, as part of a coalition of organisations called Cinco Claves is working for justice and the reparation of victims of sexual violence in the peace process, and for no amnesties for conflict related sexual violence.

According to María Adelaida Palacios, from Sisma Mujer,  women have sistematically suffered as victims of sexual violence during the armed conflict in Colombia. One of the biggest achievements of the women’s movement in Colombia was getting gender violence recognised in the Peace Agreement, and an agreement that there would be no amnesties for conflcit sexual violence. .

The difficulty now is to get this agreement implemented. Maria Palacios insists that the fight for women’s rights must continue. The Transitional Justice Mechanisms in Colombia have yet to announce a National Case on conflict sexual violence, this is essential if women are to be heard and partiachal attitudes that perpetrate this violence challenged and changed.

Sisma Mujer recommends that there is a national-level public prosecutor, a women, specialised in violence against women in the Transitional Justice Mechanism and a National Case.

Listen to what Maria Palacios has to say about the current situation on this video

On this International Women’s Day we applaud the work of women working for women and call for further action towards women’s equality and guaranteed rights.