Sara García Gross (born 1986) is a

Salvadoran Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...

activist, psychologist, feminist, and

human rights defender A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

. She is the coordinator of political advocacy for the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic, Ethical, and Eugenic

Abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, founded in 2009. She is also a member of the Salvadoran Network of Women Human Rights Defenders. In 2019, she was presented with France's

Simone de Beauvoir Prize The Simone de Beauvoir Prize (french: Prix Simone de Beauvoir pour la liberté des femmes) is an international human rights prize for women's freedom, awarded since 2008 to individuals or groups fighting for gender equality and opposing breaches of ...

for her work promoting

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

Personal life

Sara García Gross was born in

Chalchuapa Chalchuapa is a town and a municipality located in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. The city of Chalchuapa is in a wide valley at 650 meters above sea level, and watered by the Pampe River. Overview It is situated 15 kilometers west ...

in 1986, living through the 1979–1992

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...

as a child. She earned a degree from the

Central American University José Simeón Cañas Central American University ( es, Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas"), also known as UCA El Salvador, is a private university with nonprofit purposes in San Salvador, El Salvador, run by the Society of Jesus. ...

in psychology. She specialized in

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

. As of June 2019, she resides in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, where she is pursuing a master's degree in Human Rights and Democratization for Latin America and the Caribbean at the

National University of General San Martín The National University of General San Martín ( es, Universidad Nacional de General San Martín, link=no, UNSAM) is an Argentine public university whose main campus is located in the city of San Martín, Buenos Aires Province. The university w ...

Career

In 2014, she presented the audio report ''Del Hospital a la Cárcel'', which deals with issues related to women's sexual and reproductive rights. The Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic, Ethical, and Eugénic Abortion, for which Gross works, is a multidisciplinary social organization that advocates for changing Salvadoran legislation on abortion, created in 2009. In addition, they promote

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

and defend women who have been charged or convicted of abortion or related matters. The organization has brought 11 cases before the IACHR in its efforts to free women convicted of abortion.

Abortion in El Salvador Abortion in El Salvador is illegal. The law formerly permitted an abortion to be performed under some limited circumstances, but, in 1998, all exceptions were removed when a new abortion law went into effect.United Nations Population Division. (2002 ...

is illegal and has been since changes to the law in 1998 removed exceptions present in the Penal Code of 1973. El Salvador is one of 6 Latin American countries that ban abortion. Abortion is tied to socioeconomic factors, as most prosecutions under the law were brought against young impoverished women with little education. Garcia has also spoken out against the high rate of

femicide Femicide or feminicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female," but definitions of it vary depending on cultural context. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russel ...

s and sexual violence in El Salvador, stating "''Se ejerce una violencia de estado contra las mujeres''" – "There is state violence against women." García is also a member of the Salvadoran Network of Women Human Rights Defenders. In January 2019,

Paris Diderot University Paris Diderot University, also known as Paris 7 (french: Université Paris Diderot), was a French university located in Paris, France. It was one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was split into 13 universities in 197 ...

awarded her the

for her efforts to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape, human trafficking, when the mother's life is in danger, or when the mother is a minor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Gross, Sara 1986 births Abortion-rights activists Central American University alumni Living people National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni People from Santa Ana Department Salvadoran women's rights activists Salvadoran radio presenters Salvadoran women radio presenters