GFDD/Funglode Brings Attention to Violence Against Women with a Screening of the Film “A Rebellious Act a Day”

In commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic la Fundacion Global Democracia y Desarrollo (GFDD/Funglode) held a free screening of the film “Un acto de rebeldía al día” (A Rebellious Act a Day) at the GFDD office in Washington, DC on Thursday, November 15.

At the start of
the event, GFDD Executive Director Natasha Despotovic offered opening remarks in which she highlighted the role of GFDD as an organization promoting social, political and economic development in the Dominican Republic as well as throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. She emphasized GFDD’s use of film to bring attention to environmental and social issues in the DR, including violence against women.

The audience of several dozen then enjoyed the eight-minute-long film, one of a series of short stories aimed at bringing the issue of violence against women to the public agenda in the Dominican Republic.

After the screening, Despotovic introduced the producer of the film, Nicole Coiscou, who, via Skype, explained the issues raised in A Rebellious Act a Day.

Violence against women is not only pervasive, but tolerated throughout the Dominican Republic, said the producer. The movie aims to empower Dominican women by demonstrating daily actions that may allow them to combat the machista culture. Coiscou also stressed how men can be allies and agents of change by speaking up when physical and verbal assaults are committed against females.

A Q&A session followed between
Coiscou and the audience.

Next, a series of panel discussions were held that featured international experts on gender and gender-related violence in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The three panel discussions featured the following experts: Eric L. Olson, Deputy Director, Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center; Joan Caivano, Deputy to the President and Director of Special Projects at the Inter-American Dialogue; Hilary Anderson, Senior
Gender Specialist at the Organization of American States; Andrew Morrison, Chief of the Gender and Diversity Division at the Inter-American Development Bank; Brenda Werth, Associate Professor and Department Chair of World Languages and Cultures at American University and Juliana Martinez, Assistant Professor of World Languages and Cultures at American University.

The panelists confronted a number of topics related to gender in Latin America and provided perspective from
the international organization, Think Tank and academic perspectives. Statistics on gender-based violence, femicide and misogyny in Latin America were highlighted. Opinion polls of young people in Latin America demonstrate that the culture of machismo is still tolerated today. The panelists argued that, although some progress has been made, much work remains, both in a cultural and policy sense, for the region to improve security and prosperity for women and
girls.

At the closing of the event, Despotovic thanked the special guests, panelists and audience members for their participation and once again stressed GFDD’s continued commitment to raising awareness of gender issues throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

About the film:
A Rebellious Act a Day was created by a group of young artists, worried about the high frequency of violence against women in the
Dominican Republic and throughout the world. Through film, the producers sought to find the cause of violence against women and to disprove the notion that it impacts only poor communities. It aims to empower women by showing daily acts that can be carried out to combat the culture of violence.