Prevents domestic violence of 200 women in Ecuador

Eradicating violence in Ecuador is a major challenge. In 2023, this country ranked among the 3 most violent countries in Latin America due to armed violence, organized crime and impunity, leading to an unprecedented national crisis and a declaration of "internal armed conflict" as a government measure to try to regain control of public security. More specifically, in Quito, the rates of domestic violence increased and psychological violence against women ranked fifth in terms of complaints, even though citizens have stopped reporting incidents because they have lost confidence in the institutions.

Against this backdrop, we have continued to accompany 260 vulnerable women in the Pisulí and La Roldós neighborhoods (where some criminal gangs are present and have been identified as "military targets"). We are convinced that in order to contribute -from civil society- to break this spiral of violence we have to favor "spaces of peace" where capacities for the peaceful management of conflicts are developed.

In this sense, our training meetings and monthly home visits have become essential spaces where victims and vulnerable women establish a bond of trust with their counselor and other mothers, where they can open up, talk about their experiences and give or receive emotional support for their family conflicts. This has allowed us to identify some 50 victims and provide them with differentiated follow-up, help them to recognize their violence, orient them, direct them to specialist allies or motivate them not to leave their professional care.

An important step in this period has been the agreement with the SEK International University, with which master's degree students in psychology have conducted two workshops on the prevention of gender violence and addictions for 60 verified or yet to be confirmed victims. It was found that most of them still do not distinguish between the different types of violence (especially patrimonial violence). Some of them were encouraged to talk about some episodes and express their doubts, but there is still a long way to go because violence is very normalized in their environment. These women learned when there is a need to initiate a therapeutic process, how to break stereotypes and set limits in the face of aggression, how to detect addictions, cyberbullying towards their children and strategies to regain confidence.

In the following months, UISEK has already started psychological counseling for women and their children.

Links:

• Workshop of violence prevention by UISEK