MADRE and LIMPAL Colombia: Shaping Leaders
As part of a program that works to strengthen the social and community leadership abilities of women heads of families in the city of Cartagena, LIMPAL (with the support of MADRE) organized a workshop called “Shaping Leaders” in March 2007. This event encouraged participants to work together to identify instances of domestic and sexual violence and its impact in their lives, while exploring alternatives to that violence.
With the participation of a group of 15 women, the workshop focused on their need for safety and security, and the legal instruments available to them to demand those rights. The women also received counseling and legal assistance from professionals working with LIMPAL. As part of the same project, the women worked with 30 young girls and boys, with the aim of strengthening the young peoples’ identity and self-esteem. The women and youth participants worked to identify and develop the tools necessary to confront domestic and sexual violence, and also explored the role of political participation in the search for non-violent alternatives.
LIMPAL, through initiatives such as this, empowers women throughout Colombia to report their experiences of violence and confront the shame and stigma that keeps communities silent about these issues. Moving forward, LIMPAL is exploring methods of organizing grassroots support groups throughout the region, and ensuring that the interests and power of these women’s groups are taken into account by local elected officials and government bodies.
LIMPAL would like to express its gratitude to MADRE and MADRE members for the unconditional support that enabled the implementation of this workshop and this process, and for the enduring belief that the women of LIMPAL can, and will, construct another world, without violence or discrimination.
