I recently read a story on the movement for fighting physical, sexual, and psychological violence against women in Latin America by an organization called the Committee of Experts on Violence (CEVI). According to CEVI, despite 30 years of extensive work in the Latin communities (where women-conscious changes are taking place, albeit very slowly), real progress will happen only when certain aspects of the ‘Hidden Genocide’ are finally publicly acknowledged. Until recently, violence against women in Latin America was often attributed to passion, or classified jointly with other crime. CEVI has made it possible for crimes against women to be tallied separately, allowing for extensive documentation of the issue at hand.

“If the same number of people were killed for belonging to a certain ethnic group or special group, for being black, Jewish or indigenous, people would react differently. But they are women, and unfortunately people are desensitised.”

I think that the biggest challenge the organization faces is reaching out to a predominantly male population that currently controls the government and the media, as can be plainly seen in the example provided by Susan Chiarotty, coordinator of CEVI, in regard to a sexist Volkswagen commercial. The commercial aired featuring a battered woman as a marketing ploy to motivate people to get their cars fixed at a certain Volkswagen dealership in Brazil. When both CEVI and the Human Right Association protested the ad, they received a very sexist and inconsiderate reaction from a local male journalist:

“These embittered feminists, who probably wear severe clothes and have moustaches and who have not known the glory of God, do not appreciate creativity and have no sense of humour.”

Joking about sexism and feminism is very detrimental to the women’s rights movement (Read more in “The Funny Side of Sexism”), because it adds levity to an issue that is in fact very serious. For too long people in Latin countries have been making misguided excuses to cover up non-domestic violence against women as a crime of passion, love, or honor, when in fact it’s a crime as serious and dangerous to society as any crime against an ethnic or religious group. Cultures entrenched in patriarchal beliefs rooted in education, religion, and government are responsible for the statistics you see below:

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Other Ways to Help
Help Abroad – MADRE – Over the past 25 years, MADRE has built a network of community-based women’s organizations worldwide. This network encompasses thousands of women and families – in Sudan, Iraq, Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Kenya, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Palestine and elsewhere – who are on the frontlines of our global crisis.
Help at Home – La Casa De Las Madres – Thirty years ago, La Casa de las Madres opened San Francisco’s first domestic violence shelter for women and their children. The once-quiet shelter has grown into the city’s leading voice for abused women, their children and teens—educating, promoting awareness and changing the community’s and the media’s perceptions about domestic violence and its victims.

Unfortunately, violence against women is a still very much a universal issue – even in the very developed countries such as United States (See Violence Against Women (Part I)). However, I sincerely believe that real change can start with just one person – you.