Project in Guatemala City and San Salvador a project in cooperation with United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
Violence against women has increased substantially in Guatemala and El Salvador. More than 3,200 women in Guatemala, and 1,000 women in El Salvador, have been kidnapped, murdered, raped and tortured in the past 7 years.
Violence Against Women has worsened Recently ended civil wars Repatriation of criminals Worsening economy forcing women to move to cities for work and live in dangerous slums; The attitudes towards women in society.
The initiative has been applied to Latin America where the highest incidence of violence occurs: Guatemala City with the Municipality of Guatemala y Livingston San Salvador with the municipalities of San Salvador, Santa Tecla and Suchitoto.
Raise awareness of Gender Based Violence Media campaigns Public debate among policy makers Advocacy among communities, women s organizations and networks. Zonta International
Building to suit the safety needs of women in inner cities will benefit the poorest neighbourhoods where approximately 3,500 people live. Entire neighbourhoods of women and their families will benefit from improved urban planning and policies.
The project will strengthen the rights of, and reduce violence against, the women of San Salvador and Guatemala City. The project will build on a larger, ongoing UNIFEM regional effort, in four other Latin America urban areas.
Providing information on gender and urban security Adding a gender perspective into urban safety policies. Providing tools to influence urban policymaking.
Launch campaigns on women s rights and security in the most violent districts of the cities Empower women s organizations to influence public policies on security in neighborhoods Revise penal codes and discriminatory legislation Criminalize men s behaviours that are offensive to women in public spaces.
Understanding the link between urban violence and gender. Adding the issue of Gender Based Violence to agendas of social organizations and governments Including concerns of women s organizations in urban development plans
Allowing women s networks and organizations to influence public policies about gender issues and women s safety Providing information about violence against women and urban security through regional channels. Zonta International
Linking improved urban planning and reduced gender based violence Sensitizing the public to violence against women issues in urban areas. Developing public policies, with gender perspective, that help ensure women s safety.
Ensuring decision-makers, municipal planners and local women s NGOs work together to adapt policies and urban planning. Zonta International Providing information about successful practices to the public, media and relevant stakeholders.
Women s organizations submitted proposals to improve public spaces and identify insecure spaces. An abandoned house used by drug addicts and alcoholics has been made into a day shelter for people living with HIV/AIDS. Women created a map highlighting dangerous places that might give rise to violence and local authorities committed to implement the recommendations.
Second Phase Increasing visibility and the impact of VAW in cities by distributing information Zonta International Incorporating the issue of VAW and HIV/AIDS Duplicating the results from all districts to the capital cities of the two countries.
Primary Partnerships Women s organizations and key municipal authorities Media to raise awareness about gender discrimination and security risk in urban areas. UN, international development agencies and Zonta International.
The safe cities for women approach is a relatively new area of activism While conditions in Guatemala and El Salvador are challenging, they do not diminish women s capacity to make their cities and their lives safer. Urban planning and policies can ensure that women are not at risk of violence because of their urban environment.
Recently, UNIFEM and UN-HABITAT promoted the implementation of a global program on safe cities for women and girls, to carry out strategic safe cities for women actions in different countries worldwide. The new Global Programme on Safe Cities Free of Violence against Women and Girls builds on Zonta International s efforts to promoting safer cities in Latin America.
The women of Guatemala and El Salvador thank you for your contributions to the Safe Cities project Please continue to give