The needs of the Honduran shelters are many and over several years they have established a network to unify efforts and promote alliances for different coordination and advocacy, one of the most important objectives being the development of the proposed Shelter Law to ensure the current operation of the shelters and the new shelters to be created according to need.
Fundación ETEA and Casa Hogar, through the project “Attention and prevention of gender violence, trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in Santa Rosa de Copán“, financed by the Andalusian Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AACID), have promoted the work of revision and adaptation of the opinion for approval in the National Congress.
This action counted with the participation of the “Calidad de Vida” Association, which promoted the advocacy campaign for the approval of this law with the support of the rest of the shelters, and the Intibucan Women’s Organization “Las Hormigas”. OXFAM and TROCAIRE also joined this process as cooperation agencies. Locally, the Network Against Gender Violence, an institutional platform from where the issues of care and prevention of gender violence in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Copán are addressed, also adheres to this advocacy campaign, recognizing the work that Casa Hogar performs as a reference shelter in the west of the country and the need for all shelters to have a law that guarantees the care and efficient operation of the same.
The role of shelters in the lives of victims of violence
Honduras has nine shelters for women victims of gender violence. The constant struggle of women’s movements and some civil society groups is what led to their creation and operation.
A shelter for a victim of violence guarantees to save her life, recover her self-esteem, heal wounds from within and redefine a new way of living free of violence. These specialized care spaces are staffed by multidisciplinary personnel to provide adequate care to women victims of violence together with their minor sons and daughters.