Argentinian victim of domestic abuse given ex-partner’s job in ‘reparation’ ruling

Valeria Juárez has been given her former partner’s job

An Argentinian woman who was the victim of domestic abuse has been handed her former partner’s job in a landmark ‘reparations’ ruling.

Valeria Juárez, 34, started work last week in the parks department of Santa Rosa council in La Pampa province.  

The switch with her ex-partner, Héctor Fabián Mendoza, 41, is the result of a council order that any employee convicted of domestic violence forfeits their job, which can then be offered to the victim. Mr Mendoza had been working for Santa Rosa as a gardener. 

“I lived in fear, I was psychologically tormented, I couldn’t sleep at night, and now I am trying just to be as happy as I can possibly be,” the mother-of-three told the Telegraph.

“It’s a huge relief, I’ve got a stable job and I can feed my kids.”

Ms Juárez was bringing up two children as a sole parent after a previous relationship broke down when, in 2013, she turned to Mr Mendoza, who lived next door. She quickly became pregnant, but he turned violent before their daughter was born. 

Mr Mendoza was jailed for threatening behaviour aggravated by use of a weapon in September 2019, after two friends saw him barge into Ms Juárez’s house with a knife. He was sentenced to two years in prison. 

Santa Rosa council’s director of Gender Policy and Diversity, Gabriela Bonavitta, told the  Telam news that the job swap was “a form of reparations.”

“A council which listens to victims who denounce violence is also telling aggressors there is zero tolerance of gender violence,” she said. 

The Argentine anti-gender violence NGO Ahora Que si nos Ven, or Now They Can See Us, estimates there have been 255 femicides in the nation of 46 million so far this year.

Spokeswoman Analia Morra told the Telegraph: “This ruling is a great step forward, above all a way of restoring control to women’s lives, but we still have a long way to go.” 

Ms Juarez said: “Today I’m celebrating going into work, but there are many women who are continuing to suffer much worse than I did. I hope other councils follow this example here and across the world.”