Frontera NorteSur, September 1999

Although there has been a decrease in reports of women's bodies appearing in the desert outside of Cd. Juárez murdered, raped and tortured, the families of victims continue to demand solutions to crimes that have happened over the last six years, and families of women whose whereabouts remain a mystery seek answers also. But as we approach the 21st century, NGOs, politicians, writers and activists grow more determined to educate both the residents and the authorities in border communities on the important issues surrounding violence against women.

Victim's Sister Fights For Justice And For The Return Of A Normal Life

Guillermina Gonzáles Flores, the sister of María Inés Sagrario, a Cd. Juárez murder victim, whose crime has never been solved, broke a silence of protest recently to speak against reports that she had been given financial support from the state goverment. She continues to demand justice for the nearly 200 families of female murder victims killed over the last six years in the border city.

González said that the reports that she has accepted state money for her tuition are absurd. She is going to school and paying on her own. Gonzáles works as a leader of Voices Without Sound (Voces Sin Eco), an NGO in Cd. Juárez that fights to bring solidarity to victims' families and pressure the authorities to resolve the numerous unsolved sexual murders.

"I do not want to be a hero," the activist said, adding that she avoided the publicity after her sister's death and just wants to live the normal life of a young woman. Gonzáles also expressed sadness that the NGO's have grown divided and have insufficient communication, but she will never stop working with them.

She remains active, however, and accompanied a group of victims' families last month to Cd. México to speak to the U.N. representative Asma Jahangir who arrived in México to investigate the murders of women and other human rights offenses. "The irony is that these people had to travel so far to be heard."

Above all, she says, she will not stop fighting until all of the murders are solved.

Another Woman Found Dead In Cd. Juárez; Prosecutor Says Drug Overdose

The body of Bertha Luz Briones Palacios, 41, was found by a neighbor on August 1 shot, severely beaten, and badly decomposed according to paramedics. However, the state's Special Task Force on the Investigations of the Murders of Women later reported that she had died of a drug overdose and was a devil worshiper.

Briones lived in the colonia Monterrey, which was also where her body was found. According to the state police (PJE) authorities discovered an altar for carrying out satanic rituals in a dimly lit room which also contained witchcraft paraphenalia inside the victim's home.

In addition to the wounds on her body, she had tracks and according to the state autopsy she died of an overdose of an unspecified drug. According to her sister-in-law Briones was a heroin addict.

There are still no suspects in the murder and there has been no published explanation for the condition of the woman's body.

Woman Disappeared From Cd. Juárez

Rosa Velia Corder, 24, disappeared five months ago according to the family members and her disappearance remains a mystery to her relatives. Family members approached state police on August 11, looking for information in the investigation but were told that there was no new developments.

According to her sister, Velia Cordero's disappearance is very strange because she left her money and her six children in the house, and the family is therefore certain that something awful has happened.

The sister said that Velia Cordero was living with two men, both from other cities, and both currently in jail, however the search for information in the mens' hometowns revealed nothing.

Labastida Promises His Administration Would Empower Women

Francisco Labastida Ochoa, lead candidate for the ruling party of the country, the PRI, visited Cd. Juárez on August 11 and announced to a group of over 900 women that women have a future in politics if he is elected president. "If I am elected," he said, "you have an ally in me."

Labastida told woman that they represent the best of the country and that the country can go forward only if it has the best at its side. He wants to create a National Women's Institute with its own deputy attorney general who would advocate for women's issues. However, the candidate also warned the audience that they should respect the values set by the PRI. He told them that unless they "stop being victims of their own insecurity, insults and delinquency," their participating in politics will never be a reality.

There was an increase in the number of government and elected positions held by women in Sinaloa when Labastida was governor of that Mexican state. He also created a special prosecutor's position to deal with crimes against women.

National NGO Helps Establish Casa Amiga

Casa Amiga is the first rape crisis/domestic violence center in Cd. Juárez and the only one on the U.S. México border. It opened in February of this year and has received major support from the International Trauma Resource Center (ITRC), a private non-profit organization that is dedicated to empowering groups suffering from trauma by providing educational and counseling skills to community organizations serving those populations. Brian Barger, award winning U.S. journalist and board member of ITRC, recently published a report to the Board of Directors which details the immense work ITRC has done for Casa Amiga. Barger agreed to allow FNS to publish this report in its entirety ennumerating the accomplishments and challenges Casa Amiga has experienced with the assistance of ITRC and its other supporters. If interested in more information on the ITRC or Casa Amiga please email us frontera@nmsu.edu.

First, My apologies for taking so long to report back to you on developments of the ITRC's work in Mexico. Things have been very busy. The rape crisis center in Juarez, Mexico is consolidating nicely. We plan to use this model to organize new counseling centers in several Mexican cities, in Tijuana, Chihuahua, Reynosa, Matamoros, and now perhaps Guadalajara. Since I see each of these projects as prototypes for eventually developing community-based trauma counseling centers globally, I believe clear ongoing evaluations of the work are critical to learning what works and what doesn't.

In short, the model is based on an activist, grassroots approach in which the ITRC and its volunteer supporters and trainers can empower local communities with basic counseling skills so communities themselves can engage in healing the individual and the community wounds of trauma from violence from sexual assault, family violence and child abuse.

1. During a two-week trip to Mexico in July, I was able to assist in the internal consolidation of Casa Amiga, the rape crisis and domestic violence counseling center in Juarez. The center now has 3 full-time staff people: Esther Chavez Cano, the Executive Director who is one of Mexico's foremost advocates for women's rights, Maria Elena Villegas, a nurse, who is Coordinator of Volunteer counselors, and Sylvia Domingues, who, as a recent psychology graduate, is performing her two-year required community service at Casa Amiga.

2. We conducted an exciting two-day training program on trauma and counseling skills, on the weekend of July 17-18, led by Dr. Antonio Martinez, a Chicago-based psychologist who cofounded the Kovler Center For Survivors of Torture. He brought with him the wisdom of many years counseling torture survivors, and a deep understanding of Mexican society and culture, a combination which provided a deeply enriching experience for all the counselors and staff. We videotaped his presentations and hope to incorporate them into future training. We now have 54 volunteer counselors who have completed a based 40-hour course. Based on recent experience, we have decided that ongoing continuing education programs are critical to further enhance counseling skills development.

3. We had planned another two-day training session with Laura Zarate and Annette Clay Burhus, from TAASA, the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault for the last weekend in July, but decided to postpone it until we had a complete group of 25 new volunteers. At this point, we are considering the end of September.

4. We have established several circles of specialists in their fields who are assisting us.

• We have a circle of psychologists, overseen by staff psychologist Sylvia Domingues, and assisted by a psychiatrist at the Hospital General. They will accept referrals, and will are becoming an integral part of case supervision and evaluation.
• We have established a circle of lawyers who assist our clients with a multitude of legal needs.
• We also have a circle of physicians who also accept referrals, and will become involved in a pharmaceutical component of the work not yet established. This work will be overseen by our staff nurse, Maria Elena Villegas

5. Through an agreement with the local police chief, Casa Amiga now hosts sensitivity courses for the Juarez police Dept. We host 5-hour courses every 2 weeks with groups of 25 police officers, until we run the entire force through it. Three experienced officers from the El Paso Police Dept. are leading the courses. They are Sgt. Pete Osequeda, Lt. Millie Hinojosos, and Detective Jesus Terrones. We are adding a new component to this training, an overview of local Juarez laws and legal procedures, which is being organized by a group of local volunteer attorneys in coordination with the Juarez Police Dept. legal counsel.

6. Through the police chief, Mr. Benavides, we now have a systematic relationship in which Casa Amiga volunteers are called in every domestic violence, rape and child abuse case. This has propelled us into a quick expansion to a 24-hour a day service.

7. In a meeting with Catholic Bishop Renato Ascencio, July 21, he agreed to hold a reflection with all of Juarez's Catholic priests in early September regarding the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence and incest. This means that finally, priests and nuns with whom we have been quietly working will now be officially sanctioned to be involved and will open the parish doors to masses dealing with these issues.

8. During a trip to Chihuahua July 19, some 150 miles south of Juarez, we held meetings with the women's caucus of the sate assembly and others, about opening another center there, adopting the Juarez community-based model. The principals include Rep. Patricia Borunda Lara, Rep. Alma Gomez Caballero, Rep. Maria Teresa Ortuno Gurza and Lic. Margarita Munoz Villalobos. A local businesswoman, Korina Bafidis, will also be involved. During the next two months, they will be holding open discussions with women's groups, community organizations and business groups to broaden support for the project. The ITRC will be deeply involved in assisting as that project develops.

9. Extensive recent press coverage about Casa Amiga and its services has drawn in many new clients. Almost to a person, they are women whose husbands are beating them, whose husbands are raping their children, and they themselves were raped by their fathers as children. The pervasive cycles of incest, family violence and rape are so chilling. At the same time, each new woman and child coming through our doors expresses great relief that a service now exists for support.

10. We have established a popular education committee, which is now developing plans and priorities. We agreed primary school children and their teachers need to be first, for several reasons: They are the most voiceless and the most damaged, and perhaps they can break through the dark clouds of shame and guilt and learn to step forward to seek help for their families. We are also taking advantage of the coming weeks before school resumes to organize programs. Already, Esther Chavez Cano held a well-publicized conference with teachers about child abuse and sexual violence.

11. The business community has been providing invaluable support. Roberto Urrea, president of the Association of Maquiladoras, AMAC is on Casa Amiga's Board of Directors. His organization, individual plant managers and the Fundacion del Empresario Chihuahuense have provided office furniture. copiers, computers and office supplies, and are opening their doors to Casa Amiga seminars with their workers. Casa Amiga will also be training factory staff medical personnel as rape crisis counselors.

12. We held a meeting with members the Juarez City Council in a bid to persuade them to continue providing funding for the three staff positions and rent for the house. A full vote is pending.

13. In a meeting with Juarez Mayor Gustavo Elizondo, he reaffirmed his strong support for Casa Amiga, and said he would lobby the city council to continue - and to expand its support.

14. Working with the new community policing unit of the Juarez Police, we held a discussion with about 100 youngsters, members of a newly formed "Youth Patrol," about child abuse and family violence. Maria Lourdes Elizondo, wife of the mayor and Casa Amiga Board member, also attended. Several people came forward following the talk and have become Casa Amiga clients.

15. We have decided to hire a fourth staff person for Casa Amiga, a secretary/receptionist in order to free up the others to fulfill their expanding missions.

16. A young singer / composer came in and offered to write northern Mexican Corridos, or ballards, regarding the roles and responsibilities of men in society, and of the rights of women and children. I hope that we can begin competing directly with the very popular "narco-ballards" now filling the airwaves on local radio.

17. A local theater group held a benefit performance for Casa Amiga July 17, a wonderful play about the evolving relationship of a man and a woman, touching on many issues.

18. We held a crash course on grant proposal writing with Casa Amiga staff and got three proposals out the door to a cultural association in Mexico City.

19. Our extensive community-wide networking in Juarez has been paying off. We have been receiving referrals from assembly plant managers and their medical staff, the local police, the state police sex crimes unit, political parties, press reporters and from FEMAP, an organization of health campaigners.

20. Thanks to the support of Elizabeth Toomer and Jonathan Dicks in Washington, we are building an ITRC website, which will offer resources in both English and Spanish. We now have a domain name, www.traumaresource.org, but still need to build the site.

21. Elizabeth is now also conducting the groundwork to build a database to develop a solid statistical foundation for our work.

22. I am returning to Juarez August 31 to help consolidate community outreach programs and several other tasks.

Thanks to he support for so many people, the ITRC work has far exceeded my expectations.

But there have been some setbacks:

1. The Chihuahua State Attorney General, Arturo Gonzalez Rascon, adamantly refused to allow us to conduct forensic nursing training in Juarez to help professionalize - and sensitize - medical exams of rape survivors. We had requested he allow us to train state police medical staff as well as physicians at the Hospital General and the Hospital de La Familia, to offer sexual assault survivors a choice of where they wished to receive medical treatment. He refused, insisting the state police physicians were "extremely competent, and needed no training from the outside."

He also said there was no need for officers from the sate police to pass through our police sensitivity course, since, in his words, "by the time our officers graduate from the police academy, they are virtual therapists." He also continues to oppose legislation to strengthen the laws in the areas of rape, family violence and incest. Today, more than 90 percent of men actually arrested for incest or rape are freed within 24 hours.

2. I was not able to organize any get togethers with gang members as I had hoped, due to a crammed schedule.

3. I was not able to convene a men's discussion group as I had hoped, although I did find about a dozen men interested in doing so, among them the city's mayor, a television anchor, a print reporter and several others. I am hoping they will seize the initiative.

4. And finally, financing. To date, the ITRC has survived solely on the generosity of individual donors. We now have exceeded $10,000 in donations, which has helped with training, publication and telephone costs. Unfortunately, several foundations have responded to grant proposals saying the ITRC does not fit within the scope of their priorities, or because they do not support international work. I have not been able to hire the staff I hoped to have in place by this time, and have not been able to develop much of the publications support I had scheduled.

I will now turn my attention to American corporations with business interests in Mexico, and to international organizations, such as the World Healt Organization.
I believe we are developing a model for community-based counseling and outreach that has the potential to assist millions of individual trauma survivors and their communities, and help empower them to break the generational cycles of violence that is fueled by ongoing sexual and family violence and child abuse.

If you know any person, foundation or corporation which might be interested in supporting the ITRC projects, please let me know. And of course, any individual contribution you make make will help keep this project alive.

Sources: ITRC Report, El Diario, El Norte