Justice Fellowship Spotlight - Jimena Gibertoni. Holding the State of Argentina accountable for SV.
✨Jimena (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - SAHR Justice Fellow 2021/2022 ✨
@jimena_gib works as an independent lawyer in Buenos Aires primarily litigating cases of gender-based violence, particularly cases of violence against members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Driven by a strong desire to modify established harmful norms & practices, she co-founded the Red de Abogadas Feministas (Feminist Lawyers Network) in order to bring justice to survivors of SGBV & gender-discrimination.
Country context:
The laws of Argentina to end gender-based violence have been lauded for its compliance with international standards on the human rights of women. Civil society organizations and women’s advocacy groups are actively eliminating attitudes & practices which promote violence. Yet, much remains to ensure laws are enforced and that victims can access justice.
Fellowship outcomes & impact
During the fellowship, Jimena represented several survivors who were dismissed from their jobs, in civil service, purely on the basis of the complaints they had made against their perpetrator for sexual harassment. As a result, many of them lost their income, & endured physical and psychological harm. Jimena’s case was novel as in addition to criminal proceedings against the perpetrator, she failed a legal & administrative petition against the government for failing to prevent sexual harassment & for failing to protect the individual survivors. The survivors were reinstated to their jobs, but Jimena is currently seeking a court order requiring the state to re-examine why these incidents occurred in the first place, why prevention measures were not effective, & recommend systemic changes to prevent recurrence. Jimena hopes to empower survivors and their communities to be part of closing the gender inequality gap in the country.
Key learnings
Jimena believes that it is paramount to improve the quality of post-trauma treatment for survivors through setting up mental health clinics,where survivors can seek consultations/treatments.
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