April 27, 2017 - Organizations Shine a Light on Violence Against Central American Women

ORGANIZATIONS SHINE A LIGHT ON VIOLENCE AGAINST CENTRAL AMERICAN WOMEN

Honduran Women’s Rights Activist Neesa Medina to Highlight Epidemic Levels of Violence Against Women and Children that Drive Migration.

WASHINGTON, DC- Alianza Americas, CARECEN-DC and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda held a briefing today to call for urgent protections for Central Americans fleeing violence and insecurity. The organizations convened this event in light of epidemic levels of violence and the much-needed relief for refugees and asylum seekers that are at risk due to the immigration executive orders issued by the Trump Administration. Honduran human rights activist Neesa Medina joined them to provide deeper insight into the reality for individuals living in the Northern Triangle and the human consequences of the U.S. harsh and inhumane new policies, particularly the violence that is driving migration from Central America.

The event organizers stressed the importance of recognizing both the physical and emotional impact of the government’s failure to protect the women and children who are fleeing violence and seeking refuge in the United States. This event is part of a larger speaking tour that has been spearheaded by Alianza Americas to provide further education to lawmakers and the public about the reality facing these women and children and why humanitarian action and policies are so important.

Honduras has one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world. One woman gets killed every 16 hours. Young people are also targets, they are recruited into gangs and threatened if they do not join. Official records show that 95% of murders in these countries are not investigated. According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, more individuals sought asylum in the last three years from 2013-2015 than in the last 15 years combined. Since the beginning of this year, however, there have been reports from migrants and immigration advocates stating that migrants presenting themselves at the Mexico/US border as asylum seekers have been turned away. In January of this year, the American Immigration Council and seven other NGO’s filed a complaint with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties protesting the “systemic denial of entry to asylum seekers.”

After years of working directly with women who have experienced domestic and sexual violence, Ms. Medina wants to give those statistics a human face. She encouraged all those present to “work together to make these women visible.” Noting that the conditions in Honduras arise from many years of policies that entrenched systemic discrimination against women, she reminded participants that “our actions have consequences, and the women of Honduras are living those consequences every day.”

Oscar Chacón Executive Director of Alianza Americas and member of NHLA, called on policymakers to focus on humane, common-sense policy responses. “Instead of making pronouncements about deporting people and border walls, our Attorney General should be making sure that we do not contribute to the rampant impunity in the region when it comes to violence against women and children,” he said. “If we want to bring security to this region, we need to address the deep inequality and structures of discrimination that are driving the violence.”

"We cannot turn our backs on the vulnerable, the poor, and those who come to the United States seeking to create a better life or those who are seeking refuge from violence and crime — especially women and children. The systemic attempts to deny entry to asylum seekers being perpetuated by this administration are inhumane," said Hector Sanchez Barba, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. "NHLA has continuously called for ending the detention of refugee seekers and families, many of whom are held in detention centers where egregious violations of basic human rights have been documented. We must stop treating refugees and asylum seekers as criminals and instead welcome and provide them with safe passage to our great nation.”

Jessica González-Rojas, Co-Chair of NHLA’s Latina Task Force and the Health Committee and Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) said, “The increased migration by Central American women and children seeking refuge at our borders has been mostly driven by the epidemic levels of gender-based violence, insecurity, and tolerance for abuse, operating within the region. While our domestic policies of walls, bans and raids continue to endanger the lives of these families, it is because of the work of brave activists, like Neesa Medina, that we are able to shed light on the pervasive conditions that impact women, especially young women, across the globe. Together, in this sisterhood founded on our shared humanity, we will continue to advocate for an end to violence against all women, as we raise our voices to proudly say that reproductive justice has no borders.”

“It is important that we have an exchange of information with stakeholder in the US and stakeholders in the countries of origin to get the full understanding of what the factors that force people to migrate are, what migrants go through in the countries of transit and what they experience in the country of reception” says Abel Nunez, Executive Director of the Central American Resource Network (CARECEN) in DC.

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ABOUT ALIANZA AMERICAS

Alianza Americas is a network of Latin American and Caribbean immigrant organizations in the United States. The Alianza represents a critical voice on issues that have an impact on the lives of immigrants and all families throughout the Americas. Its forty-five organizational members represent more than 100,000 families across 12 states in the United States. It is the only national organization in the U.S. that is rooted in Latino/Caribbean immigrant communities and works transnationally to create an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable way of life.

Visit us at www.alianzaamericas.org

ABOUT CENTRAL AMERICAN RESOURCE NETWORK (CARECEN-DC)

CARECEN was founded in 1981 to protect the rights of refugees arriving from conflict in Central America and to help ease their transition by providing legal services. Today our programs provide direct services in immigration, housing and citizenship while also promoting empowerment, civil rights advocacy and civic training for Latinos. CARECEN’s mission is to foster the comprehensive development of the Latino population/ community in the Washington metropolitan region by providing direct service, while promoting grassroots empowerment, civic engagement and human rights advocacy.

Visit us at http://www.carecendc.org/

ABOUT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AGENDA

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 46 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org.

NHLA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS