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Campaign: “Justice Now!” for a Girl in El Salvador

Description of Campaign: In 1999 a 9-year-old girl named Katya (also Katia) Miranda was raped and murdered. Charges against the suspects, all members of the country’s military elite, were dismissed in 2000 and there is a feeling that judicial corruption was at play. Now bloggers are taking up the cause in order to bring the case back to court before the 10 year statute of limitations runs out.

Digital Activism Tools: digital images, blogs, YouTube video, count-down timer, e-petition, offline action

How These Tools Are Being Used: This campaign uses a range of digital activism techniques, some more familiar, and other more creative and unusual. Among the more familiar tactics, supporters of the campaign posted a YouTube video in which Katya’s mother explains the details of the case. There is also an e-petition demanding that attorney general of the province of La Libertad, where the murder occurred, bring the case to trial again.

The campaign also uses images effectively. They have created a logo for their campaign (image above) which bloggers can post to show their support. The graphic is well-designed in that it is simple yet has a clear emotional message, showing only a picture of Katya with the words “justice now!” below.

The campaign also uses some more creative and unusual techniques. The campaign is also asking people to take a picture of themselves in their town or city with a picture of Katya. These images will be used to create a “virtual mural” to be posted on the causes official web site (which I could not locate) and will be presented with the attorney general via CD. Participants are asked to send these images to the e-mail address comunica.idhuca@gmail.com with name and location in which the photo was taken.

text reads “time remaining to prosecute the Katya Miranda crime”

Another creative element of the campaign is a count-down timer which marks the exact time, down to the second, before the statute of limitations runs out on Katya’s case (see above).This is a particularly pertinent to this cause because of the critical element of time.The campaign must succeed before the clock runs out, or Katya’s case cannot be brought to trial.

Significantly, the campaign also includes offline action, a “Day of Roses”, Read more »