The Legal Impact of COVID-19 on Women's International Human Rights: Analyzing the #NiUnaMenos Movement in Latin America

Fabiola Gretzinger graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in May 2022, with concentrations in International Law and Human Rights. Throughout her professional and academic career, Fabiola has focused on international women’s rights, with an emphasis on reproductive health and gender-based violence. Currently, Fabiola is a legal fellow with the Legal Strategies, Innovation and Research team at the Center for Reproductive Rights.This paper details the history and successes of the #NiUnaMenos movement, and subsequently the Marea Verde (Green Wave) movement, throughout Latin America. After the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a massive increase in domestic violence and gender-based violence rates throughout the region. Similarly, the United States just stripped women of their constitutional right to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This evidences how important this movement is throughout Latin America, and for the rest of the world, to understand how social, political, and legal movements can continue to protect women’s rights. Comparing successes and setbacks both before and after COVID-19, this paper establishes how governments and movements alike should proceed to ensure women’s rights are strengthened and protected.La