Friday, August 27, 2010

AYNI Makes Strides Against Domestic Violence in Peru

By International Program Coordinator José Carlos León Vargas

Since 1991, the Cooperation Group for Social Development (AYNI) has promoted gender equality, citizen participation, and the rights of women and men to improve their quality of life.

“When we first visited the province of La Convención in Cusco back in 1991, we noticed that violence against women was a problem that was not denounced at all,” says AYNI Director Alberto Alanoca Pazos. “Women and men saw this situation as something normal, and government institutions also thought gender violence was part of the culture.”

The project is producing results because it focuses not only on creating awareness, but also on building mechanisms through which women can access public defense, shelter and counseling. When a woman is a victim of violence, she can refer to one of the four advocacy committees that are formed by respected women in the community.

AYNI trains public officers (policemen, government representatives, judges, hospitals, etc.) to provide efficient and respectful service to the women. Local authorities and institutions sign a protocol of intervention to eradicate violence in an effective way.

“It was very difficult to get support for this type of project,” explains Alberto. “Many organizations provide funds for reproductive health or income-generating activities, but didn’t finance initiatives that reduced gender violence. The support from Coffee Kids is extremely useful because it helps us implement a more integral strategy to deal with the issue.”

Coffee Kids’ support has helped AYNI establish solid alliances with local authorities and to train women on advocacy and counseling for domestic-violence issues.

Hilda Bellota, president of the Mandor women’s advocacy center in the Mandor community of Quillabamba, says: “We painted and fixed a house that one woman in the community lent us to set up the center. Many women have come, and the husbands are now understanding that this is a real and serious issue in the communities. Young women are also becoming aware of this problem, and we teach them how to communicate with other women and to let them know that our center and other institutions are here to support them.”

The project has had a real impact in the region, says Alberto. “We have cases in which men are the ones who go to the local advocacy centers and tell us about cases of domestic violence in their community. Before it was unthinkable that men would consider this a problem, but now men and women are working together to eradicate a problem that affect us all.”