Natalia Ponce de León

Natalia Ponce de León in Mashav's 30th international Women Leading Conference in Israel, May 2018
2017 International Women of Courage awardee Natalia Ponce de Leon of Colombia delivers remarks during a ceremony at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 29, 2017

Natalia Ponce de León (born c. 1981) is a Colombian woman and crime victim who successfully campaigned for a law targeting perpetrators of acid attacks in her country.

Attack

Ponce de León, who was a successful business woman, was assaulted by Jonathan Vega,[1] who threw a liter of sulphuric acid on her face and body on March 27, 2014[2] while she was visiting her mother in Santa Barbára.[3] Vega, a former neighbor, was reported to have been "obsessed" with Ponce de León and had been making death threats against her after she turned down his proposal for a relationship.[2] 24% of her body was severely burned as a result of the attack.[4] Ponce de León has undergone 15 reconstruction surgeries on her face and body since the attack.[5]

Public outcry and new law

However, her case was not an isolated incident. Three years before the attack took place, Colombia reported one of the highest rates of acid attacks per capita in the world.[6] However, there was not an effective law in place until Ponce de León's campaign took off in the months after her attack.

The new law, which is named after her, defines acid attacks as a specific crime and increases maximum sentences to 50 years in jail for convicted offenders.[5] The law also aims to provide victims with better state medical care including reconstructive surgery and psychological therapy. Ponce de León expressed hope that the new law would act as a deterrent against future attacks.[5]

Media coverage

Ponce de León bravely spoke publicly with a protective mask during her campaigning. However, she decided to show her face when the book El renacimiento de Natalia Ponce de León (The Rebirth of Natalia Ponce de León), which tells her story, was published in April 2015.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "Avanza el juicio contra Jonathan Vega, el agresor de Natalia Ponce - Bogotá - El Tiempo". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  2. 1 2 aljazeera.com retrieved 8th Dec 2016
  3. ↑ Charner, Flora. (2015). Survivors of acid attacks in Colombia fight for justice. america.aljazeera.com. Retrieved from: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/4/11/survivors-of-acid-attacks-in-Colombia-fight-for-justice.html
  4. ↑ Columbia: Man accused of high profile acid attack arrested. (2014). BBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26906638
  5. 1 2 3 Daily Record retrieved 8th Dec 2016
  6. ↑ "Colombia, líder vergonzoso en ataques con ácido". www.fucsia.co. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  7. ↑ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "El renacimiento de Natalia Ponce de León - Justicia - El Tiempo". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2016-12-08.
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