Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona last week celebrated the lay-off of 85 percent of the employees of the former Women, Gender & Diversity Ministry. “The remainder [of the staff[ will perform duties at the Family Protection Directorate, and will assist all Argentines going through a violence and risk situation,” the official posted on social media.
The only certainty for NGOs dedicated to the subject is a cutback in funds dedicated to gender issues. But the cutbacks are not just a result of the dismissal of more than 680 people – the portfolio’s budget is also not being used.
NGOs and campaign groups are taking the battle to court to get answers.
“The government has been using a confusing procedure: it is announcing the closing of bodies and dismantling public policies via social networks which later are not in keeping with actual administrative actions,” read a press release issued by four groups last week.
“In the meantime, budgets are cut, the staff is downsized through mass lay-offs and the closing of spaces which still have the obligation to provide assistance is announced,” continues the release.
The five groups – the Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género (ELA, “Latin American Team of Justice and Gender”), the Ni Una Menos anti-gender violence collective, the Fundación para el Desarrollo de Políticas Sustentables (FUNDEPS, “Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies”) and Mujeres por Mujeres (MxM, “Women for Women”) and the Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer (FEIM, “Foundation for Women’s Studies and Research”) – say they have filed a class-action claim in court to demand clarification and “certainty from the Executive Branch.”
The move comes just weeks after Argentina’s government announced the closure of the Women, Gender & Diversity Ministry. Upon taking office last December, the President Javier Milei downgraded the portfolio to an undersecretariat, underlining his intentions.
”In line with the mandate of President Javier Milei to downsize the state and eliminate politicised bodies, in December 2023 the government established that the Women, Gender & Diversity Ministry should become an Undersecretariat while its closing was being completed. That agency fell into the orbit of the Justice Ministry and its final elimination was resolved today,” said the government on June 6.
The organisations believe that the move entails the closing of the Undersecretariat and thus there is no government body or office dedicated to gender policies, some of which are on Argentina’s statute book. As proof, they cite post announcing that its employees will now move to the Family Protection Directorate.
The complaint demands “clarity on which will be the body in charge of complying with the legal obligations in violence matters; what the programmes will be for prevention, assistance and access to justice to remain effective; and above all how the obligations assumed by international regulations and treaties to which Argentina is signatory will be complied with.”
Budget slashed – and no spending
In budgetary terms, programmes which are still ongoing have suffered drastic cutbacks.
As informed by the ELA and ACIJ, “the current budget [available for the whole year] is, in real terms, 62 percent lower than in 2023”.
The Acompañar programme, which assists victims of violence, experienced a 79-percent cutback in the first four months of the year compared with 2023.
As pointed out by Perfil, since last December no new trafficking victims may have been added to the programme.
The 144 telephone hotline, meanwhile, has used 25 percent of its budgeted funds compared with the use in the same period last year.
“In addition, we must warn that the budget used for this activity covers nearly 60 percent of the budget available for the whole year, which accounts for the insufficiency of the budget available for the hotline,” the organisations explained
In the case of aid to relatives of victims of femicide, transfemicide and transvesticide, the budget was not used in the first quarter of the year.
This assistance includes non-reimbursable financial support to cover expenses related to the death, psychological assistance to people in the family group or next of kin who so require, advice for access to justice, and financial compensation for children and teenagers who are victims of family or gender-based violence.
Other functions, such as protection of violence victims or programmes to rescue and accompany victims of trafficking, had a lower use of the budget by 72 to 90 percent.
If the closing of the Undersecretariat is finalised, the organisations claimed, “Argentina would become the only country in Latin America without an institution in charge of gender equity policies.”
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