Training in Gender Studies in the cantons of Esmeraldas and Eloy Alfaro, Ecuador

Abstract

By constitutional and legal mandate, the municipal and metropolitan Decentralized Autonomous Governments are obliged to establish a system of citizen participation in their respective jurisdictions. To achieve this, they must enact the corresponding local regulations. In this context, this research aimed to characterize the level of knowledge of people linked to the public and private sectors of the cantonal system of protection of rights in the cantons of Eloy Alfaro and Esmeraldas, specifically regarding training in studies of gender, which contribute to the prevention and eradication of violence against women and their gender-specific diversities. The sample comprised 51 people from the public and private sectors of the cantonal system for the protection of rights and civil society of the aforementioned cantons, to whom a survey was applied and whose results were quantified for a better description. The results showed the participation of 28 people from the Eloy Alfaro canton and 23 from the Esmeraldas canton, mostly female (77.6%). Of the total responses, 98% reported having received some type of gender-related training, although more than half (55.2%) received it through workshops or short training courses. Only 9 people have completed higher level studies, including 7 who have completed the master's degrees on the subject. It is concluded that the absence of training programs on the law and its contents can lead to a lack of application and, therefore, the perpetuation of violence against women.