Consulate of Mexico in Los Angeles launches campaign against domestic violence

With the beginning of the month of October, considered the month of awareness about domestic violence, the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles launched the awareness campaign “Re-Educate to break the cycle of violence” with the aim of promoting the prevention, comprehensive care for victims and the eradication of this social evil.

“Each week interviews, forums, podcasts, images and informative material will be shared in order to make visible the causes and consequences of domestic violence, as well as the various factors that produce and reproduce it in homes,” the Consulate announced..

But they will also talk about the ways in which you can work from the individual to the collective to create healthy relationships and loving and safe environments in the family.

Allied agencies of the Consulate specializing in the care and recovery of victims of domestic violence will participate, such as: Casa de la Familia and its “Love without Violence” Program, United Families, Avanza Family Services , Women's & Children's Crisis Shelter , Parents Supporting Together We Achieve More, Men with Purpose, Translatina Coalition , and the Los Angeles Attorney's Office Crime Victim Assistance Program.

The consulate invited the Mexican community to participate in the virtual events of the “Re-Educate to break the cycle of violence” campaign through the social networks of the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles.

Through these media, the various services and resources offered by the Consulate to victims of domestic violence for their recovery, care, individual and group psychotherapeutic support, shelters, legal assistance, classes for parents, health, education, counseling will be announced. financial and empowerment programs.

The Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles called on victims or those who are suffering domestic violence, regardless of gender, to come from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at its Comprehensive Assistance for Women Window. at 2401 W. 6th Street, Los Angeles, California, 90057.

They can also call 213 351 6814.

Worrying statistics

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), exposes in its statistics that on average, almost 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.

What's more, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience serious physical violence from an intimate partner, sexual violence by intimate partner contact, and/or stalking with injury, fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of services for victims and others.

On a typical day, more than 20,000 phone calls are made to domestic violence hotlines across the country.

Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crimes.

Women between the ages of 18 and 24 are the most commonly abused by an intimate partner.

Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior.

Domestic violence and weapons

The presence of a weapon in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%, and 19% of domestic violence involves a weapon

During the covid-19 pandemic, gun sales and domestic violence increased more than 20%, according to the organization Brady: United Against Gun Violence , while according to data from the Giffords Law Center , 4.5 million women in the country, have been threatened with a weapon by their domestic partner; one million have been shot and at least 600 women are shot to death each year during a domestic dispute.

Pauletta Pérez is a survivor of domestic violence by weapons. On January 2, 2010, her husband fired five shots at her, four of them in the head.

“Even though I was experiencing domestic violence, I never thought my husband would try to use a gun on me especially since he was the person I trusted the most.”

After being shot, he was able to leave the room, go downstairs and reach the front door and run to several neighbors for help.

“Imagine what it's like to open the door and see a woman bleeding profusely from the head, asking you for help because her husband just shot her,” he said.

Pandemic and domestic violence

Mayra Todd, a leader of Mujeres de Hoy , an organization against domestic violence, said that during the pandemic, abuse has increased a lot.

“This health crisis caused a lot of damage due to the isolation imposed to avoid contagion. So the victims had to put up with living with their abuser 24 hours a day; and the other problem that we observe is that the aid resources were scarce, and they continue still”.

She said that every day she has to look for shelter for women who suffer domestic violence, and she finds that the shelters are saturated and there are no spaces, nor financial help.

“Many women end up going back to their aggressor so they don't live on the streets; and we must also see that most of the mothers who live on the streets are people who left their homes with their children because they could no longer stand the aggressor”.

Mayra, who said that she herself is a survivor of domestic violence, affirmed that despite all the struggle to find assistance, you have to ask for help, and not stay in a situation of violence.

“Unfortunately, one in four undocumented people who suffer domestic violence, whether men or women, do not report it, for fear of deportation.”

But in addition, he said that help for undocumented victims is even more limited.