Consorcio Oaxaca — Conexión

Consorcio Oaxaca

In 2003 Consorcio Oaxaca founded what would become Oaxaca’s largest local network of support services for victims of gender-based violence. Their message is simple: create an environment that promotes respect and human rights regarding political gender inequity. The team, “Las Consorcias,” is an all-female band of facilitators working toward a common goal of social and political liberty for all women. Through projects such as news publications, informational campaigns, and the Caminemos (Walk Together) project that provides accessible safe spaces for women post-assault, Consorcio works dutifully to foster change for the drastically underserved female population in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Consorcio represents a greater network of brave society members that wish to eradicate gender-based violence. The women who utilize Consorcio’s services are survivors of a system that was created to silence the female population, and they refuse to be complicit with the historically patriarchal structure that has claimed power over feminine bodies. We present the work of Consorcio to the New Orleans community as an attempt to empathize with the Mexican feminicide crisis, as well as to inspire change in our own local community.

Contributors: Marina Hernandez, Claire Skivington, Tamia Toomer

// Photos, video and publications appear courtesy of the Oaxaca Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity unless otherwise noted.

Creating a better society for all

Although there are many female leaders working to dismantle systems of oppression in Mexico, the women of Oaxaca continue to suffer from gender-based violence at alarming rates. [i] The Oaxaca Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity, a civil society group, has created several projects aimed at liberating and supporting women in the region to ensure equal access to social opportunities and human rights. This video reflects on the impact of Consorcio’s first decade.

// Consorcio Oaxaca. Consorcio 10, 2014. Digital video, 25 minutes.

Walk with me

One of Consorcio’s most unique projects is the asylum network Caminemos which includes local coffee shops, internet cafes, libraries, and other local businesses and public spaces where individuals, namely women and BGLTQ+ individuals, can seek safety and support after a sexually traumatic experience. By creating casual spaces for interpersonal exchange, Caminemos increases the safety of women in public. Partners place a nondescript sign in their organization’s window, allowing for the victim to anonymously seek help. Once inside, the victim is met with a care package containing snacks to calm nerves, information on where/how to file a report with law enforcement or seek medical attention, a list of social support resources, and other tools to help facilitate crisis intervention. Consorcio strives to provide a holistic approach to mitigate the immediate trauma victims may experience as a result of gender-based violence. Providing these resources is one step closer to achieving that goal.

// Noticias Oaxaca Voz e Imagen. Caminemos: Crean red de espacios seguros para mujeres / Caminemos: They create a network of safe spaces for women. Feb 28, 2020. Digital video. 4 min 44 sec.

Words that matter

The word “consorcio” translates as “society”, and this empowering term holds a galvanizing effect on the community that Las Consorcio serves, particularly as a place for growth and accountability using a feminist lens. This overall emphasis on community allows their newspaper La Savia (The Sap), to reach men and women alike. Las Consorcio claims that only when they are able to reach students, employees, employers, homemakers – everybody – will they be able to truly improve the conditions of female experience in Oaxaca. La Savia releases an annual edition that brings readers closer to the root causes of gender discrimination and machismo.

The first edition of La Savia, released in 2012, examined political and social flaws in the status quo of gender roles. In following issues, Las Consorcio has continued to investigate gender-based violence, and has started to dedicate each publication on a more focused topic. For example, the 2016 edition outlined unequal access to technology among genders. Chronicling the evolution of La Savia reveals Las Consorcias’ thoughtful strategy to educate their community one step at a time. This learning curve validates the sustainable growth of their organization, and the success they have had in steadily maintaining and widening their social change platform.

Recognizing that La Savia does not represent the voices of those directly impacted, Consorcio developed the supplemental publication project Voces de la Valentia (Voices of Courage) to empower survivors of feminicide. Feminicide is any act of violence from murder to harassment against a woman or girl, particularly by a man, and on account of her gender. Feminicide has been declared a national crisis in Mexico, and Consorcio aims to educate the community on the gravity of the crisis.

Voces de la Valentia offers exposure to more specific themes than La Savia and overcomes the social stigma that recounted violence is too sensitive to publish. These periodicals include stories of transgender and transsexual mistreatment, violations of women, immigration-based violation, and other issues gender and sexual minorities face on account of their identities. The testimonies of violence it presents are empathetic and potentially break social barriers surrounding the topic of feminicide.