"I Do Not Want Any More Violence".

The Colectivo Mujeres Malhuen (Malhuen Women's Collective) has two decades of experience working in the Lo Hermida neighborhood in the southeast area of Santiago, Chile's capital. Lo Hermida is a densely-populated sector of poor and working-class families with modest incomes. It is also characterized by an active community life with numerous sport teams, religious groups, women's organizations, etc. Lo Hermida also has many small businesses and open markets that stimulate extensive movement and activity within the community daily.

The Malhuen Women's Collective developed four activities to disseminate information and raise consciousness on the issue of violence against women. Inherent in this initiative was the discussion and exchange of ideas, along with the recommendation of methods to prevent and reject violence.

One of the group's activities was a communications campaign. First, the members of the Collective selected a number of slogans that they felt best communicated the message they wanted to transmit:

* "We are no longer an anonymous murmur of praise or rituals of obedience."

* "Violence against women, our daily bread."

* "I do not want any more violence."

* "Violence against women violates our human rights."

These messages were used on flyers and posters distributed and posted at local markets and in various strategic areas of high visibility and circulation. The messages were directed at the entire population of Lo Hermida, roughly equal numbers of adult women and men, and youth of both genders.

Malhuen Women's Collective then organized a consciousness-raising event in the El Valle farmers' market. Large panels with information on violence against women and the commemoration of November 25 were set up, and women and the general population were encouraged to denounce acts of violence affecting their everyday lives. Malhuen had created a manual to guide interaction with the public based on interviews conducted with community members prior to the event.

In addition, the Collective offered workshops on personal development and prevention of domestic violence with groups of women, children and adolescents utilizing an informal educational methodology.

Finally, Malhuen invited different sectors of the population to participate in a discussion forum on the well-being of those living in Lo Hermida. In this format, community issues were linked to the topic of domestic violence. In attendance were health care workers from the local clinic La Faena, police officers, social workers employed by the municipality, representatives from neighborhood groups, as well as a large audience comprised of community members of all ages. This wide array of participants made for a lively and interesting debate where many ideas and opinions were shared.

In support of these activities, the members of the collective participated in a radio program called "Neither Marys nor Magdalenes" on the local radio station Nuevo Mundo (New World), where they shared experiences of working on the subject of domestic violence.

The Malhuen Women's Collective project was especially successful in its ability to create and promote events with very limited resources, taking advantage of a variety of action strategies at the community level. Furthermore, the project achieved results beyond its expectations by carrying out an event that had a significant impact on the population and opened channels of communication on a topic central to human rights and citizenship.

For more information, contact:

Maria Riveros

Colectivo Mujeres Malhuen

Sta. Maria 2651

Lo Hermida

Santiago, Chile 

Tel: [phone]