Came to empower and left empowered: Who is the famous Colombian woman who visited Rambam?
Violence against women is a despicable worldwide phenomenon. A leader of a struggle in the field from Colombia came to visit Rambam's leading plastic surgery department, to hear about the leading treatments in the rehabilitation of victims in the field.
The director of the plastic surgery department at Rambam, Prof. Assaf Seltzer, recently hosted an influential and public opinion leader from Colombia named Natalia Ponce de Leon, for an exciting meeting in the department and the hospital.
Natalia Ponce de Leon arrived in Israel as part of the international course 'Fighting Gender Violence' organized by the Golda Meir Israel Institute for International Training, which is a professional branch of the Israel Institute for Aid and International Cooperation of the Ministry the outside
Natalia Ponce de Leon broke into the public consciousness first in her homeland and then in all of South America, after she herself was hurt in 2014 by a violent act of spraying acid on her face and upper body in a very severe way that left her with permanent scars on her face and body.
Natalia, who was in danger of her life and had to undergo more than 37 surgeries and treatments over the years, made a decision to lead a change in the approach of law enforcement in Colombia to acid throwing offenses and to do everything in her power to prevent other women from undergoing similar abuse as she herself had to undergo.
"The Last Mask"
She founded an association called the Natalia Ponce De Leon Foundation, which she chairs and aims to change legislation, raise awareness and help victims of acid spraying. Thus was born a sweeping campaign on social media called "The Last Mask" that spread to television, the press and newscasts throughout Latin America calling on women who have experienced acid splashing to reveal their disfigured faces and no longer hide in shame.
The brutal act of violence of splashing acid on women's faces and bodies is a widespread phenomenon in South America that the country's legal authorities did not know how to deal with until her case. One of the notable achievements of the association is the harsher punishment up to a maximum of 50 years in prison in order to deal with this difficult phenomenon. Following her inspiring activity, Natalia became a leader of public opinion regarding the protection of women's rights and equality and was able to harness international parties to the struggle, including UN agencies.
How did the relationship with Natalia come about?
The Carmel Center for International Training by Golda Meir, the National Aid Agency of the State of Israel in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, works to promote gender equality through a variety of activities in the social and economic field. In this framework, high-ranking officials, including Natalia, came from twenty-three countries around the world such as Fiji, Vietnam, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Congo and Honduras for a course on the fight against gender-based violence, one of the core subjects of the Carmel Center's training. Together with The Colombian Ponce de Leon, the participants in the course were government officials, police, associations and organizations for human rights and the fight against violence in their countries who came to learn about initiatives and models that exist in the country, share their experience and create collaborations.
During her visit to Israel, Natalia was invited by Assaf Zeltzer, director of the plastic surgery department at the Rambam Medical College, to visit the department and she agreed to the invitation. As part of the tour, Natalia was exposed to the innovative treatment methods available to the treatment team, to the extensive experience in cases similar to hers, and visited the advanced treatment room in the department, where various victims come.
Prof. Assaf Zeltzer, Director of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Rambam, summarizes:
"Natalia Francesa de Leon is an ambassador in the fight against acid burns on the face in particular, and gender violence in general. Although we treat burn victims every day, her personal story is chilling on the one hand, and inspiring on the other. Natalia is a strong woman who took her injury far by being able to change the approach of the authorities to horrific acts of the kind described in Colombia and throughout South America. We strengthen her hands for the continuation of the action and the fight against gender violence.'