Statement
Public
The Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) values the fact that the Law on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence was passed on March 6, after seven years of processing in the National Congress.
The 30 universities that are part of CRUCH have been committed for years to promoting gender equality and eradicating arbitrary discrimination and violence against women.
One of the explicit aspects of the legal text is non-sexist education, as established in the second paragraph of article 12: “Educational establishments recognized by the State must promote non-sexist education with gender equality and consider in their internal regulations and protocols the promotion of equality in dignity and rights and the prevention of gender violence in all its forms.”.
Regarding part of this clause, on March 8th a group of parliamentarians asked the Constitutional Court to declare it inapplicable, arguing that non-sexist education violates the preferential right of mothers and fathers to choose the education of their daughters and sons and the freedom of teaching.
As a Council, we express our disagreement with this challenge, since the civic values of freedom of education and the right of mothers and fathers to define the education of daughters and sons are not in contradiction with the rights and dignity of women and men.
In reality, non-sexist education does not promote a single teaching approach nor does it seek to impose moral or religious convictions. On the contrary, it proposes a technical and methodological framework that allows educational communities to be treated with gender equality and non-discrimination, while simultaneously eliminating existing gender gaps and stereotypes.
As CRUCH, we value the diversity of educational projects, since such diversity is a strength of the system. Furthermore, non-sexist education is a human right and reflects principles shared by society regarding equality and non-discrimination. Therefore, under no circumstances can compliance with universal principles and values infringe upon diversity.
In this context, the universities belonging to the Council of Rectors and Rectors consider it appropriate to reaffirm and make public our commitment to gender equality and rights for all people, recognizing their essential dignity, regardless of creed, age, social class, culture, gender or sexual orientation, language and condition.
To achieve the above and overcome arbitrary discrimination, inequalities, stereotypes, and gender hierarchies, it is essential to ensure non-sexist education at all educational levels. Consequently, we believe it is crucial that this be explicitly established in the Law on Women's Right to a Life Free of Violence.
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