Clece gives awards to entities and communication media for commitment to work against gender-based violence
On 20th November Clece Social, Clece’s social project, held its Compromiso Awards ceremony. The fourth edition of the awards recognised the commitment of entities, communication media and individuals in the struggle against gender-based violence.
In the category of Best Social Project led by not-for-profit entities and related to women who are victims of gender-based violence, the Fundación Santa María La Real, the Asociación de Xóvenes Emprendedores, and the Fundación Don Bosco received awards. Each were awarded 10,000 Euros. In the Best Journalism category, journalist Marisa Kohan from the newspaper Público won the 7,000 Euro award.
The award for the most significant Awareness-Raising Initiative in the struggle against gender-based violence was given to the campaign “Zero Tolerance. Everyone Against Abuse” by Antena3 News and Fundación Mutua Madrileña. As recognition of associations who have collaborated most with Clece, an award went to the Candelita Asociación and Fundación ARED. The jury also awarded a special distinction to Guardia Civil Captain Maria José Garrido Antón.
A Warm Tribute
This year the awards ceremony was marked by the absence of Luis Lorent, the Jury’s President, who died a few days before the event. “A brilliant man, with a special mind and immense human warmth has left us. We had the honour of having him on our jury and of course he has left an indelible mark on these awards. He made these his own right from the start and we have always been grateful” was how José Andrés Elizaga, Clece’s Director of Communication and Institutional Relations described Luis and his contribution.
Award Categories
As part of this edition’s award categories, the jury gave the Award for the Best Social Project to three out of the seven finalist associations:
- Fundación Santa María La Real of Aguilar de Campoo, in Palencia, for its program “Jobs for Women in Castile and Leon”. The program seeks to promote social and workplace integration and improve the employability of women in Castile and Leon who are in especially vulnerable situations. Up to now, this has involved 513 women, of which 234 were victims of gender-based violence.
- Asociación de Xóvenes Emprendedores (AXEL) of Lugo, for their project “Blíster, knowledge pills”. This seeks to train women in work that is traditionally associated with men, such as electrical work, plumbing, gardening, etc., and therefore break with gender stereotypes. Their objective is to reach between 20 and 30 women in Lugo who are victims of gender-based violence.
- Fundación Don Bosco of Cordoba, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and Badajoz, for its “Integrated Itineraries for Social and Workplace Integration” project for victims of gender-based violence, where the aim is to improve their employability. The project is supported by the collaboration of more than 800 companies that are registered with its Placement Agency.
In another award category, Best Journalism, out of the four finalists, the jury gave the award to:
- Marisa Kohan, a journalist from the newspaper Público. The award was for her journalistic work and commitment to the struggle against male violence against women.
Special Recognition
“Zero Tolerance. Everyone Against Abuse” received recognition as the Best Social Awareness-Raising Initiative. The campaign, started in 2015 and promoted by Antena3 News and Fundación Mutua Madrileña, uses the power of communication to raise awareness of gender-based violence. Mónica Carrillo, the weekend news presenter for Antena3 and Lorenzo Cooklin, the Foundation’s Director General collected the award.
This edition also included a special recognition for associations that have collaborated the most with Clece this year on the workplace integration of victims of gender-based violence. The same recognition was given to the Candelita Asociación and Fundación ARED for their involvement in the integration and re-entry of women into the world of work, principally those from vulnerable collectives.
Finally, a special distinction was awarded to María José Garrido Antón, a Captain in Spain’s Guardia Civil, who currently works in the Criminal Behaviour Analysis section of the Court Police Technical Unit (UTPJ). A doctor in psychology, with a masters degree in Forensic Science from UAM [Autonomous University of Madrid], and a UNED [Spain’s equivalent of the Open University] expert in criminology, she was the author of the Psychological First Help Guide on Gender-Based Violence, first published in 2011. This was a milestone that set the precedent for a professional career focused on the protection of victims. The award also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Captain’s entry into the Guardia Civil.
Commitments Delivered
A year ago, at the III Compromiso Awards event, Clece announced its intention to hire 139 women who were victims of gender-based violence by the time of the award ceremony, a commitment that was another step in the struggle.
The initiative was called “Project 139”. This symbolic figure equates to the number of candidates entering the award category of Best Social Project relating to the struggle against gender-based violence. The project’s aim is to support the full recovery and social integration of victims through employment. This commitment has met with resounding success. Since the initiative was announced, 169 survivors of gender-based violence have been taken on by the company.