A safe space for addressing and supporting victims of gender-based violence and/or discrimination against women and LGBTQ+ individuals was launched by the UIS School of Law and Political Science on November 25th: the UIS Purple Legal Clinic.
The opening was attended by administrators, professors, law students, and members of state and civil organizations, who learned about the work carried out for the past nine years by professors and students. These individuals have dedicated their constant, quiet, and thoughtful efforts to serving the community, effectively fulfilling the call to uphold the rights of these populations.
“We can say that we have a robust gender equality program in Bucaramanga and Santander. We congratulate everyone who made this clinic possible. It is a symbolic gesture that allows us to move forward in this cause, which was championed by professionals who were there at the beginning of this program, through which we also deliver a quality service,” stated Professor Javier Alejandro Acevedo, Director of the UIS School of Law and Political Science.
For her part, Professor Clara Inés Tapias Padilla, Director of the UIS Legal Clinic and Conciliation Center, highlighted the differentiated attention that has been provided at this university office since 2016, where processes are conducted from a rights-based perspective. She added that both male professors and students have been encouraged to speak with a gender perspective, fostering true inclusion.
“This event is deeply meaningful, not only because it falls on a commemorative date like November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, but also because we are opening a safe space for women and the sexually diverse population at the UIS Legal Clinic. This space, called the Purple Legal Clinic, comes after nine years of work by the clinic’s cross-cutting gender unit. It is a symbolic space that seeks to strengthen the work we have been doing for the community, training students in the services and advice we provide to support them in activating gender-based violence protocols at the Prosecutor’s Office, family police stations, and other institutions that are obligated to handle these cases,” stated Karen Stefany Pérez Álvarez, lawyer and professor-advisor for the cross-cutting gender unit at the UIS Legal Clinic.
Finally, an appeal was made to women in Bucaramanga to visit the clinic located at UIS Bucarica: “This is a space that can support you if you are experiencing gender-based violence or discrimination, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community, which has also historically suffered gender-related rights violations.” Thus, UIS continues its commitment to creating spaces of equality and freedom from violence, serving as a leader in gender-related care and contributing to the prevention and cessation of situations that violate rights
