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The University of Cauca joins the Training Seminar on IVE (VTP) to promote plural...

The University of Cauca joins the Training Seminar on IVE (VTP) to promote plural dialogue in dignity, diversity and rights

16 March, 2026

On October 3 and 4, at the Auditorium of the Alternate Campus of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, and within the framework of the commitment to comprehensive education and human rights, Corporación Aquelarre, a feminist design laboratory, Corporación Culturas Diversas, and the Friendly Service of the University of Cauca promoted the Training Seminar on Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (IVE), with an emphasis on diversity.

The seminar, held within the framework of September 28, Global Day of Action for the Decriminalization of Abortion, was supported by the Causa Justa movement, the Lunaria Fund, Colectivo Viraje, and the Municipal and Departmental Health Secretariats. It served as a training and dialogue space aimed at strengthening access to Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (IVE) from the perspectives of dignity, diversity, and reproductive justice, embracing a plurality of voices and experiences that challenge traditional notions of who the rights-bearing subjects of sexual, reproductive, and non-reproductive health services are.

The event featured diverse voices that highlighted the multiple barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive rights. Lizeth Katherine Ordóñez Castro, departmental coordinator of the Maternal-Perinatal Care Pathway and the IVE line in Cauca, presented institutional progress: “When we arrived in 2023, only 785 cases of Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy were recorded annually. Today, we close 2024 with more than 1,300 cases attended,” emphasizing that IVE must be treated as a priority emergency service.

Jennifer Paola Flórez, nursing professional and professor at the University of Cauca, addressed conscientious objection as one of the main obstacles. She explained that, according to current legislation, only the physician performing the procedure may declare themselves a conscientious objector, and this decision must be previously registered with the institution. “Autonomy does not belong to healthcare personnel; it belongs to the person receiving care. Our duty is to provide complete, truthful, and respectful information so that the pregnant person can decide freely,” she stated. She also emphasized that hospitals must guarantee non-objecting personnel on every shift and that in rural areas, where urgency and the protection of life prevail, conscientious objection does not apply, underscoring the importance of ruling SU-297 of 2025.

Juan Diego Medina, a trans man and activist from Popayán with 15 years of experience, brought visibility to a critical issue: the lack of awareness and information regarding trans bodies with the capacity to gestate. He denounced the violence faced by trans individuals within the healthcare system, where they are subjected to unnecessary verification of their biological capacity for pregnancy and their access to sexual and reproductive rights, highlighting the urgent need for contextualized and rigorous training in gender- and diversity-sensitive care. This contribution was further complemented and reaffirmed by Lina Quevedo Cerquero, a Colombian sociologist and transmasculine activist who leads advocacy efforts for the rights of the trans community in Colombia.

For her part, Jackeline Guaitarilla López, lawyer and activist for the rights of women with disabilities, highlighted another structural barrier: the infantilization and desexualization of women with disabilities, which places them under tutelage regarding their sexual and reproductive rights. With eight years of experience coordinating spaces such as the collective Mujeres Diversas de Pasto, she underscored the need to recognize the autonomy and agency of women with disabilities in making decisions about their own bodies.

In this way, the seminar reaffirmed the commitment of social organizations and of the University of Cauca as an institution that educates and transforms academic spaces, contributing to the construction of public policies with a differential approach that recognize the realities of the territories, raise awareness about respect for difference, the defense of human rights, the diversity of bodies, and the autonomy of decision-making. Because at Unicauca, spaces of peace and sensitivity are built, where knowledge becomes action and words become tools for social transformation.