Happy International Women’s Day! Today is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world. It is also a day to reflect on the progress that has been made towards gender equality and to recognize the work that still needs to be done. We at Siinqee Institute are dedicated to empowering women to claim their space and raise their voice.

Today we are highlighting a video produced by our very own, Eliana Suarez. The video shows two scenarios - one where no one speaks up and one where people speak up and protect the woman who is being harassed. It sends a powerful message about the importance of speaking out against sexual harassment and the impact that bystander intervention can have.

Sexual harassment is a pervasive problem that affects women around the world. It can happen anywhere - on the street, at work, at school, and even on public transportation. It can have a devastating impact on the lives of the women who experience it, causing them to feel afraid, anxious, and helpless. But we can all take action to prevent sexual harassment from happening and to support the women who experience it.

Bystander intervention is a powerful tool for preventing sexual harassment. It involves speaking up when we witness someone being harassed or taking action to intervene in a safe and appropriate way. By speaking up, we can send a message that sexual harassment is not acceptable and that we will not tolerate it in our communities.

Eliana Suarez has been working with the local community in Ayacucho, where the video was filmed, for more than 10 years. While rates of violence against women are not necessarily higher than elsewhere in Peru or the rest of the world, “what’s different is that the community wants to do something about it,” says Suarez.

On this International Women’s Day, let’s all commit to speaking up against sexual harassment and to supporting the women who experience it. Let’s be the change we want to see in the world and work towards a future where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

As part of our commitment to International Women’s Day, we at the Siinqee Institute are taking action to support the UN 2023 International Women’s Day theme of “DigitAll: Innovation and technology for gender equality” and the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. We will be posting a series of blogs to continue celebrating International Women’s Day 2023. Please stay tuned for more.

Acknowledgement: This short film was part of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) funded research project (PI:E. Suarez) and filmed by the "Grupo Chasqui (Red de Microcines Ayacucho) The siinqee Institute would like to thank the team, the filmmakers and SSHRC.