What is Vicarious Violence and why has it become relevant in social networks

In recent days on social networks, the case of the nieces of filmmaker Nicolás Celis, who were going to be illegally extradited to Israel, caused shock.

He reported in a Twitter thread that the authorities of the Superior Court of Justice of the State of Morelos (TSJ) wanted to snatch his nieces from his sister by sending them expressly to Israel.

He commented that the girls' father sought to return them in that country against their will, since they had expressed their desire to stay with their mother in Mexico.

Along with the information provided by the ROMA producer, he tagged different personalities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE).

The case was media due to the participation of Yalitza Aparicio and Guillermo del Toro, who asked for help from Marcelo Ebrard, head of SRE, who responded to Del Toro with some expeditiousness and then communicate with the filmmaker.

He later reported that he sent a bulletin to Mexico City International Airport (AICM) so that the girls could not leave the country. Similarly, the National Institute of Migration (INM) announced “an immigration alert at its 194 international transit points, to prevent the departure from the country of 2 girls, a Mexican mother and an Israeli father, in connection with a family trial in the state of Morelos.”

A day later, on Friday, March 11, the chancellor announced that the minors, Gal and Maya, were already with their family.

“Today they are with us and we say thank you. Thank you very much for the support and collaboration of the Mexican institutions and @SRE_mx @IME_SRE, thanks to civil society and the media. We trust that the @TSJMorelosOf transits in the protection of the rights of minors”, wrote the film producer.

This is how the matter was settled, however, in recent days Nicolás Celis shared a video in which the National Front Against Vicarious Violence, sent a message of solidarity in the case of Nicolás Celis and asked that more join forces against this type of violence.

“Thanks to the fact that the case became so media, it was resolved quickly and effectively, but there are many cases that are in the shadows, there are many cases that are forgotten. Vicarious violence is a very serious issue, we ask for that call for solidarity”.

However, what is vicarious violence?

This is a form of gender-based violence, according to the Complutense University of Madrid, it is one that is exercised against women through their loved ones, “especially their daughters and sons”.

It can be through manipulating the young so that they are against the mother or using legal tricks to take custody of the children. And of course, it can go to the extremes of murder.

With this, men seek to show a maximum display of power and control not only in women, but also in children who also end up being victims of this type of violence. In the same way, it is one of the least visible, mainly in the courts, who favor men.

As happened in the case of the nieces of Nicolás Celis, which served to make the subject visible, since thousands of women in Mexico have been victims of this and it is a relatively unknown subject.

On 13 March, members of the National Front Against Vicarious Violence reported that they submitted the proposal to reform the General Law on Access to a Life Free of Violence to add this type of aggression.

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