"Education is the prevention against machismo and projects like this are essential to move towards an egalitarian society." This is how the magistrate Gloria Poyatos has defended the importance of the "Educating in Equal Justice" project, organized by the Association of Women Judges of Spain (AMJE), which has more than 1,000 registered. "In our Association we are decisive, not contemplative, so we act directly on society to change things, and this project is a good example," said Poyatos, who chairs this association.
It was on October 28 when the first block of the educational program that includes a "set of talks on equal justice" was put into practice. This first event, which took place in the Insular Library of Lanzarote, was attended by more than a hundred young people. The objective of this first meeting was to "fight against gender violence from its root, which is education", Poyatos insisted. The Association has announced that "its implementation will be extended until May 2017 on the Island of Lanzarote." This first meeting included the intervention of Mikel Arias (Educator and psychologist); Glòria Poyatos (Magistrate of the TSJ of the Canary Islands and president of the AMJE); Natividad Perez (Lawyer of CCOO of Lanzarote); Yolanda López (Chief Prosecutor of Lanzarote) and Jesús Esparza (Forensic coordinator of Lanzarote).
"After the introduction of the moderator and a small intervention by each body of justice represented at the table, the debate and the question time were opened from the public, showing the students their high interest in the contents presented, especially in matters of gender violence, with a very active participation during the debate, formulating a total of 26 diverse, curious, brave, original questions, sometimes difficult to answer", they pointed out from the organization.
"Fun", "creative" and "successful" questions
Regarding these questions, they have highlighted and qualified several. "The funniest" was addressed to the forensic doctor, who was asked if "he can eat when he gets home after work. The "most creative" was for a lawyer, who was asked if lawyers have "psychological assistance when they lose lawsuits." The "most successful", for its part, was for the judge and the prosecutor: "How is it possible that victims of gender violence are murdered with agreed protection orders?".
In addition, young people also showed their concern "for the gaps in the judicial system", asking "what happens when the victim of gender violence withdraws the complaint" and if "the procedure continues forward", and conveyed concerns such as "what is true about false accusations." In addition, the organizers also highlight the "most curious" question ("have you defended any guilty person, knowing that they were?") and "the one that no one would dare to ask", and that was addressed to the prosecutor, lawyer, judge and forensic doctor: "Have you ever been bribed and what amount was it?"
A project in three blocks
Poyatos has explained that the project consists of three sections. The first block, "has been organized within the framework of the dissemination and knowledge of what equal justice is among the youngest to help them recognize discrimination and gender violence, as well as sexist stereotypes." In the second block, a further step is taken, since "it also aims to bring students closer to the judicial world, through guided tours of judicial facilities and attendance at public trials with a gender perspective, as an enriching experience that will give them more accurate information about the functioning of Spanish courts." And finally, "the third section of the program will be aimed at promoting teamwork among young people through the preparation and staging of a trial on some of the gender violence."
From the Association, they explain that it is a "pioneering, ambitious project aimed at young people between 9 and 18 years old, families and education staff, although in this course 2016/2017, in Lanzarote, it will only be implemented among high school students." They have also reported on the adhesion to the program by a large number of schools on the island, with more than 1,000 young people attached and 40 judicial operators from all areas (judiciary, forensics, law, prosecution, social graduates and lawyers of the administration of justice), who voluntarily participate in the program altruistically.
Regarding the latter, they have argued that they are "special trainers who are distributed in five work teams for better coordination and execution of the project." Another characteristic of the program is "the formative reversibility in gender matters, both of judicial operators and of young recipients of the same. Therefore, its positive impact is double and bidirectional."
Regarding the first meeting, the association has announced that "it had a high interest from a dedicated young audience", so they had to extend the initially planned time by half an hour. Something "very positive", in Poyatos' opinion, since, until now, "it has been an enriching and very emotional experience that gives you hope for a better future free of sexist violence."
