Timea Mozsi
I
found an article about a woman, a survivor of sexual abuse, who established a
foundation in Cochabamba, Bolivia to help others fight against sexual violence.
The article described the injustice that Brisa De Angulo suffered as a child.
She tried to speak up about the sexual abuse that she endured from an adult
family member, but many in her community were trying to silence her with
enormous threats. Some even attempted to burn down De Angulo’s home to keep her
quiet. Despite all the efforts to keep the young girl’s mouth shut, the
community was unsuccessful in keeping De Angulo’s story in the dark; she could
not pretend like the injustice was not present.
At
this point it became clear that this is not just a personal story, but a global
concern. In 2004, 17-year-old De Angulo established Fundación Una Brisa de
Esperanza, or A Breeze of Hope Foundation. “At its center in Cochabamba, Bolivia, the group provides
free and comprehensive psychological, legal, medical and social services for
child and adolescent survivors of sexual abuse.” They also work with pregnant
women, entire families, and give workshop trainings to people working in the
government, police officers, judges, prosecutors, and children in school. The
purpose of attacking this issue from so many angles is to spread awareness and
reduce the level of gender inequality that exists so heavily. De Angulo
attempted to take her own case to a judge, something that very few people do because
they are essentially always turned away.
We, in Naperville, likely not see the issues
of gender inequality as much as it is still present in the rest of the world. Is
this a culture clash? Feminism is obviously a way of viewing this issue. One
thing is for sure, these types of injustices need to stop. I am really happy to
hear that De Angulo was able to push through the extreme unpleasantry and go
against the ways of her country to stand up for what is right. And now, is helping
so many others do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment