Help Mothers of the Disappeared Find Justice

The School of Leadership, Participation and Democracy was carried out in response to the needs of women who have led the fight against disappearances in Mexico in  the recent years. These women have also promoted the adoptcion of legal frameworks, public policies and have created groups to search for their missing relatives, demand that the authorities acknowledge such a crime, as well as participate and assist in the official investigation processes. 

As a result of their efforts in seeking access to justice, these women may suffer serious adverse social, economic, and psychological effects, like violence, persecution, intimidation, threats, and social stigmatization for their activism.

Many women who are the leaders of these groups have managed to turn their tragedies into the engine of their action, being a clear example of how rights holders organize themselves to generate social transformations. However, it is still necessary to continue strengthening their participation through the development of collective learning processes, which start from the recognition of their experiences and promote dialogue between different perspectives to make their groups stronger to confront violations of their human rights. 

The first National School of Participation and Democracy was a strategy of the IMDHD in order to convene 39 women, 21 relatives of disappeared persons and 18 supportive women members of civil society organizations who came of 12 diferent sates of the Mexican Republic. It is important to mention that the school obtained great results; different experiences of women seekers from different states were compared and integrated, knowledge was shared between them, and most importantly, it motivated them to continue their cause and inspiring other women on their way to find justice.

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