CIASE began in December 2005 as an organization concerned with the failure and lack of guarantees in the realization of the human rights of the population, especially the economic, social and cultural rights of women in a context of ethnic and cultural diversity and internal armed conflict. Its goal is to have a say in public policies concerning the rights of the people, with a clear definition of positive actions for those whose rights have been permanently violated.
CIASE’S mission is to promote the integral realization of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights, and to contribute to the construction of a society that recognizes its differences and the need to negotiate conflicts in the framework of rights for all. CIASE believes that research and investigation as well as analysis, active communication and information leading to democratic participation, the implementation of collective leadership, the promotion of a responsible practice of the organized citizens and the influence in the public administration, oriented towards inclusive public politics, are essential.
CIASE’s objective is to promote economic justice and gender equity as key factors in the construction of a just, democratic, equitable, inclusive and sustainable society.
CIASE works along three thematic strategic axes:
- Equity of gender and human rights for women whose objective is to promote gender equity and the completion of the human rights of women as key factors in the construction of fair, democratic, inclusive and free societies, with truth and repair.
- Economic Rights, concepts and various development practices that seek to advance the construction of the content and scope of economic rights and the promotion of respectful proposals of diversity in the conceptions of development and the way it is put into practice, which contributes to the integral realization of human rights and gender equity.
- Institutional Strengthening is the area from which CIASE continuously tries to improve the administrative and operational processes to contribute to the development of the mission and the corporate goal.
For the development of its mission, vision and objective CIASE works around 4 strategies, namely:
1. Research and production of knowledge – CIASE seeks to obtain a better understanding of the reality that surrounds them and to explore the social, political, economic and cultural dynamics, in accordance with the institutional goals, which in turn can identify the causes and effects of this reality and define the most appropriate strategies to address and transform the difficult situations. Within the daily actions, the institution wants to systematize the lessons learned and the accumulated knowledge in order to improve their work.
2. Influence of public opinion by means of which CIASE positions the themes that are part of the missionary action in order to generate a favorable public opinion in compliance to the human rights in the country. In order to do so, CIASE develops communicative strategies that make possible information, dialogue, sensitivity and civic mobilization.
3. Influencing public policies is an oriented strategy that attempts to influence spaces of dialogue and formal and non formal agreements between citizens and governors by trying to position matters concerning the knowledge of the demands in rights of the population, in such a way that positive changes are generated in the exercise of the power and in the public agenda. In addition, it tries to interfere in the governmental and state spaces that have power of decision, orienting actions that result on the public knowledge on subjects of general interest to the citizen control, and on the formulation and implementation of norms (laws, decrees, orders and agreements) based in the human rights.
4. Instruct social and political actors whose purpose is to build and /or strengthen capacities in actors of civil society to pursue citizen empowerment. This strategy is intended to prepare the persons involved in this process, give them abilities and skills that will lead to the recognition and qualification of its works in an ongoing dialogue between organizations and movements so that the civil society is strengthen and has a direct influence on politics and public policies that respond to their individual and collective interests.
The work of CIASE is reinforced by their participation in platforms and alliances such as: Colombian Platform for Human Rights, Democracy and Development, The Alliance of Social Organizations for Cooperation in Human Rights and Democracy, The Group of Women for the Construction of the National Action Plan on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law; The National Network of Women; The Latin American Network on Debt, Rights and Development (LATINDADD), COLNODO. CIASE also represents the right of women to a life free of violence in the Women Advisory Council of the city.
INSTITUTIONAL EXPERIENCE ON GENDER AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
CIASE has constituted and consolidated a working team for the development of their actions on gender equality and human rights for women, in four lines, which are:
Eradication of gender-based violence, recognizing violence against women as a cultural, economic, political and social problem that is against human rights of women and that is explained by discrimination producing a sex / generic system allowing male power and undervaluing and subordinating female power. The gender-based violence is defined as any act that involves the use of force or coercion with the intention to perpetuate or promote unequal gender relations and is expressed in actions and behaviors that cause death, physical, sexual or psychological sufferings to women, which may occurred in public or private places and to be perpetrated by family or community members, illegal armed actors or state agents.
In this area we have developed projects for women and girls and groups of young men and women in some municipalities of Bogotá and Cundinamarca. The central actions have been aimed at awareness communication campaigns, competitions, training workshops for youth groups, women’s and civil servants and public officials, recognition of service protocols in municipalities and local areas for women victims of sexual violence, partner violence and sexual harassment, public policy analysis, construction of agendas, impact on municipal councils and mayor’s office, among others.
We have established partnerships with government agencies such as women and gender politics in Bogota, and the secretariats of health and social development of municipalities in Sibate, Tenjo, Gachancipá, Zipaquira, Soacha, La Vega and Chia. CIASE has also established coordination and joint actions with social organizations like the Federation of Peasant Women of Cundinamarca, the Autonomous Youth Bureau of Cundinamarca and associated organizations in the municipalities of the Department.
The work in this direction has been implemented by developing the following projects:
− Recognition and reduction in vulnerability factors of young women in relation to socio-political violence and Gender, developed in some municipalities of Bogotá and Cundinamarca, during 2006 and 2007, financed by the Major’s office of Cataluña through the NGO Cooperacció.
− Cities free of violence towards women: cities safe for all, which has been developed in Bogotá since 2007 continuing through 2011 , in alliance with the National Network of Women and the Women and Habitat Network, as part of the
− regional program of UNIFEM for South America that counts with the help of AECID.
− Participation and incidence of associated collective of FEDEMUCC in decision making spaces and awareness on gender violence, a Project that was implemented in 2008 in 13 municipalities of Cundinamarca.
Because of the results of these processes CIASE has advancing on the analysis of new masculinities, proposing training and awareness actions directed to men, which have become one of the cross-cutting issues in the work that develops around the problem of violence against women.
Additionally, CIASE has been chosen as representative for the rights of women to a life free of violence within the Advisory Council of Women of Bogota, and is one of the organizations participating in the Board where the Law on violence against women was promoted, it also worked with the women’s representation in the National Congress, for the adoption of the integral law to prevent, protect, treat and eradicate violence against women. In this framework was developed in Cundinamarca a training process with justice officials and operators in some municipalities in Cundinamarca, on gender and care pathways for women victims of violence.
Gender approach in processes of truth, justice, reparation, reconciliation and non-repetition, it recognizes the distinct and disproportionate effects that the internal armed conflict in Colombian has on women. The colombian society faces more than four decades of conflict. In that sense CIASE considers important that the processes of truth, justice, reparation and reconciliation take into account the perspective of women and the differential approach.
Concerning this topic CIASE has made considerable progress thanks to the development of the project: “Differential inclusion of women in situations of displacement on district public policy”, supported by ACNUR and the Barcelona Mayors Office through the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, which has succeeded in the analysis of public policies that Bogotá, D.C. has been leading on the attention of the population displacement and the recognition of the need to incorporate a differential approach in gender . These recommendations have been debated in the district, in particular in the Government Secretariat and the Office on Women, Gender and Sexual Diversity.
In addition, CIASE in one of the organizations that participated in the Women and Gender Working Group in the processes of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation, submitted recommendations to the National Commission on reparation, for the inclusion of the perspective of gender equity in the work they are developing. Also CIASE is part of the multifunctional team on Sex Violence based on gender which ACNUR is leading with the Working Group on Strengthening Community.
On 2009 the running project: Citizenship and joint responsibility: The women from Bogotá, active citizens on the social control and district public policy on women and gender, by which they seek to promote the formation and consolidation of an articulated space for women’s organizations in Bogotá D.C., to strengthen the political impact on the formulation, design, monitoring and evaluation of public policies and the formation of organized groups that implement such actions.
Social and political participation of women, from which CIASE seeks to increase the capacities of women and contribute to the exercise of their full citizenship through the promotion of the empowerment of women in public management, political action instances of citizen participation and political parties. Here we have managed to make a virtual school of national character on political participation for women, developed from 2007 to 2008, with the support of the Council of Barcelona and in partnership with the National Network of Women, involving women from all political parties. Additionally, CIASE provided the participatory construction of the Public Policy Agenda for the Women of Bogotá that was the leading path of women’s organizations in the District Development Plan for Positive Bogotá; a similar process was developed with the Federation of Peasant Women of Cundinamarca (FEDEMUCC), developing and agenda for women of Cundinamarca and whose influence managed to result in an Office of Women and Gender in the department´s Government. An action plan for equity in gender was also developed and the autonomy for women of Sibate, whose tasks are now part of the programs of the health municipal secretariat.
In the development of these activities CIASE has established partnerships and working groups with the Campaign More Women More Political Leadership, a school of a social organization in Bogota called FUNDAC, and the relationship with the Network Women and City, led by the Mayor’s Office of Barcelona.
The last thematic core is women’s human rights from an intercultural perspective; it wants to meet the current challenge of indigenous people to address the women’s situation, recognizing cultural differences and the tension between collective rights and individual rights. Thus, CIASE has promoted a reflective dialogue from an intercultural approach between the International Human Rights and the customary rights of some Colombian indigenous cultures, so that from the strength of its ethnic identities it’s able to recognize the importance of the rights of indigenous women from their cultural dynamics, as one more condition for the consolidation of the rights of the Indigenous People.
Since 2007 CIASE has encouraged dialogue between civil, religious and political authorities and the Arhuaco Women of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. The result has been the strengthening of an organization of women called Guatiyina Iku, member of the Tairona Indigenous Confederacy (CIT). This project has is financed by NOVIB (Holland) and by Women’s Campaign International.
From 2007 CIASE has been supporting group of Muisca women from Suba. This has resulted in an organization called Ata’c Fura’c Muisqas, which has been recognized in the local processes of civil participation and is part of the authorities of the Muisca Chapter of Suba.
TEAM
At present, the working team is formed by five women and one man, professionals in different disciplines and with experience around topics of gender, human rights of women and violence against women.
Link: http://www.ciase.org
