Report about deaf victims of gender motivated violence in Colombia

One in every three women will experience gender motivated violence (GMV) in her life. According to UN estimates, the risk is double for women with disabilities. They often depend heavily on their abusers, don’t have a safety net to fall back on and tend to endure the abuse for longer.

In this report, Nicole meets Emperatriz. She is a deaf woman from El Pozón, one of the poorest neighborhoods of Cartagena, Colombia. She is a mother of two and a victim of domestic abuse.

Speaking up against abuse is hard for anyone. But it’s almost impossible for those who can’t speak up at all.

The local NGO “Manos para la vida” (Hands for life) facilitates inclusive empowerment workshops. There, Emperatriz gets together with other women from her community, deaf and hearing, to find ways to stand up against violence. In workshops, the women learn about their rights, meet women who share their struggle and build a network of sorority.

But, as this report shows, it takes more to break the vicious cycle of normalized violence.