Cristina Fuentes, awarded for her fight against gender violence

Alberto Gomez Rodriguez 

On November 26, the XNUMXth edition of the Andalucía Joven awards was held in Malaga. These awards are intended to give public recognition to young people who work by putting their commitment to different areas of society, and above all with the development of youth in Andalusia, to the fore. 

Cristina Fuentes Lara, professor at the URJC and from Jaén, was awarded during the gala for her scientific and social work in the fight against gender violence. “For me it is an honor and also a responsibility. The first thing I thought was that it could serve as a stimulus for researchers who are precarious and are being attacked during their investigations. I went through all that and I know what it feels like to be exhausted from juggling between lack of resources, quality research and commitment to women”, declares the professor of the Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology. 

As she tells us, "it is difficult to know what weighed more for the jury when awarding the prize." But the truth is that the researcher from the Rey Juan Carlos University has not rested since she finished her thesis on the problems surrounding the group of women porters on the Spanish-Moroccan border in Ceuta. Different investigations on gender in communication management and patriarchal violence, add to her activism in defense of the most vulnerable social sectors, especially migrant women. 

“The award in itself means nothing unless it is accompanied by public policies that serve for a real change in society. Personally, I am very grateful for the award because it makes visible that there are many young people carrying out individual or collective projects for a real change, but it does not show the work involved in obtaining the means to execute such projects or everything that you are leaving along the way, ”says Cristina Sources. For her, a real change would involve the creation of synergies between groups of young people and public administration. 

For the future, the university professor is already preparing her next investigations: “URJC is a university where there is a lot of research talent and that spirit of research is also encouraged. Currently, I am immersed in an investigation together with the APDHA on cross-border women who have been "trapped" in Ceuta for 20 months without being able to return home."  

"Also, together with Professor Ángeles Moreno we are working on a European project on the situation of women in public relations in Europe; and in turn, Professor Moreno is the PI of the R&D project on strategic communication for the prevention of skin cancer where a gender approach is addressed throughout the project”, says Cristina Fuentes.