Programs action medeor

Health services and women's sexual and reproductive health in particular have been put on the back burner to prioritize the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The global trend of increasing gender-based violence (GBV) under the restrictions of the pandemic is also becoming apparent in Guatemala - in 2021, 543 femicides were reported nationwide, an average of 227 reports of violence against women and five reports of missing women were received every day.
The Totonicapán project region

Totonicapán is located in the western highlands of Guatemala and has a total population of 418,560. 98% of the inhabitants, most of whom live in rural areas, describe themselves as members of the Maya people.

During the pandemic years, the department was predominantly in lockdown, which, in addition to a severe economic slump, led to intra-family tensions and domestic violence for many families. In 2021, 1,058 reports of GBV (rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, femicide) were filed in the department of Totonicapán alone. The number of unreported violent crimes against women is likely to be much higher, as this type of crime in particular often goes unreported due to stigmatization, a lack of support for those affected and a lack of knowledge about reporting channels.

Due to the curfews, many victims did not dare to leave their homes or had no way of contacting the relevant authorities to ask for help or report the crime due to the restrictions on public transport. Many were subjected to physical and psychological violence and sexual assault by their aggressors for months on end.
The project: running a women's advice center and improving women's living conditions

Due to the school closures since 2020, children of both sexes in the project region, which is already caught up in a spiral of violence, were and are increasingly affected by physical violence and underage girls in particular are at risk of sexual assault: In Totonicapán, a total of 2,125 pregnancies and births to young mothers aged between 10 and 19 were registered last year, 51 of which were to girls aged between 10 and 14. Most teenage pregnancies are considered to be the result of sexual violence, which almost always comes from male family members.

The situation of women and girls in the Guatemalan highlands, which has changed significantly for the worse as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted action medeor and the BMZ to continue funding the women's counseling center in Totonicapán, which was set up in the preliminary project, and to expand the project activities: In addition to psychological, medical, social and legal care for women and girls who have experienced violence, additional measures were introduced to improve the financial situation and food security of the target group. In the department, six out of ten families live on less than two dollars a day, and chronic child malnutrition is estimated at 70% in the department of Totonicapán. Families of single mothers in the project region are particularly affected, especially as they have few opportunities to be productive outside the home and generate income. For this reason, courses are offered to users of the women's advice center in which they learn skills to become economically active and financially independent of their ex-partners.

In addition to these concrete measures to support and empower women in the project region, the project also includes measures aimed at raising awareness and support for the prevention of violence against women in politics and society - including through cooperation with the mostly male-dominated indigenous self-government of the department as well as with the judiciary, authorities and politicians, but also through information and awareness-raising campaigns via radio and social media.

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