In “Gender Violence and Peacemaking in Latin America,” Dr. Juan Carlos Sánchez Sierra will discuss how peace agreements to reach stability and settle dynamics of violence provide a prima facie solution for the agents at play, but nonetheless continue to preserve violence that inhibit women’s participation beyond traditional roles. In the last two decades public policies and peace agreements have been key elements for legal transitions in Colombia, Guatemala and Perú. This lecture provides insight into the effects of legislation in three different contexts shaped by distinctive forms of gender violence.

Dr. Sánchez Sierra earned a Ph.D. in Social & Political Thought (Virginia Tech, 2011) and was postdoctoral Fellow at the Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios en Ciencias y Humanidades (CEIICH) at the UNAM (México, DF) between 2011-2013.

“Can legal change be liberating?” In this presentation, Dr. Pamela Neumann will discuss both the promise and pitfalls of legal advocacy as a strategy for reducing violence against women, drawing on examples from her research in Nicaragua. Dr. Neumann is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M International University.

Sister Rosemary Welsh will be discussing what she has learned from her experiences working with survivors of domestic violence. Sister Welsh is a Sister of Mercy by vocation and nurse by profession. Sister Rosemary has been in Laredo, Texas for 27 consecutive years serving in various roles and advocating for some of Laredo’s most needy and vulnerable persons. Currently, she serves as Director of Outreach Services at Mercy Clinic and Executive Director of Casa de Misericordia. Sister also visits detainees at the local detention centers, makes home visits, hospital visits and responds to invitations for public speaking.

This virtual lecture event is co-hosted online by Texas A&M International University and the Laredo Public Library, and made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the State affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.