Volcánicas
-a Latin American independent feminist journalism magazine-, published on June 24, 2020 the report
"Eight complaints of sexual harassment and abuse against Ciro Guerra"
, a 42-year-old Colombian director, screenwriter and producer, nominated for an Oscar in 2016 for the movie The Serpent's Arm,
The investigation detailed the harassment
without revealing the identity of the women
, who decided to tell the magazine about the abuses but not denounce them in court.
In the publication - signed by the journalists Catalina Ruiz-Navarro and Matilde de los Milagros Londoño - it was explained that it was "a five-month investigation" and that they had carried out
"a verification process complying with the highest journalistic standards"
.
Guerra responded with
the strategy of judicial harassment
: a criminal complaint, a civil lawsuit and two protection actions.
A year later, due to a guardianship ruling, the magazine had to rectify the facts and present more evidence.
Not only did they corroborate the facts, but they added a new complaint and duplicated the testimonies.
The case reached the Constitutional Court, which denied the protection requested by Guerra and determined that
the report respected Guerra's fundamental rights to a good name, honor and the presumption of innocence
because it complied with the constitutional standards of journalism: "they published a journalistic work that respects the ethics of the profession, as well as
the additional, ethical and professional commitment in defense of women's rights
, and with a view to creating a safe space for the transmission of their complaints”.
“These women brought to society the echoes of the voices of other women,
insecure in the face of an institution that is still precarious to face harassment and abuse;
and that, on many occasions, ends up causing additional damage to the victims".
What is the court referring to?
To the difficulties that victims face when reporting these crimes:
minimization, revictimization, bureaucracy, mistreatment
.
To sustain a complaint you have to have money: lawyers are expensive and the processes are long.
It is worth reading the entire ruling, which leaves the statement on "feminist journalism, its social responsibility and the transmission of complaints about alleged acts of harassment, abuse or sexual violence, as
democratic tools to promote gender equality, defend the right to a life free of violence
for women, and combat structural inequality for reasons of sex and gender.”
look too
An Oscar-nominated director was accused of sexual harassment and abuse
look too
"It's going to fall!": the end of impunity for abusers