The Constitutional Court issued a ruling ordering the President Gustavo Petro that within a maximum period of five days make a public speech to retract and apologize to the women who work in journalism, whom he described as “mafia dolls”.
In its ruling, the Court held that the president’s statements transcended the realm of political opinion and acquired a derogatory tone that reinforces gender stereotypes.
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The court considered that the expressions used “reproduce forms of symbolic violence against women” and are unaware of international standards on human rights.
“Order the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro Urrego, within five (5) days from the notification of this ruling, both in the video containing his speech and in its transcription to include an explanatory note stating that the demonstrations that associate the journalists with mafia dolls and point them out as responsible for having built the thesis of terrorism in the protest and the criminalization of law genuine to protest were not adequate, in the terms of this sentence“says the ruling.
Constitutional Court
The Court recalled that the Belém do Pará Conventionratified by Colombia, obliges the State (and especially its highest officials) to prevent, punish and eradicate all forms of violence against women, including verbal and media violence. In that sense, the president, as head of state, must act with a greater degree of prudence in his public pronouncements.
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“The power of the presidential word has a structural and symbolic scope. When disqualifying expressions based on gender are used, not only do they affect the women directly referred to, but they also send a social message that perpetuates discrimination.”, the Court noted in its decision.
The origin of the controversy
The ruling provides that President Petro must make a public address within a maximum period of five days from the notification of the ruling. In said intervention, he must explicitly retract his statements and apologize to the affected journalists..
Additionally, the office ordered that an explanatory note be included in the video and the original transcript of the August 2024 speech recognizing that the words used “were not appropriate or respectful of fundamental rights”.
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Finally, the Court instructed the president to refrain in the future from issuing statements or publications (both in traditional media and on social networks) that could violate women’s rights to non-discrimination, freedom of expression or a life free of violence.
PORTFOLIO
