Paola Gomez: An Activist's Journey in Human Rights Advocacy

This report details the life and work of Paola Gomez, a Colombian human rights lawyer and activist who has dedicated her life to uplifting the status of women and supporting vulnerable populations. Inspired by her childhood experiences with domestic violence, Gomez opened a shelter for street children at a young age and later became an immigration and refugee specialist, supporting women with unstable residency status. She founded the Sick Muse Art Project, integrating conversations about identity, community engagement, and inclusion. Despite facing challenges such as attacks, death threats, and language barriers, Gomez has made a significant impact by giving a voice to survivors of gender-based violence, providing shelter to street children and women fleeing violence, and supporting refugee women in Canada, earning her the 2008 Toronto Community Foundation Vital People award. The report concludes by suggesting ways to further Gomez's cause through advocating for women's rights and campaigning against gender-based violence.

Paola Gomez
Name
Institution

Background
 Paola Gomez is a Colombian human rights
lawyer and activist (Cheung, 2016).
 She is also a community organizer, public
speaker and writer.
 She is actively involved in causes such as
ending gender based violence, community
engagement and forced migration.
 She has developed an innovative way of
integrating conversations about identity,
inclusion and cultural engagement (Cheung,
2016).

The Issue
 Paola Gomez runs a cause that seeks to uplift
the status of women in the society.
 Her cause was inspired by her childhood
experiences.
 She grew up in a family characterized by a
series of domestic violence. She witnessed
her father abuse her mother both physically
and verbally.
 Determined to make a change, she studied
law to help women and children in the
society.

Cont…
 From a tender age of 15, Paola opened a
shelter for street children (Jetelina, 2017).
 She assessed the risks surrounding these
children, removed them from dangerous
situations and put them in temporary
protection.
 In 2007, she became an immigration and
refugee specialist supporting women in
shelters with unstable residency status
(Supa, 2017).

Cont…
 She has also founded the Sick Muse Art Project
where she has developed an innovative way of
integrating conversations on matters pertaining to
identity, community engagement and inclusion.
 The project seeks to revive hope in oppressed
communities by offering them a voice to speak
out against social injustice.
 The program also runs a creative writing group
for women who are survivors of domestic
violence.
 These women find it therapeutic to put their
painful experiences into writing .

Barriers
 Throughout her course, Paola has
faced many challenges and barriers.
 First, she was attacked and raped by
Colombian police when she
protested against the unlawful killing
of her street kids(Jetelina, 2017) .
 She also received numerous death
threats from the authorities and was
forced to flee her country Colombia.

cont…
 When she moved to Canada from
Colombia, she also faced the challenge
of language barrier as her English was
weak and could not express herself
well due to broad accent.
 The shift from Colombia invalidated her
law credentials to practice law in
Canada. As a result she could not
practice law in the country.

Impact
 Paola has made a great impact to the
society
 Firstly, she has given a voice to women
who have suffered from gender based
violence within her community.
 She has also provided a shelter to street
children as well as women running from
violence.
 Furthermore, she has given hope to the
hopeless in the community.

Cont…
 The activist has also been in the
forefront in supporting refugee women in
Canada (Jetelina, 2017).
 She was awarded the 2008 Toronto
Community Foundation Vital People as a
recognition of her exceptional impact on
community initiative (Jetelina. 2017)
 She has managed to boost the self-
esteem of many refugee women and
children.

Further Actions
 As agents of social change, we can help to
further Paola Gomez’s cause in various ways.
 Firstly, we can champion for the rights of
women in the society and ensure equality in
opportunities.
 Secondly, we can sensitize society and
campaign against gender-based- violence
especially among women. This can be done
by educating women and providing victims of
domestic violence with counseling and safe
shelter.

Conclusion
 Paola Gomez is an exceptional woman and
activist that has contributed so much to the
society.
 Throughout her cause, she has made a
significant impact to the lives of many children
and women who are victims of violence.
 By giving these victims a shelter and safe haven,
she has helped the changed the lives of many
people.
 Her work should be an example and other people
should try to replicate her work for the good of
the society.

References
 Suppa, C. (2017). Toronto human rights lawyer Paolo Gomez
empowers survivors. SABA. Retrieved March 27, 2018, from
http://www.postcity.com/Eat-Shop-Do/Do/February-2017/Toront
o-human-rights-lawyer-Paolo-Gomez-empowers-survivors/
 Jetelina, M. (2017). Writer and humanitarian Paola Gomez
uses the arts to inspire and heal. Canadian Immigrant.
Retrieved March 27, 2018, from
http://canadianimmigrant.ca/people/artists/writer-and-
humanitarian-paola-gomez-uses-the-arts-to-inspire-and-heal
 Cheung, A. (2016). Human rights activists honoured at
Toronto city hall. SABA. Retrieved March 27, 2018, from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/human-rights-
activists-honoured-at-toronto-city-hall-1.3884688