EFFECTIVENESS It is clear that the campaign worked well as it achieved its primary objective . In December 2020 abortion was legalised in Argentina – the measure passed with a 38-29 vote in the Senate ( Demsas , 2020 ). Furthermore , it was not only successful on a legal level but also a societal one . The influence of Ni Una Menos ’ campaign saw a shift in public opinion with over 50 % of participants in a study conducted by Statista stating that they now believed in legal abortion as " women have the right to decide " ( Statista , 2020 )
One of the main reasons this campaign was successful was how Ni Una Menos framed their argument as abortion being a socio-economic and public health issue as opposed to a given right . By providing significant evidence to back this up , it became ‘ harder for those against legalisation to justify their positions ’ ( Daby and Moseley , 2020 ). Moreover , the campaign ' s ability to provide people with a space in which they could demonstrate " freely and safely " ( Plus Company Updates , 2016 ) resulted in increased willingness from people to join the campaign .
Freeman ’ s ( 2017 ) idea that it is often social media and not news stories that help keep women ’ s rights issues in the spotlight can be used to demonstrate how , in this instance , social media or ‘ clicks ’ were more important than news stories and the ideal choice of media to reach the campaign ’ s intended targets . This is because social media is an important tool for contemporary movements to be able to spread their ideas , increase support and send out a call to action ( La Rosa , 2014 ) making it key for the success of Ni Una Menos ’ campaign . It is important to acknowledge however that social media often engages the younger generations , leaving those that are unsure of the technology removed from the conversation about contemporary issues ( Boyle et al ., 2017 ).
Therefore , Ni Una Menos abortion campaign may have been able to achieve its goals quicker if they had been able to have access to alternate media methods to spread their message .
EFFICIENCY Ni Una Menos were able to employ an important campaign tactic of strategically positioning their message within their chosen media channels ( Boyle , 2017 ) by building on their existing women ’ s rights work rather than starting the campaign from scratch . In doing so they recentred their movement to prioritise abortion , enabling a coherent campaign to emerge that continued the feminist agenda they are known for . It gave them the necessary strength to push abortion straight to the forefront of political debates ( Daby and Moseley , 2021 ). The campaign ' s reliance on social media and public demonstrations to spread its messages meant that it was not only cost effective but efficient allround . This was mostly likely from the perspectives of both the organisers and the public . For the organisers , it enabled them to increase support and bring in sympathetic members of the public , who would not otherwise participate in or take on commitments to protests or demonstrations ( Penney , 2015 ). For the public , they could actively participate with less personal sacrifice .
Furthermore , although utilising multiple media platforms that reference and reinforce one another ’ s messages to create continual awareness has been identified as a key approach to human rights campaigning ( Goldsten and Usdin , 2001 ), the prevalence of gender inequalities in Argentina ’ s policies and media meant that the campaign had to rely solely on media that they could easily distribute themselves . Therefore , the use of social media and public protests was probably the most efficient method Ni Una Menos could have used .
ELLIE ROSE AND LUCIJA MIHELIC
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