Colombia: Bringing outside hidden violence in the home

Maria Chavez, from our partner Avanzar, explains how she helps women and children speak out against domestic violence and reconstruct their lives

The violent panorama of Colombia’s 40-year conflict has destroyed millions of lives in so many ways – but few realise that violence behind closed doors forms a major part of this landscape.

The combination of many years of conflict, displacement, and an ineffective legal system, has led to a breakdown of families and communities, leaving a vacuum for violence to prosper – 41% Colombian women suffer domestic violence.

Strategy to control

In addition to this little-known – but worrying – statistic, the abuse is not only at the hands of husbands or partners, but also because of harassment, sexual abuse, and other forms of violence used by armed groups as a strategy to control the terrified population.

Maria Chavez, a member of Avanzar, explains the importance of the organisation’s work in the district of Bosa, Bogota, which has one of the highest levels of domestic and sexual violence in Colombia.

“Every first Friday of the month we organise an event to raise awareness about women’s rights. The problem has become more visible and people are not so scared now to come forward and report this crime.”

Article 42 of Colombia’s constitution declares domestic violence as “destructive” and makes it a criminal offence. However, the practical impact of this appears to be minimal - according to UN sources, domestic violence and its effects are the primary causes of death in women aged 15-44 in Colombia.

As in many societies, there is also an overwhelming view that domestic violence is a “private” matter, which means it is notoriously under-reported. Many women are too scared of retaliation from the abuser and often lack trust in institutions set up to deal with the problem.

Lilia Gomez, who was helped by Avanzar, says the organisation changed her life: “I was being abused by my husband. I became involved in the Avanzar group and I learned to value myself. Before I couldn’t speak, but now I am more confident.

“The abuse has stopped and I am the legal representative of the organisation. Now when I see women being abused, I think that was me back then. If I can get out of the situation, so can they.”

Despite such huge strides, impunity continues to be widespread and still very few perpetrators are punished. With few incentives forthcoming from the government to change this, Avanzar’s role becomes even more important.

The organisation now provides meals for 130 children a day in its soup kitchen, employs four women, and leads the network of soup kitchens in the area.

In addition, it runs workshops on self-esteem, conflict resolution, citizenship and human rights, and provides a psychologist to help traumatised women come to terms with their experiences.

Avanzar also lobbies government and local institutions on local employment, housing and child care and, as a result, six projects have been approved by the local council. This more active role in politics has led to one of its members being elected to the local planning department.

After setting up a local campaign in Bosa tackling violence against women, Avanzar now networks with other organisations to monitor how UN recommendations on domestic violence (under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women - CEDAW) are being implemented in practice.

related resources

Prayer: Behold the woman that I am (19.26 kB) Written by our partner Sabakan, meaning “womb” in the Cebuano language, the only Diocesan Ministry to Women in the Philippines

Reflection: All people have the same dignity (19.69 kB) ‘So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.’ Genesis 1:27. As Christians we believe all people are made in the image of God and therefore all people, both men and women, have the same innate dignity

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