National Campaign Engages Latino Men in the Domestic Violence Movement | Pierre R. Berastaín
In the United States, violence against women and girls is an epidemic that impacts one in four women in their lifetimes, a statistic similar to that for Latinas (20-25 percent of Latinas experience domestic violence). 25 percent of U.S. adolescent girls have reported that they have been pressured to perform sexual acts and 30 percent of girls (ages 15 to 19) who are murdered every year in this country die by the hands of an abusive partner.
In our continued efforts to raise awareness about and eradicate violence against women, the National Latin@ Network, a project of Casa de Esperanza, has launched the national Te Invito campaign, whose purpose is to engage men and boys in the fight against domestic violence. The domestic violence movement is recognizing that we all need to do more to elevate the voices of Latino men who reject violence and work to model and promote healthy relationships. Men and boys play a critical role in this work, not only because the majority of the violence is perpetrated by men, but also because there are many more men and boys who do not use violence than those who do.
Regrettably, while we hear that most men have a desire to participate, many do not know how to become involved in the anti-domestic violence movement. As is our practice, we started looking for solutions to this issue by asking our community. We interviewed Latin@ men and women from the St. Paul/Minneapolis metropolitan area and asked why it is important for Latino men to be involved in ending domestic violence, and how they would like to become more engaged in the work. Among other topics, participants discussed gender roles, socialization, education, violence and culture. Overwhelmingly, we heard, especially from the men…”Invite us.” We also heard, from both men and women, that men listen to other men.
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