Victory! El Guardián Fires Juan Terranova

by Meredith Slater · 2011-05-03 11:25:00 UTC
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When Juan Terranova, a journalist making rape threats, was published in the respected Argentine magazine El Guardián, activists on Change.org sprang into action. Working with the anti-street harassment organization Hollaback!, we called on El Guardián to apologize and fire Terranova from the magazine.

El Guardián resisted for nearly eight weeks.

But when pressure from over 1,200 activists caused international brands Fiat and Lacoste to pull their advertising from the magazine, El Guardián had to think again. With the loss of key advertisers, and the influx of nearly 4,000 letters from activists on Change.org, the magazine was forced to give in.

Now, two months after the offensive article was printed, El Guardián has published a formal apology and we just received confirmation that Terranova has been fired from the magazine!

Yes! We did it!

Inti Maria Tidball-Binz, the woman who was directly threatened by Juan Terranova (pictured below), told us she was touched by the solidarity.

"What started off as something terrible turned into something beautiful, not just personally but also as a first step in changing the high levels of discrimination in the media in Argentina," she said. "We have set precedents. We have spoken out for all those who are currently discriminated against and threatened in the media...I've felt enormously empowered by all of this support."

Emily May, Executive Director of Hollaback! went on to frame the campaign victory as a victory not just for Argentina, but for women around the world.

"What started as a simple petition quickly became a cross-continent campaign," she told Change.org. "We worked swiftly and collaboratively across multiple languages and time zones, and I couldn't have been more impressed with the Change.org team.  We started this to win this.  And together, we did."

Congratulations to everyone who played a part in this victory. This change would not have happened without the action of thousands of individuals who have helped confirm that threats of violence and rape are not funny, clever or thought-provoking, and do NOT fall within international standards of free speech.

Winning this and similar campaigns depends on our ability to quickly call on thousands of supportive folks like you. Please click here to follow us on Facebook - just click ‘Like’ at the top of the page.

Photos: Christian Habisreutinger and Nicolás Giorgetti

Meredith Slater works as a fundraiser for organizations such as World Food Program USA and New York University.

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