Ni una menos (; Spanish for "Not one [woman] less") is a Hispanic American fourth-wave grassroots feminist movement, which started in Argentina and has spread across several Hispanic American countries, that campaigns against gender-based violence. This mass mobilization comes as a response to various systemic issues that proliferate violence against women. On its official website, defines itself as a "collective scream against machista violence." The campaign was started by a collective of Argentine female artists, journalists and academics, and has grown into "a continental alliance of feminist forces". Social media was an essential factor in the propagation of the Ni Una Menos movement to other countries and regions. The movement regularly holds protests against femicides, but has also touched on topics such as gender roles, sexual harassment, gender pay gap, sexual objectification, legality of abortion, sex workers' rights and transgender rights.
The collective takes its name from a 1995 phrase by Mexican poet and activist Susana Chávez, "" (Spanish for "Not one more [woman] dead"), in protest to the female homicides in Ciudad Juárez. Chávez herself was assassinated in 2011, after which the phrase became a "symbol of struggle".
Context for movement origin Latin America has incredibly high rates of femicide; according to a study at least 12 women suffer from gender-based violence daily. Additionally, 14 out of the 25 countries with the highest rates of gender-based violence can be found in Latin America. The primary age group that is a victim of this sort of violence are young women aged 15–29. Gender-based violence can be described as diverse tactics to keep women in a subordinate position in society. The actual conditions and methods to exert violence can vary greatly. For example, they can range from murder in a civil war environment to being slapped in an otherwise peaceful home. Furthermore, defining victims of feminicide is slightly distinct from female victims of homicide. For a case to be classified as femicide, victims are killed because of their gender. Nevertheless, this statistic may be higher and more nuanced because collecting accurate data is difficult. This pattern creates more barriers to institutionalizing practices that may protect women from gender-based violence.
A factor that influences the prevalence of gender-based violence in Latin America is gender inequality. In Latin America, women are often more socially and economically disadvantaged compared to women in North America and Western Europe. This may perpetuate dynamics where women are more likely to remain in relationships where they are experiencing abuse or violence.
Furthermore, many feminists point to institutional violence as a factor that proliferates more gender-based violence and femicide. They cite impunity for men within legal institutions as a mechanism that impedes women from achieving justice. They argue that the legal system is built so that women face barriers or are improperly protected from violence. Researchers have concluded that the level of impunity in a country is an accurate predictor of higher rates of femicide.
On the other hand, toxic masculinity, or machismo, is very prevalent in Latin America. These concepts refer to the notion that men are stronger than women and must assert control in order to protect them. However, they often incorporate an aggressive and exaggerated assertion of masculinity that can translate into a propensity for gender-based discrimination and gender-based violence.
Lastly, gender-based violence is more common in areas that are more prone to cartel and gang violence. Violence against the female body is used as a tool to assert control and dominance. Furthermore, as cartels expand they begin to delve into practices beyond drugs, including sexual exploitation and trafficking. Moreover, it reiterates ideas of machismo and consequent female submissiveness. These patterns are prevalent in Latin America due to the amount of drug and cartel violence. In Central America, around 600,000 people are internally displaced due to gang violence. On the other hand, levels of violence across the region have been increasing in the past couple of years.
Across Latin America
Argentina
The Ni Una Menos movement was born in Argentina. The protest was organized after the murder of 14-year-old Chiara Paez, found buried underneath her boyfriend's house on 11 May 2015, because she wanted to keep the baby and he did not, so he beat her to death when she was a few weeks pregnant. They were able to mobilize 200,000 people in Buenos Aires alone. The movement was iterated as opposition to femicide and violence against women, but did not discuss more controversial topics originally. The name Ni Una Menos can be roughly translated to "Not One [Woman] Less." This refers to not wanting any more women to die as a result of gender-based violence. The movement became nationally recognized with the use of the hashtag #NiUnaMenos on social media, title under which massive demonstrations were held on 3 June 2015, having the Palace of the Argentine National Congress as a main meeting point. Since the first #NiUnaMenos in 2015, demonstrations take place every year in Argentina on 3 June. Furthermore, the movement has continued to expand to other countries and regions due to its strong digital presence. The transnational spread through the use of social media after the movement's birth in Argentina has allowed for different places to adapt to their local needs while maintaining a sense of solidarity.
On 19 October 2016, the Ni una menos collective organized a first-ever women mass strike in Argentina, in response to the murder of 16-year-old Lucía Pérez, who was raped and impaled in the coastal city of Mar del Plata. It consisted of a one-hour pause from work and study early in the afternoon, with protesters dressed in mourning for what was known as Miércoles negro (Spanish for "Black Wednesday"). These protests became region-wide and gave the movement a greater international momentum, with street demonstrations also taking place in Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Spain.
As a direct result of Ni Una Menos protests, the Registry of Femicides and the Centre for the Registration, Systematisation, and Monitoring of Feminicides were created to keep a better record of gender-based violence. The government also established the Ministry for Women, Gender, and Diversity. Moreover, Ni Una Menos protests in Argentina are credited as a catalyst for the legalization of first-trimester elective abortion on 30 December 2020. The movement drifted from their original mission to combat violence against women and adopted abortion rights as a key issue in the movement. The vastness of the protests caused abortion to become a salient topic in the Argentine legislature and caused more people to support its legalization.
Peru
In Peru, over 30% of women report suffering physical violence at the hands of a spouse in their lifetime."Violencia de Género. Cuadro 8.1 Perǘ: Violencia física contra la mujer ejercida alguna vez por parte del esposo o compañero, segǘn ámbito geográfico". Instituto Nacional de Estadística (in Spanish). 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2016. Further, in a 2006 World Health Organization survey, they found that Peru had the highest rates of violence in the region with 61% reporting violence experiencing violence at the hands of an intimate partner. The NiUnaMenos (Peru) movement was sparked in July 2016 when Adriano Pozo Arias, a known abuser, was released from jail. A video captures him attacking his girlfriend, Cindy Arlette Contreras Bautista. He was convicted and sent to jail but only served a one-year sentence. Another case that impulsed Peruvians into action was when Ronny Garcia beat Lady Guillen. The resulting protest on 13 August 2016, has been recognized as the largest protest in Peruvian history with hundreds of thousands of people in attendance in Lima."La larga marcha". Diario UNO (in Spanish). 14 August 2016. People were mobilized and the march's logistics were planned over Facebook as tensions and frustrations about high levels of feminicide and the lack of a strong state response to this issue increased. There have been subsequent Ni Una Menos marches in Peru on 2017 and 2018.
In Peru, there has been considerable backlash against the adoption of abortion rights as an issue Ni Una Menos is championing for. Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, a prominent religious leader condemned the legalization of abortion in cases of child rape and the expansion of sex education courses in schools. He has even organized counterprotests to proliferate his opposing, more conservative beliefs.
Mexico Historically, Mexico has been a country with one the highest femicide rates in Latin America. From the years 2015–2021, Mexico had a 135% increase of femicide, going from 427 victims to a little above 1,000 victims. In Mexico, the Ni Una Menos movement has been observed to be prevalent and active. While there have been many street demonstrations following the Ni Una Menos movement in Mexico, there was a bigger nationwide strike and Ni Una Menos protest on 9 March 2020. This protest consisted of women only staying home, meaning women didn't go to school, work, or any public place. This nationwide strike was carried out due to the lack of government involvement and cooperation to address and handle femicide, domestic violence, and other issues. Albeit, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ni Una Menos demonstrations or organizing were deterred, and femicide cases during the pandemic continued to increase. However, recently, a few efforts have been seen by the Mexican government to address some of these concerns. For example, there is a prosecutor's office that is dedicated to gender crimes, including femicides. Nevertheless, femicide is still an ongoing issue and a tragic reality for many women in Mexico, and other countries across Latin America.
Puerto Rico In 2018, Puerto Rico reported high rates of femicide, with an estimated femicide per week on average. In 2020, Puerto Rico reported 60 femicide cases. Moreover, Puerto Rico declared a state of emergency against gender-based violence and femicide in January 2021. Despite declaring a state of emergency against gender-based violence, femicide rates continued. Within the same year, the news of the killings of two femicide cases in Puerto Rico was widespread and as a result, they received a lot of national attention and a big turnout for the Ni Una Menos demonstration on 2 May 2021. These cases were the cases of Andrea Ruiz Costas and Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz. Andrea Ruiz Costas was killed by her abusive ex-boyfriend in April 2021, after the court rejected the protection order she filed against him. Days later, on 1 May, the body of Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz was found in the San Jose Lagoon, located next to the San Juan's Teodoro Moscoso Bridge, where the demonstration took place. Keishla was pregnant when her famous boxer boyfriend, Felix Verdejo, killed her. As a result, activists and other Puerto Rican civilians took to the San Juan Teodoro Moscoso Bridge to protest against femicide and to call for justice for these victims. Hundreds of people showed up to the demonstration and shut down the bridge, stopping traffic and usage of the bridge. Protestors had signs with "Ni Una Menos" written on them and cars that blocked the lanes with the same phrase written on them. These protestors advocated for and preached the slogan, aligning themselves with the movement, as they were calling for an end to gender-based violence and femicide.
#NiUnaMenos online movement origin and impact
March 2015