By Fondo de Mujeres del Sur | In close collaboration with the activists
“Our work begins with respectful listening,” explain members of the Consultorio Jurídico Feminista (Feminist Legal Clinic), a non-profit civil association operating in Paraguay that provides free legal assistance and guidance for women. That phrase sums up the actions and political stance that have defined its members since 2017. Before offering advice, they listen. Behind that order in priorities lies a long journey of learning and collective organization.
The CJF provides legal orientation in all areas of law (labor, constitutional, civil) and although 90% of the cases they accompany involve violence against women, they work with all the inquiries they receive. They do so through in-person consultations in public spaces and through a telephone line (WhatsApp and calls). They also hold mobile legal clinics in key locations and on key dates, always focusing on simple and accessible language.
“For us, maintaining both spaces is very important. The phone line expands the access as it is available throughout the entire country. But in-person spaces connect us with women in a different way and always help us to remember why we do what we do,” say Mirta and María José, members of the CJF.
“We’ve learned far more from the women who come to us than they may have learned from us”, María José reflects. And she continues: “We don’t tell people who come to us what to do. The first thing we ask is ‘What do you want to do? What do you need?’ And from there, they reflect, their individual concerns come up, and together we build alternatives.”
“Many women need time to recognize what’s happening to them, to name what they are living, to gather the courage to report it, or simply to imagine a way out. We don’t impose solutions or tell them what the answer should be. What matters to us is holding a safe space for them, a space where they can return to as many times as they need to be heard,” they say.
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This is a brief summary of a conversation with Consultorio Jurídico Feminista, FMS' grantee. Read the full article here.
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