International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Today is UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The status of women around the world still leaves much to be desired. Women and children account for over 80% of the casualties of war, as well as 80% of the 40 million people in world who are displaced from their homes as a result of violent conflict.

Sexual violence as a tool of war has left hundreds of thousands of women raped, wounded, and infected with HIV/AIDS. Violence against women not only impacts the life of the woman, but can destroy her family and community.

But there is hope. In honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women we would like to feature extraordinary Survivor Corps women who have risen above the trauma of violence and given back to others.

Patricia is the Coordinator of the Burundian Women’s Lawyers Association, a Survivor Corps partner. Every day she meets with women who need her help, from litigation to putting food on the table.

“In 1994, at the beginning of the war, my family was killed. My father, my uncle, my cousin, four sisters…in total, 25 members of my family were killed. Years later when I returned to my village I found people were very, very poor, even those who killed my family. I had to forgive. I am a survivor. Now I can see the future and I am able to help women recover their rights and fight for equality in Burundi. I think about 90% of women in this country have been affected by the war. We have to forgive and see the future.”

On the other side of the world in Colombia, Amalicia works for Survivor Corps partner Coorporacion Conciudadania on a peer support program called Pasos y Abrazos (Steps and Hugs). The program connects women who have suffered violence or poverty or lost family members as a result of ongoing violence in the country. They support each other, work together towards community reconciliation and rebuilding, and reach out to other women affected by violence.

Like many of the women in Colombia, Amalicia lost many family members in the brutal Colombian conflict. During group support sessions with Pasos y Abrazos, Amalicia shares not only her story of survival, but her heart rending and inspiring poetry. Amalicia's poems are an invitation to heal and begin a conversation about the future. The arts can be a powerful tool for healing and transformation. Groups like Pasos y Abrazos create a safe space where survivors can express both the pain and the beauty of survivorship.

Women like Amalicia and Patricia are many. Women involved in the Survivor Corps programs are reaching out to each other and even to former enemies to break the cycles of violence and victimization and build a peaceful future together.