Juarez's War On Rape
Last year RAINNews reported on the tragic situation in Juarez, Mexico, where women were routinely raped and murdered, and the establishment of the International Trauma Resource Center to help victims in Juarez. The result of ITRC's work was Casa Amiga, a counseling center that has aided hundreds of victims in its first year.
Casa Amiga's executive director, Esther Chavez Cano, was in Washington, D.C., on the agency's one-year anniversary to address a group of human rights activists at Amnesty International.
Chavez spoke of the continuing wave of brutal rapes and murders that has now taken more than 200 young women's lives, and of the growing numbers of rape, domestic violence and incest cases Casa Amiga has attended since opening its doors.
During its first year, Casa Amiga helped 318 victims, including 57 children who were raped. In addition to a 24-hour hotline, Casa Amiga offers walk-in counseling services and group therapy sessions.
With help from US rape crisis centers and trauma specialists, Casa Amiga has trained 106 volunteer counselors to complement its four-person staff.
The most recent group of 32 counselors graduated in January from training led by Imelda and Vanessa Talamantes of the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women. Casa Amiga also receives ongoing support from STARS, the rape crisis center in El Paso, TX.
Casa Amiga was cofounded by the Maryland-based ITRC, which organizes counselor-training and other support. ITRC is seeking financial support to open new centers in Chihuahua and Tijuana in coming months. It is also recruiting Spanish-speaking trauma specialists who can lead counselor training programs and is encouraging established rape crisis and domestic violence centers to develop sister relationships with centers in Mexico.
For information, contact ITRC founder Brian Barger at 301.608.8415 or bkbarger@erols.com.
Found at http://www.rainn.org/