{"id":7368,"date":"2023-04-17T11:53:58","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T10:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/?p=7368"},"modified":"2024-06-24T09:10:04","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T08:10:04","slug":"new-documentary-columbias-women-a-hidden-workforce-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/new-documentary-columbias-women-a-hidden-workforce-released\/","title":{"rendered":"New documentary \u2018Colombia’s Women: A Hidden Workforce’ released"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luis Eslava, Professor of International Law at Kent Law School, and his colleagues from the Ruptures21<\/a> initiative, are at the centre of a new documentary \u2018Colombia\u2019s Women: A Hidden Workforce\u2019, which aired on Thursday 13 April, 6pm (GMT) on KMTV.<\/p>\n

The documentary, which is part of the \u2018Life\/Gender\/Work: Invisibility and Social Reproduction in Tumaco\u2019 project \u2013 a large research undertaking that focuses on acute gender, economic, racial and political inequalities in Colombia \u2013 aims to generate new knowledge and support policy debates in Colombia and internationally on the importance of establishing national systems of care, in a post-pandemic world where communities are confronted with a wave of financial, environmental, and security challenges.<\/p>\n

The project brings together a group of 24 interdisciplinary scholars, local art collectives, local NGOs and research institutes, including the Observatory for Women\u2019s Equity and the Women\u2019s World Bank Colombia, to explore the vital contribution of women\u2019s work to maintain life in zones of conflict, using the town of Tumaco \u2013 located on Colombia\u2019s Pacific Coast \u2013 as a main case study.<\/p>\n

As Professor Eslava makes clear \u2018without women\u2019s unpaid and unrecognised work, life wouldn\u2019t be possible in Tumaco, as is the case in many other contexts.\u2019 He says: \u2018This documentary brings to the surface the daily struggles that mark women\u2019s lives in Tumaco, as well as the complex array of forces, actors and levels of governance that need to be taken into account in order to properly recognise women\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u2018It is becoming clear to governments and communities that there is an urgent need to reorganise how care is provided and supported. For women afflicted by conflict and economic precarity this has been a long-standing concern. They are responsible to look after their families and to make life possible in their communities, despite these challenges.<\/p>\n

\u2018In this sense the documentary is a testimony of the richness of the Life\/Gender\/Work project and its contribution to ongoing efforts to develop a responsive national system of care in Colombia and similar locations.\u2019<\/p>\n

The documentary captures first-hand the ground-breaking use of a mix-method research approach and the close collaboration with women and key stakeholders in the project. Taking viewers from Bogot\u00e1 (Colombia\u2019s capital city), to Cali (the largest city near Tumaco), and to Tumaco itself, the film journeys the efforts entailed in generating academic research that has a global impact.<\/p>\n

Tumaco has a population of 210,000, of which 65% is urban and semi-urban, and 88% is Afro-Colombian. Yet to recover from the Colombian civil war (1948\u20132016), Tumaco\u2019s population still suffers from high under-\/unemployment (~70%), low per capita income (~US$1,000 p.a.), high rates of teenage pregnancy, low levels of education, and a deepening of gender-based violence caused by the territorial dispute of armed groups and illegal economies. The municipality is also a significant producer of cocaine, and violence has been systemic for years: ~80 homicides per 100,000 occurred in 2017. In this midst, women\u2019s daily work keeps the community moving.<\/p>\n

Funded by the University of Kent, University of Essex and University of Warwick, the\u00a0Life\/Gender\/Work<\/em>\u00a0project\u2019s main outputs include the collection of new data on women\u2019s economic and labour conditions and their sexual health based on a survey of 578 women in Tumaco; invaluable qualitative data gathered through focal groups; outreach events with local organisations and public officials; and a full training programme that benefited 30 women and men in positions of community leadership in Tumaco.<\/p>\n

As a result of the\u00a0Life\/Gender\/Work<\/em>\u00a0project, the research team is currently working with Tumaco\u2019s Mayor\u2019s Office and its Women\u2019s Office to support the implementation of Tumaco\u2019s new\u00a0Women and Gender Equality Public Policy<\/em>, which used inputs of the project in its design.<\/p>\n

Watch the English and Spanish versions of the documentary here:<\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s Women: A Hidden Workforce<\/strong><\/p>\n