Ljubica Fuentes: “We must stop romanticizing youth work as ‘selfless dedication’ and start investing in their long-term projects and organizations”

^{Photo: Courtesy of Ljubica Fuentes}

What are the main recommendations of Latin American youth today for advancing the rights and equality of women and girls in the context of International Women’s Day 2026? 

With the advance of anti-rights agendas and the increasing impact of organized crime on security, women’s rights are facing a significant setback and are not visible as a priority on government agendas. Faced with this state neglect throughout most of Latin America, young people recommend guaranteeing the life and freedom of women human rights defenders, stopping the persecution and threats to their work, rethinking justice systems from a gender-transformative approach, investing in education systems that challenge the reproduction of patriarchal dynamics, stop misogynistic and xenophobic public discourse, especially that which restricts the sexual and reproductive rights of girls and women; protect ecosystems, water, and life on earth; and halt the institutional dismantling of bodies that govern women’s rights, such as ministries and secretariats. 

Looking ahead to CSW70, what are the main obstacles women and girls face in accessing justice, and what changes are young people proposing to overcome them? 

Without a doubt, the main obstacles are related to corruption, the penetration of organized crime, and the lack of awareness and mainstreaming of the gender perspective. These social problems translate into real barriers that affect the speed, impartiality, and guarantee of rights.

Another major problem in Latin America is the lack of regulations aligned with the progressive nature of rights. Along these lines, many countries still criminalize abortion, but do not regulate issues such as educational violence, grooming, and digital violence.

At this point, it is also worth mentioning the economic, labor, and educational justice systems in which Latin American women see their rights to access and permanence limited.

One of the main changes that must take place is the sensitization of judicial operators on issues of gender violence. This involves understanding the power dynamics victims face in judicial proceedings to prevent revictimization.

The judicial administration must also consider decentralizing the justice system to bring it closer to communities that are unaware of the rights that affect their lives. In this sense, disseminating knowledge is key to ensuring access to justice.

How can young people contribute to preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in Latin America from within their communities and movements? 

Young people in Latin America constantly contribute to the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence. Despite economic limitations, young people lead the most volunteer spaces, and their activities propose disruptive ideas that call on new generations to get involved.

At my organization, Fundación Ciudadanas del Mundo, we are constantly exploring new ways to transform the habitability of spaces so they become safe places from the perspective of feminized bodies. This means we promote methodologies for change so that systems such as education are rethought through the experiences of diverse women, through public policies that include, for example, sanitary towel dispensers, breastfeeding rooms, and university hospitals that can dispense hormones.

In 2025, we reached more than 700 people with awareness programs to recognize educational violence and how this system is unfair to feminized bodies, questioning its permanence every day. We also designed a toolbox to create safe spaces in civil society organizations, promoting women’s political participation and their permanence in the third sector.

For us, it is vital to have safe spaces to exist and resist, because our ultimate goal is that no one should have to survive in any space. 

^{Photo: Courtesy of Ljubica Fuentes}

What is needed for young people’s recommendations to be translated into public policies and concrete actions by States? 

Without a doubt, political will is needed to bring young people to the discussion table. There are many government programs in Latin America run by people over 40 who make proposals based on their own experiences, without listening to the young people facing the world today.

Furthermore, we must stop romanticizing youth work as “selfless dedication” and start investing in their projects and organizations for the long term. An important phenomenon is that many young people who defend human rights have to stop doing so because they cannot support themselves financially. Investing in spaces sustainably supports the work of youth organizations in driving transformation.

Dignifying the work of young people and protecting human rights activism breaks the cycle of structural violence that women face when they recognize themselves as defenders of their own rights and find themselves in precarious situations because of their work in this area. In this way, we do not continue to obtain rights for women at the expense of other women’s rights. 

From your experience as a young leader, why is it important for young people’s voices to be part of International Women’s Day and CSW70? 

In my experience, CSW is the most prominent international forum where the message we have been working on at the grassroots level can be disseminated on a massive scale globally and redirect attention to what is happening in our communities.

International advocacy experiences allow us to position our grassroots actions in front of an audience looking to invest, problematize, and elevate the debate, as well as decision-makers we would not otherwise be able to reach.

In addition, it allows us to build community and networks among other young people to share experiences of how they have sustained these efforts and reach agreements on common agendas that help us advance greater goals.

In addition to the above, having young people present in spaces such as the CSW should be crucial to understanding how this highly disruptive group confronts the problems of the new society, what the future holds for these long-standing issues, and what new conversations are emerging about advancing rights.

The voice of young people is a roadmap for what the fight for women’s rights will look like over the next 10 years, and their knowledge can support global efforts to present real solutions to problems that have not yet been fully understood. 

^{Photo: Courtesy of Ljubica Fuentes}

How do you assess UN Women’s work in the LAC region? 

UN Women in Latin America has been very present for young people, always seeking to include their voices in its work and actions. It is important to note that it is one of the few agencies in the world that constantly seeks to support the international advocacy of young people and their impact on the global agenda, fighting to ensure that their recommendations are always taken into account and that there is a youth representative at as many negotiating tables as possible.

However, it is important that it further supports the connection between young people and government actors, as it is the agency that understands the work of both actors to build bridges for action. It is also important to highlight its work analyzing more complex rights, such as gender-focused education or digital violence involving the use of personal data.

In this vein, hiring young experts who are already working on these issues could be crucial to expanding its agenda. Finally, it is important to consider flexible funds targeted at young people that recognize the limitations of youth organizations and support them in achieving their goals.