Cristina del Mar Quiles | Todas y Centro de Periodismo Investigativo

Astrid Piñeiro Vázquez welcomed the transfer of $1.6 million to her office, but she did not specify how much of it would go toward covering the budget shortfall facing shelters that house women survivors of domestic violence and their children.

The government official also confirmed the Oversight Board blocked an attempt to partially cover the deficit.

Reports from several U.S. states show that laws similar to Puerto Rico’s Senate Bill 504 have led to the criminalization of medical emergencies, the denial of essential health care, and increased state surveillance of pregnant people.

Despite being appointed without public hearings or the support of feminist organizations, Astrid Piñeiro Vázquez says she’s determined to maintain her independence from Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González Colón, whom she is tasked with holding accountable. The position, which Piñeiro Vázquez assumed on March 31, carries a 10-year term.

Puerto Rico Women’s Advocate Astrid Piñeiro Vázquez said she trusts that the proposed federal funding cuts will be smaller than anticipated, that the Puerto Rico Legislature will increase her office’s budget, and that citizens will step up with donations to organizations serving survivors of gender-based violence.

The fear of deportation places migrant women in a more vulnerable position despite their crucial role in sustaining some of the island's communities, social worker Elithet Silva Martínez says.

The feminist and human rights activist was the first Black and lesbian woman to run for resident commissioner of Puerto Rico. Despite the election results not being in her favor, the General Coordinator of the Citizen Victory Movement noted the strengthening of the Alianza de País as the island’s second political force and called for assuming the role of strong opposition against the upcoming conservative policies.

A bill that proposes protection and reparation measures for the children victims of femicide was presented by Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP, in Spanish) Rep. Denis Márquez on September 29.

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Women’s Affairs recommended that the Women’s Advocate Office lead the investigation into police officers accused of domestic violence.

An investigation by the Miami Herald and the Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico has identified failures in the handling of gender-based violence cases involving police officers, as well as a culture of impunity that protects the abusers and makes victims even more vulnerable.

In her office in Puerta de Tierra, a San Juan neighborhood, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez answered questions from the Gender Investigative Unit, of the Center for Investigative Journalism and Todas.