Fighting Violence Through Healing
“The Center is a bridge that helps you walk away from fear to something new.”
In 2016, Evelyn Arce, a 34-year-old native of Puerto Barrios began working for the local government as the head of the Municipal Women’s Directorate. On her first day in the office, Evelyn knew there was a lot of work to be done, so she started meeting with the women of the community to see how she could help. During these meetings, the same issues kept resurfacing: gender based violence and domestic abuse.
This is when Evelyn knew she needed to find a way to get the city government to support them, in order to fight for the rights of these women and girls. Evelyn began hunting for opportunities to finance a safe-haven for victims of violence where they could get the legal and psychological support they needed after fleeing a dangerous situation.
In 2018, USAID helped Evelyn create a Municipal Policy on Women to highlight key investment areas to address the needs of women in Puerto Barrios. A women’s shelter for victims of violence and gender-based violence prevention was their highest priority.
The city government agreed to provide a plot of land in the central downtown area. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with financial assistance from USAID, promised to construct the center. Finally, USAID added furnishings and developed the standard operating procedures that make the shelter functional and safe. Through these collaborative efforts, the Integral Women’s Attention Center (CAIM) opened its doors on August 26, 2022. The inauguration included the Municipality of Puerto Barrios, UNHCR, USAID and Refugio de la Niñez. The shelter immediately began helping victims of violence.
The center now provides victims of violence a 72-hour shelter, with ongoing legal and psychological services. To further help victims reclaim control of their lives, the Municipal Women’s Directorate offers free training courses to empower these women with skills in order to start their own businesses and gain the economic freedom to escape their violent home lives. A survivor expressed “When I’m at the Center, I can openly express myself with the psychologist”.
USAID and the director of the Women’s Municipal Directorate in Puerto Barrios want to ensure that victims are provided with the support required to start the healing process through psychological and legal support while arming their victims with life skills to confidently never return to their abusers. Evelyn is aware of the horrifying ongoing surge in physical and psychological abuse that the women, girls of Puerto Barrios have had to endure. Just within the department of Izabal, in 2021, there was a threefold increase in the number of cases involving violence against women in physical, psychological and sexual manifestations, psychological and sexual violence. At the national level, Guatemala saw an increase of almost 20% between 2020 and 2021.
There’s still plenty of work to do in Puerto Barrios to eliminate gender-based violence but Evelyn is committed to working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and USAID to prioritize prevention, and a safe haven for the victims. In the two months since opening, CAIM has provided legal assistance to 32 women and psychological support to 27 girls and women.
A survivor of GBV said “Everything that I say in the Center, stays there. I want to tell other women not to be afraid to use this resource. The first step is seeking support. Us women, we have to find our voices and know when to accept help.”
USAID’s hope is to encourage victims to find their voice and seek the help they need and speak out on GBV. Unite with us to end violence against women and girls. Gender based violence in Guatemala is an emergency and no one deserves to be a target.
What can you do? Join us to raise awareness, learn to identify the signs of GBV, and take action by reporting any suspected cases of GBV in your community.
Anyone in the Puerto Barrios area needing support can call this phone number:
(502) 5697-2386 or reach out via omm.puertobarrios@gmail.com
If you are located in Guatemala City please contact PNC 110 for assistance.
About this Project
Written by Zeina Dubray, USAID/Guatemala Creative Director
The Urban Municipal Governance project, implemented by Tetra Tech International Development, works on reducing levels of violence in municipalities most at risk of violent crime, located in three regions along the border regions of Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras, as well as in the central region around Guatemala City.
Learn more about USAID’s work in Guatemala and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.