Vecinas Feministas (sometimes known as Vecinas Feministas por la Justicia Sexual y reproductiva en America Latina y el Caribe ¹  is a left-of-center group that supports feminist goals in Central and South America primarily through hosting discussions and attending conferences.

As of September 2023, Vecinas Feministas has ten core members. ²

History

Vecinas Feministas is a member of RESURJ and has been financially supported by RESURJ since its founding in 2013. Vecinas Feministas originates from 14 feminist activists from ten countries who came together after the fourth International Conference on Population and Development in Quito, Ecuador, and the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Montevideo, Uruguay. ^{3 4 5}

Activities

Vecinas Feministas supports Justicia para Beatriz, a campaign in support of a semi-anonymous citizen of El Salvador named Beatriz who was prohibited from getting an abortion despite concerns for her health due to a lupus diagnosis. ^{6 7} Similarly, the organization spoke out in support of Justyna Wydrzyńska, a woman arrested and charged for getting an illegal abortion in Poland. ⁸

In May 2023, Vecinas Feministas signed a petition condemning Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, for allegedly supporting anti-transgender policies. For instance, Alsalem advocates for upholding “sex-based rights” and advocates for “single-sex spaces,” both of which prioritize natal sex over chosen gender. ⁹

In April 2023, Vecinas Feministas attended the 56^th session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development. ¹⁰

Vecinas Feministas is a member of the Mira Que Te Miro Initiative, a sexual and reproductive health and rights watchdog of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, a program of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean that aims to incorporate left-of-center social and equity goals into national economic development plans. ¹¹

In February 2020, Vecinas Feministas, RESURJ, and Balance AC launched Injusta Justicia to critique the criminalization of adolescent and feminine sexuality in Latin America. ¹²

In 2019, Vecinas Feministas co-wrote a Global Declaration on Abortion for the 25^th U.N. International Conference on Population and Development. ¹³

Leadership

Marisa Viana is a member of Vecinas Feministas and was the executive coordinator of RESURJ from 2015 to 2022, as well as a secretariat member from 2014 to 2015. Earlier, Viana was a program manager of the Young Feminist Activism Initiative at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, an external evaluation consultant at the United Nations Association International Services, and a program associate at the International Women’s Health Coalition. ^{14 15}

Oriana Lopez Uribe is a member of Vecinas Feministas. She is also the executive director of Balance Promocion, a feminist group within the Instituto del Desarrollo y Juventud (development and youth), a Mexican group. Uribe is also on the supervisory board of Mama Cash and is the LAC representative of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association World’s Bisexual Committee. ^{16 17}

Veronica Vera Sanchez is a member of Vecinas Feministas and Surkuna, an Ecuadorian feminist group. ¹⁸

Shi Alarcon Zamora is a member of Vecinas Feministas and is the director of the Casa Rara Foundation, a Costa Rican LGBT organization. ¹⁹

Lucia Berro Pizzarossa is a member of Vecinas Feministas, a research associate at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, and a supervisor of the Human Rights Legal Clinics at the University of Amsterdam. ²⁰

1. “Statement.” Actions Network Espanol. August 29, 2018. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://im-defensoras.org/2018/08/statement-we-demand-an-immediate-end-to-the-criminalization-and-repression-of-women-human-rights-defenders-and-their-organizations-and-movements-in-nicaragua/
2. ¿Quienes integramos la vecindad?.” Vecinas Feministas. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://vecinasfeministas.org/quienes-somos/.
3.  “Vecinos Feministas.” RESURJ. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://resurj.org/what-we-do/younger-south-feminist-organizing/vecinas-feministas/.
4. “Who We Are.” RESURJ. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://resurj.org/about/who-we-are/.
5. “¿De donde venimos?.” Vecinas Feministas. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://vecinasfeministas.org/quienes-somos/.
6. “Beatriz wanted to live and be happy.” Justicia Para Beatriz. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://justiciaparabeatriz.org/en/#:~:text=Beatriz%2C%20a%20young%20woman%2Fmother,from%20living%20outside%20the%20uterus
7. “Vecinas Feministas.” Twitter. March 22, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://twitter.com/VeciFeministas/status/1638595706196828202/photo/1.
8. “Vecinas Feministas.” Twitter. March 22, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://twitter.com/VeciFeministas/status/1635785362143428614/photo/1.
9. “There Is No Place for Anti-Trans Agendas in the UN.” AWID. May 18, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://www.awid.org/news-and-analysis/there-no-place-anti-trans-agendas-un.
10. “Vecinas Feministas.” Twitter. March 22, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://twitter.com/VeciFeministas/status/1646865816997048323/photo/1.
11. “Home Page.” Mira Que Te Miro Initiative. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2PRb9TekXl4J:https://miraquetemiro.org/en/&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
12. “RESURJ, Balance AC and Vecinas Feministas launch Injusta Injusticia Campaign in LAC.” RESURJ. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://resurj.org/2020/02/19/resurj-balance-ac-and-vecinas-feministas-launch-injusta-justicia-campaign-in-lac/.
13. “Global Declaration on Abortion.” IPAS. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://www.ipas.org/news/global-declaration-on-abortion/.
14. “Marisa Viana.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-viana-45b6311b/.
15. “Marisa Viana.” Vecinas Feministas. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://vecinasfeministas.org/marisa-viana/.
16. “Demanden que el aborto se trate como promblema de salud publica.” Jornada August 15, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2023/08/15/politica/demandan-que-el-aborto-se-trate-como-problema-de-salud-publica/.
17. “Oriana Lopez Uribe.” RESURJ. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://resurj.org/team/oriana-lopez/.
18. “Veronica Vera Sanchez.” Vecinas Feministas. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://vecinasfeministas.org/veronica-vera-sanchez/.
19. “Shi Alarcon Zamora.” Vecinas Feministas. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://vecinasfeministas.org/shi-alarcon-zamora/.
20. “Lucia Berro Pizzarossa.” Vecinas Feministas. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://vecinasfeministas.org/lucia-berro-pizzarossa/.