Preventing Violence Against Women in El Salvador

Posted: 16 December 2005

by Tjarda Muller

Focus is on women’s rights in popular campaign to prevent gender violence.

Many of the countries in Central America face a serious problem: violence against women. El Salvador, a country of six million people, registers the most alarming statistics. A recent study by the National Police reported that 323 women were murdered between Jan. 1 and Nov. 15, 2005.

Improving respect for women’s rights is essential to addressing violence against women in El Salvador. The Campaign to Prevent Gender Violence, an initiative funded by Oxfam America, started in June 2005 and will run for three years. To raise awareness of women’s rights and violence, the campaign staged special events that ran from Nov. 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) through Dec. 10 (International Human Rights Day).

Nov. 25 was also the start of the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, organized by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in the United States. In El Salvador, activities began in Santa Tecla, a city near the capital San Salvador, where Mayor Oscar Ortiz presided over a ceremony establishing the city’s “El Cafetalón” sports complex and park as a violence-free zone. He announced six different measures, including the prohibition of all weapons, greater security, permanent awareness-raising activities with posters, fliers, videos, and seminars, and training programs to educate groups that use the complex about women’s rights and gender violence.

Santa Tecla and Antiguo Cuscatlán are leading cities in the campaign to promote respect for women, and provide services for victims of violence.

“Today we have a “Casa de Mujeres” [Women’s Center], which is something that did not exist before,” said Ortiz, describing how his city is embracing equality for women and preventing violence. “The mayor’s office now has a policy for equal opportunities that includes both female and male bosses. And we have earmarked part of the municipal budget to support these programs. We are also training teachers so that they educate children about gender in the schools,” he said.

The Campaign to Prevent Gender Violence is advocating for an increase in city budgets for programs that address violence against women, and coordinating better response from health services, judicial authorities, police, and municipal workers. The campaign also offers workshops for men and women to teach them about human rights and violence against women, a training program on gender issues for municipal authorities, and a media campaign targeting the general public. While the cities of Santa Tecla and Antiguo Cuscatlán are the primary focus of the campaign, 16 other municipalities are also included.

December campaign events included the participation of 16 well-known personalities in the areas of politics, culture, sports, and the arts. They are delivering messages to the Salvadoran public to help strengthen prevention efforts and raise awareness about gender violence. These faces of the campaign were presented to the public on Nov. 25, and included TV personality Milena Mayorga; Beatrice Alamani de Carrillo, the human rights ombudsman; and José María Tojeira, rector of the Central American University, who urged Salvadorans to “defend the equal dignity of women. Violence against them destroys all of us.”