Healing Minds to Overcome Gender-Based Violence
In 2021, El Salvador reported its lowest homicide rate for the previous decade, but a closer look at the data also shows an alarming increase in gender-based violence (GBV). In that same year, the number of disappearances in the country increased by 18.9 percent, and were higher among women than men. There was also a 15.1 percent increase in intrafamily violence compared to 2020, and nine out of 10 victims were women and girls1
GBV is a complex, normalized problem that permeates Salvadoran society, affecting the safety, dignity, mental health, and human rights of women and girls. It also hinders their ability to participate fully in society and contribute to their families and communities.
“The way they raised us, the norm was that girls cannot play with toy cars because that was for boys. I played hide and seek and they called me tomboy,” remembered María, a woman who has lived her whole life in the Chancala neighborhood of Mejicanos, a rural area in the country’s San Salvador department. “Our parents did not prepare us to stand up for ourselves, I had to keep quiet,” she said.
In Chancala, women are often deprived of an education and lack opportunities to achieve economic independence. This causes feelings of low self-esteem and increases their vulnerability to GBV. Chancala also lacks community-level support networks, which makes it nearly impossible for GBV victims who live in the neighborhood to seek the psychological and social support they need.
To address these challenges, the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) partnered with the Circulo Solidario Foundation, a local faith-based organization, to develop and deliver a series of workshops on crocheting, a skill of interest to women in the community that also has the potential to contribute to their economic advancement. This served as a culturally acceptable and safe way to bring women together to discuss the more sensitive topic of GBV, including its different manifestations, from intimate partner violence to harassment in the streets, the effect it has on families, and information for victims on where to go for help. “This is how I became aware of women’s rights. I used to think the way we were treated was normal,” said Mónica, one of the participants.
Throughout the course of the workshops, the women gradually came to understand that they had experienced violence. “When I had just moved in with my husband, I had to get his permission to go see my mom. But here [the workshops] I began to transform. Now I leave, and I just tell him I’m going to a meeting,” said Valeria, who has been married for fifty years.
“I have been psychologically abused by my husband. Now I have come to see that it’s not right, and I feel confident enough to tell him I don’t like it. Here, we learned to say things without being violent about it. We have been empowered to speak out about things we don’t like." María, Chancalas Unidas Women's Network
Through their collective discussions, the women have begun to discover how to break away from the cultural stereotypes that enable GBV.
“We’re no longer subject to what the husbands say. Now, we decide. We know we have the right to act and express our opinion. We have learned,” said Valeria.
The workshops have also provided the space for the women to gain the confidence needed to look for solutions. “My self-esteem has grown. We can raise men’s awareness, and that starts with housework. We teach them that it’s shared,” said María.
Upon completion of the workshop series, 18 women formed the Chancalas Unidas Women’s Network to continue to support and empower each other. “We want to be organized to help other women. We would like to replicate the weaving and violence workshops,” says Lucía, a Chancalas Unidas representative.
They all acknowledge that cultural and social change will come gradually and requires consistency. When asked what she expects of the network they formed, Valeria shared, “We want to have other women come along just as we have been liberated.”
Members of Chancalas Unidas have since become involved in other community activities, including a recruitment event they held in commemoration of International Women’s Day. The sensitivity around GBV and its pervasiveness in areas where it is seen as a societal norm makes it difficult to address, and it continues to hold women back. But the women of Chancalas Unidas represent a way forward. Women living free from violence and equipped with the tools and connections to drive positive sociocultural change can play a pivotal role in their communities, fostering improvements and addressing common problems to the benefit of all.