Portugal integrates orange wave in Caracas to combat violence
“PPortugal had to be present. Portugal is at the forefront of this fight and, with a huge community in Venezuela, it is present and says no to violence against women,” the political adviser at the Embassy of Portugal in Caracas told Lusa.
Pedro Ataíde, who also participated in the initiative, referred that “this race is of great importance, because it is, of all the abolition initiatives, the fight against violence against women, the most visible activity in the city of Caracas”, with a large number of participants.
The political adviser of the Portuguese embassy also stressed that the orange t-shirt worn by the participants afterwards will be seen “by the whole city, in all the places where people run and do sports”.
“You see many children and older people. It is very important that all generations know and that they leave that any act of violence against women in contemporary society is inadmissible”, he underlined.
The European Union ambassador in Venezuela, Rafael Dochao, explained to the Lusa agency that he walked 10 kilometers, on a day that “is fundamental”.
“The day before yesterday was the World Day against Violence against Women and today we gathered hundreds of people here, European ambassadors, people from the United Nations and ordinary people. And we are all against this type of violence”, said the diplomat.
“The European Union, as always, is at the forefront in this type of action that has a playful and demanding concept, but many people join us”, he added.
The diplomat explained that for several days he has been receiving messages in academic mail and on social networks encouraging the initiative, so that the organization continues to appeal for the safety of women.
According to Jorge González Caro, local representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “violence against women starts with very small actions” that must be stopped.
At the end of the race, a check was handed over for US$3,000 from the receipts received during registration with the Asociación Civil Niña Madre, a Venezuelan non-governmental organization (NGO) that fights abuse against women.
In the first 10 months of this year, Venezuela recorded 193 murders of women at the hands of men who were part of their lives, which is an average of one femicide every 37 hours, according to the balance updated on Friday by the NGO Utopix.
On November 24, the attorney general of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, reported that, from August 2017 to November this year, 1,202 feminicides and attempted crimes were recorded.
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