Vanessa Mendoza Cortés

Vanessa Mendoza Cortés (born 1980[1]) is a human rights activist and psychologist from Andorra. She is the president of Stop Violències, an organisation that campaigns against gender-based violence and campaigns for the decriminalisation of abortion in Andorra.

Career

Mendoza's career began as a psychologist in Barcelona, however in 2012 she returned to Andorra. In 2014 she founded and became president of Stop Violències, an organisation that campaigns against gender based violence and campaigns for the decriminalisation of abortion in Andorra.[2][3] In 2018 Mendoza organised the first Andorran street protest, calling for the decriminalisation of abortion.[4] She has been threatened with physical and sexual violence in response to her activism.[5]

In 2019 the government of Andorra filed a lawsuit against Mendoza, opening a defamation case against her.[6] In 2019 she had spoken on television about the lack of abortion rights in her country presented a report on them to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (UN CEDAW).[7][8][9] In December 2020 Mendoza's lawyer formally requested that the charges be dropped, but was denied.[9] In February 2021 Amnesty International called for the case against Mendoza to be dropped.[10] The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders also called for the case to be dropped.[11] It was reopened by a judge at the Andorra la Vella courthouse, where a dozen activists had gathered in support of Mendoza.[12]

References
  1. "VANESSA M. CORTÉS: VANESSA M. CORTÉS: "Tot és política"". El Periòdic d'Andorra (in Catalan). Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  2. "Vanessa Mendoza Cortés | Front Line Defenders". 2021-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  3. "Ms. Q&A: Vanessa Mendoza Cortés on Ending Violences". msmagazine.com. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  4. "Andorra, one of Europe's last abortion holdouts". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  5. "Andorra's abortion rights revolution – POLITICO". 2021-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  6. "Threats and judicial harassment against Ms. Vanessa Mendoza… | OMCT". 2021-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  7. "Change is inevitable: people demand the human right to access safe abortion across Europe - Amnesty International". 2021-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  8. "Andorre : la militante des droits des femmes Mendoza Cortés devant le juge". 2021-09-07. Archived from the original on 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  9. "Criminalisation against Stop Violències | Front Line Defenders". 2021-08-21. Archived from the original on 2021-08-21. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  10. "Andorra: Charges against woman human rights defender must be dropped | Amnesty International". 2021-02-16. Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  11. "L'Observatori per a la protecció dels DDHH denuncia "persecució política" contra Vanessa Mendoza". 2021-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  12. "Andorre : la militante des droits des femmes Mendoza Cortés devant le juge". LEFIGARO (in French). 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
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