Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 29 June 2018
A 'Me Too' movement shakes Chilean universities

By EVA VERGARA testers say are incomplete.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — "We came to realize that
After a long day of work, we all had the same prob-
Sofia Brito fell asleep on a lems," said Amanda Mitro-
chair in an office at Chile's vic, spokeswoman for the
Constitutional Court. She University Feminist Coordi-
says she awoke abruptly to nating Committee, one of
find her mentor, the court's the groups leading the pro-
president, atop her and tests. "Now we are asking
caressing her hair. for solutions on a national
After agonizing conver- level. ... We have to restruc-
sations with friends, the ture and re-think education
24-year-old law student as a whole in Chile."
overcame her fear and The actions have led other
filed a sexual harassment parts of society to recon-
complaint with officials sider how they treat sexual
at the University of Chile harassment. The legal sys-
against her professor, Car- tem this month adopted
los Carmona, one of the new protocol to prevent
country's most prominent harassment, file complaints
legal scholars. and guarantee hearings.
Nearly eight months lat- The protests come against
er, a ruling came down: the background of a lon-
The university suspended ger, wider campaign for
Carmona — who has not women's rights in Chile and
spoken publicly about the Latin America as a whole.
case — for three months on Brito said in her complaint
grounds of "lack of integ- that one reason she fell
rity," saying that its sexual In this June 1, 2018 photo, a group of women faces a line of policewomen in riot gear, before a asleep at the court was
harassment rules only cov- feminist march in Santiago, Chile. due to working long hours
ered relationships among Associated Press helping Carmona with a
employees, not teachers landmark court ruling that
and students. ment, at the Austral Univer- sentation of women in ad- new boost for the women's upheld the recent law that
The result outraged Brito's sity in southern Chile, be- ministration. movement in Chile," said relaxed Chile's previous ab-
fellow students and soon gan before the Brito case, Now many are calling for Carmen Andrade, a gen- solute ban on abortion.
women across the coun- though it had attracted less conservative President Se- der rights expert at the Uni- Brito said many students
try, awakening a Chilean attention. Students there bastian Pinera to remove versity of Chile. "Unlike what still don't denounce harass-
version of the "Me Too" ended an eight-week oc- two of his Cabinet officials. has occurred in other eras, ment "because they know
movement in the U.S. and cupation this month after Education Minister Gerardo now it clearly defines itself the process is extremely
elsewhere. Within hours af- administrators created an Varela is accused of mini- as feminist." victimizing." Local news
ter learning of the ruling on anti-discrimination organi- mizing the protesters' com- Pinera recently ordered of- media also noted that Car-
April 27, protesting female zation. Three full universities plaints while Health Minister ficials to speed up a study mona's goodwill had been
students occupied the and 27 school departments Emilio Santelices angered on reforming or creating important to several of his
university's law school and have been paralyzed by activists by convincing the protocols for handling sexu- past aides, who obtained
within days, other women the demonstrators, and court to weaken a new al harassment cases at uni- important jobs partly due
took over buildings at uni- some remain closed. law that legalized abor- versities. Of 60 universities in to the prestige of having
versities across the coun- The movement quickly ex- tion in some cases. His mo- the country, only seven until worked for him.
try to demand stricter rules panded as well into de- tion convinced the tribunal now have had procedures In her complaint, Brito
and stronger punishment mands for greater educa- to allow clinics the right to in place to deal with such wrote: "I am very afraid of
for sexual harassment. tion about women's rights deny abortions on moral complaints — and those what this could lead to, but
At least one takeover pro- throughout the school sys- grounds. include the University of I cannot continue remain-
moted by sexual harass- tem and for greater repre- Overall, the movement "is a Chile, whose rules the pro- ing silent."q

Relatives missing sub

crewmen protest in Argentina

Associated Press the government has been were supported by about
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina too slow to contract a pri- a dozen other relatives.
(AP) — Relatives of the 44 vate company to continue The last of the 18 nations
crewmembers who van- the search for the ARA San helping search for the sub
ished with an Argentine Juan, which disappeared pulled out in April and ef-
submarine have chained on Nov. 15 in the South At- forts to contract a private
themselves to the fence in lantic. operator to continue have
Lucia Zunda Meoqui, sister of Adrian Zunda Meoqui, left, an front of the presidential of- Four people had chained been complicated by dis-
Argentine Navy officer of the "ARA San Juan" submarine that fices to demand more ef- themselves to the fence putes about which compa-
sank and disappeared on Nov. 15, 2017. forts to locate the vessel. outside the Casa Rosada nies are qualified.
Associated Press The relatives complain that on Thursday, and they q