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Yirley Judith Velasco Garrido
Yirley Judith Velasco Garrido is a women's human rights defender from the village of El Salado, in the department of Bolivar, in the Caribbean region of Colombia. In her work as an advocate, she has worked as the legal representative of the Asociación Mujeres Sembrando Vida (Women Sowing Life Association). Yirley is a survivor of sexual violence in the El Salado massacre of 2000, and together with other women in the region has worked on behalf of victims of sexual violence in the context of the armed conflict in Colombia, not only in criminal investigations but also in collective recognition and reparation actions.
Since 2019, she has received regular death threats and has been the victim of stigmatisation that has forced her to move several times to safeguard her life. In 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures in favour of her and her family.