The Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, presented today at the Government Subdelegation in Pontevedra the awareness project “MAVI: the travelling suitcase against gender violence”, an initiative promoted by the Unit against Violence against Women of this Subdelegation, which opens the program of events organized on the occasion of the next International Day against Gender Violence.
The project puts at the disposal of the citizens of the province, through five “travel bags”, a set of materials on feminism and prevention of male violence. At the event, the delegate gave these suitcases to the representatives of the municipalities of Lalín, O Rosal, Marín, Soutomaior and the Emergency Center for Women in Situations of Gender Violence of Vigo (CEMVI), who collected the witness of the municipalities and entities that have already participated in this project since its inception in 2021.
The delegate insisted on the responsibility that public institutions must assume “in the construction of a more just, egalitarian society and free from male violence,” and stressed “the fundamental role played by municipalities so that this type of campaigns reach the majority of the population, mainly in the rural area, which is the one that has the most difficulties to access materials and initiatives of this nature.”
Pedro Blanco also thanked the heads of these five municipalities and institutions for their interest in this project and their commitment to education on equality, “a fundamental tool to combat violence against women.” The event was attended by the Mayor of O Rosal, Ánxela Fernández; the Mayor of Marín, María Ramallo; the Councilor for Social Policy, Women and Equality of the City of Lalín, Carmen Canda; the Councilor for Equality of the City of Soutomaior, Rosana Comesaña; the head of the CEMVI, María Elena Molanes; as well as the deputy delegate of the Government in office, María Isabel Alonso, and the head of the Unit against Violence against the Women of Pontabodra, and Vileevela.
The initial stay of the “MAVI” in these municipalities will be three months, after which these suitcases will continue their journey through other municipalities, shelters, associations of women victims of gender violence, libraries, women’s information centers or social services of the province. “It is a trip with no return date,” explained the delegate, “since the project will continue to travel around the province and increase the books that travel in these suitcases.”
The MAVI Initiative
The initiative “MAVI: the Travelling Suitcase against gender violence” is made up of five suitcases containing books, aimed at an adult and children audience, of different themes related to feminism, equality, empowerment, self-esteem or male violence. They are texts that promote reflection, awareness and awareness on determining issues to achieve a more egalitarian society and free of violence, favoring critical thinking in the face of the stereotypes and gender roles that perpetuate these violence and inequalities. The project began at the A Lama Penitentiary Center in 2021 and has already passed through seven municipalities in the province.