Marta Sanchez, from the Las Gardenias Women’s Association, tells Sisters about her work at the Shaira Ali Center for the Holistic Care of Children for Equality in Ahuachapán, El Salvador to create safe spaces for young girls, boys, and adolescents to prevent gender-based violence and defend women’s rights. “We accompany women as they present their cases,” Sanchez said. “We can tell if women are experiencing violence. We go with them to make the case and follow-up … We will go where the women are.”
Photo: Oxfam America/Oscar Leiva Marinero
Their new goal is to train 100 women on entrepreneurship, human rights, and the rights of women and girls with the hopes that each participant will train 10 more women.
“The work that is being done at the Center with the help of Oxfam is remarkable,” said Sisters on the Planet ambassador and former Florida state legislator Annie Betancourt. “It’s restoring the dignity of women. This is community organizing at its best.”
In Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sisters paid a visit to the Oxfam-supported “Quality of Life” domestic violence shelter where they met three survivors of domestic violence—Leticia, Heydi, and Esmeralda. Each shared their story about finding safety at one of the few shelters that exist after enduring years of psychological and physical abuse.
At a time when 95 percent of the cases of domestic violence in Honduras go unresolved, the shelter was a lifeline where they and their children were able to find emotional and legal support. With Oxfam’s support, the shelter has trained 85 case workers on crisis support, the legal rights of women, and how to file cases against perpetrators of violence to support more women in need.
“We will fight for you and your children and your sisters and your neighbors,” said Danielle Adams, a Sisters on the Planet ambassador and Soil and Water Conservation District Board supervisor in Durham, North Carolina. “I don’t know what the answers are, but I know I won’t ever stop fighting for you. You’re my sisters too and I love you. And I’m so sorry that this happened to you. But we will take this back with us. You will always be with us.”
Source link : https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/journey-justice-central-america-honduras-elsalvador/
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Publish date : 2020-03-10 03:00:00
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