Prevents domestic violence of 200 women in Ecuador

In Ecuador, violence against women has been increasing; by April 2023, 149 victims of intentional homicides of women have been reported and 35 of them were registered as femicide. In Quito alone, during 2022 and 2023, the Integrated Security System ECU 911 has attended 29,833 emergencies for violence: 62% for psychological abuse; 28% for domestic violence; 10% for physical aggression and 0.18% for sexual violence. In this context, victims are reluctant to seek justice and, feeling unprotected in a cycle of normalized violence, are violated in the deepest sense: the value of their person. Such is the case of women in vulnerable contexts such as Pisulí and La Roldós.

Our family accompaniment program seeks that these women develop skills that allow them to face life and break the cycle of violence by learning to educate their children, for this, we have staff living in the area, many of them former beneficiaries, who can understand their reality and idiosyncrasies.

During this school year (Sep'22-Jul'23), we have assisted 260 women and their children. Seventy-five percent have received training on the educational role of parents, gender or school violence, resilience, affectivity (with partners, children, self-esteem) and integration activities: "everything they have taught us has been very useful, I was very violent with my daughter, but here they taught me how to educate her in a way that does not hurt her" (Mother of Fundación Sembrar).

All the families have received monthly home visits that allow them to monitor the context of the home, generate bonds of trust and detect problems: "my educator has helped me a lot, she has been a great emotional support for me, especially when I was in depression, I was very afraid and could not talk to anyone, until one day I decided to tell her everything that was happening to me" (Mother of Fundación Sembrar). Of 28 cases of violence monitored, 39% of victims have decided to face their circumstances and seek professional care: "I lived with the father of my two children and suffered violence, I started to go to the psychologist and I was able to decide to live alone with one of them, the little one lives with me and we are now calm. The psychologist is always in contact, I can call her or write to her whenever I need to" (Mother of Fundación Sembrar).

"The most beautiful thing is that they (the educators) see those details that you don't, and they celebrate it, that motivates you. This is where the real change begins, when a victim does not feel judged, but valued, listened to and loved. You can be part of this transformation! (Mother of Fundación Sembrar).