- Title: 'Break the silence' tortillas urge women to denounce abuse in Mexico
- Date: 12th March 2020
- Summary: NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO (MARCH 10, 2020) (REUTERS) MACHINE PRODUCING TORTILLAS WORKER MAKING DOUGH FOR TORTILLAS WORKER PUTTING TORTILLA DOUGH IN MACHINE WORKER PACKAGING TORTILLAS MACHINE PRODUCING TORTILLAS WORKER PACKAGING TORTILLAS WOMAN WORKING MACHINE PRODUCING TORTILLAS TORTILLA PACKAGES INSIDE BOX VARIOUS, TORTILLA PACKAGES WITH THE TEXT READING (Spanish) "BREAK THE SILENCE" (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) TORTILLERIA OWNER, FILADELFO MEDELLIN, SAYING: "People don't speak up out of shame, fear, things like that. However, we think that with advertising, we think that women who suffer abuse can be encouraged to report it and have psychological counseling to improve their family life and their environment." TORTILLA PACKAGES AND WORKER PACKAGING TORTILLAS VARIOUS, WORKER PACKAGING TORTILLAS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) TORTILLERIA OWNER, FILADELFO MEDELLIN, SAYING: "People ask why we changed the package. When we explain to them that it was because of the issue of mistreatment of women, they see where the institute is located (institution for the protection of women). They see the counseling services provided by the institute, legal defense. We inform them of the information that we know about the institute. But we also emphasize that the package includes a telephone number which you can call for more information." WORKER PACKAGING TORTILLAS AND GIVING PACKAGE TO CLIENT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CLIENT OF TORTILLERIA, MARIA MALDONA, SAYING: "The silence between women must be broken. There are many things that are happening with women. I think this is fine, everything they are doing." VARIOUS, WORKER PACKAGING TORTILLAS
- Embargoed: 26th March 2020 15:01
- Keywords: Mexico gender tortillas packaged violence women
- Location: NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO
- City: NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Human-Led Feature,Human-Led Stories
- Reuters ID: LVA001C4QXWEF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Customers at the Esperanza tortilla factory in the northern Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo found their tortillas wrapped differently this month - in white paper with "break the silence" written in red, urging women to report abuse and seek help.
In a creative response to battling violence against women, the Nuevo Laredo Women's Institute printed 10,000 tortilla wrappers featuring help hotlines, support center addresses and the message that women who suffer violence should speak up.
Nuevo Laredo is a bustling border city, opposite the U.S. city of Laredo, Texas.
The new tortilla wrappers were timed to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8, when women around the country took to the streets to protest femicides in Mexico, which have more than doubled in the past five years, and other types of violence against women.
"Silence is lethal in the mistreatment of women. Dare yourself, be brave and report it," the text of the wrapping reads on the side of each tortilla package, which have been distributed to various tortilla factories.
Filadelfo Medellin, head of a local tortilla makers union, said he supported the idea when the Women's Institute asked him to help.
He said shoppers have already remarked on the change of wrapping for the corn tortillas, which are a staple of the Mexican diet.
(Production: Daniel Becerril, Rodolfo Pena Roja) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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