Kicking goals in El Salvador!
When Marta*, a mother of two young daughters, learned about the abuse her daughters were enduring at the hands of their stepfather, she took action. Filing a case with the authorities she began the process of seeing her husband prosecuted for his crimes - an almost impossible task in El Salvador.
With the assistance of a local organisation providing legal support to victims of sexual assault, Marta fought an uphill battle in the courts for over one year. At every turn, Marta was faced with the societal norms and expectations that placed pressure on her to remain quiet, place blame on her two young daughters and move on silently.
A few months ago, her husband was found guilty and was convicted of sexually abusing his two stepdaughters and was given a 26-year sentence for his crimes. For a woman and two young girls to win a case like this in El Salvador is rare. It is a victory for all women and girls. His conviction would not have been made possible without the aid and support of organisations working together to see perpetrators being held to account for their crimes, especially in a country where impunity for gender-based violence is astronomically high.
We celebrate this win for justice and recognise the importance of this case as another step forward in seeing the tide turn for women and girls in El Salvador!
*name changed
Read the full article here
What was once thought impossible is now being made possible- a rapid change in El Salvador.
This year we have seen an unprecedented decline in gang-related violence that has ravaged the country for almost three decades. The government’s hard crackdown on gangs which began in March this year, with a State of Emergency declared, has resulted in a significant decrease in the number of homicides and rate of violence. A decrease that has never been seen before in a Latin American country in such a short space of time. As El Salvador's measures toward peace and safety for all continue to gain international attention, we believe that now is the opportune time to continue working to see the serious issue of gender-based violence brought to the forefront of Salvadorean society. We believe that real peace can only be achieved when every group in the community is protected, outside and inside their homes.
El Salvador’s current political and social climate has given us immense hope that change is possible for women and girls in El Salvador.
Currently, through our Women of Hope initiative, we are actively working to expand our network with various community organisations and churches with a vision of working together to shift society's view of sexual violence and its victims. Our 'Gils of Hope!' violence prevention program is an instrumental vehicle by which to do that.
Read below about what you are helping to do for adolescent girls through our program.
Girls of Hope! has kicked off in El Salvador!
We have been encouraged by the openness amongst various community groups and churches to actively engage in violence prevention. As a result, over the last couple of months, our program has experienced significant growth.
This is how our program is tracking in El Salvador:
A wonderful turnout at our first Facilitator’s Training Day saw us accredit twenty-two new facilitators to run our program.
In the last two weeks, nineteen 'Girls of Hope!' groups have commenced!
As our groups are now entering their third week of our six-week course, we have a total of 160 adolescent girls currently registered and actively attending our violence prevention program.
This would not be possible without our amazing facilitators volunteering their time to run the program in their regions. We are also thankful that so many parents have made the commitment to register their daughters and to make their safety and security a priority.
Our newly accredited facilitators are kicking goals in El Salvador!
Once again, thank you for your wonderful support. We could not do this without you! xx
