Olimpia Melo Cruz makes Visible what was not Visible

Rocío Castañeda

In an action to reflect, raise awareness and learn about our rights and obligations, as well as preventive actions against digital violence, which mainly affects women, the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) received Olimpia Coral Melo Cruz, a reference of struggle, resilience, and empowerment.

During her keynote speech "Ley Olimpia", the Puebla-born activist and advocate of Digital Spaces Free of Violence for Women and Girls, told her story as a victim of harassment on social networks and the patriarchal behaviors that need to be changed in society.

In the framework of International Women's Day, she pointed out that men and women do not have the same historical contexts to achieve a condition of equality, hence the importance of raising awareness of parity and equality in the debates.

Olimpia Melo was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential women in Mexico and Latin America, as her work has transcended borders and touched fibers in society.

In her message, she explained that digital violence is the aggravated and perpetuated acts through new information and communication technologies that damage the security, privacy, intimacy, and dignity of the people who inhabit the Internet.

Olimpia Melo said that there is still much to be built, analyzed, and debated; in this sense, she urged women to create working groups to generate a different condition for other women and future generations.

"I use this opportunity to speak to all of us, to try to make visible what had not been visible, the virtual is real, it is digital violence and we are not guilty of this situation."

He added that it is essential to stop seeing women as products of consumption or profit, to leave aside hypersexualization, and to promote openness and freedom to see them as human beings from the construction of a non-patriarchal internet.

Before the talk, the General Director of the IPN, Arturo Reyes Sandoval, affirmed that this university does not tolerate discrimination or violence in any of its forms, which is why actions are carried out to promote substantive equality between men and women.

He reaffirmed his commitment to position Politécnico as an inclusive and diverse educational entity. For this reason, she said, the existing inequality gaps must be closed to achieve a life free of violence against women.

The IPN has not only contributed its knowledge in science and technology but also in tools such as the Violentómetro, which has been translated into English, Nahuatl, Chinese, Danish, Catalan, Basque, and Totonac, where the topic of digital violence was integrated, she added. The excitement of the polytechnic community to hear Olimpia Melo Cruz was crowned by the ¡huélum! that resounded in the "Jaime Torres Bodet" Cultural Center.