Creating Safe Space in a Challenging Landscape: Empowerment for Rural Women in Nicaragua

Lori K Sudderth

doi:10.5204/ijcjsd.v9i1.1493

Abstract

Programs and policies addressing gendered violence in impoverished rural areas in developing countries face a number of challenges: high rates of intimate partner violence, low reporting rates, cultural restrictions on women’s employment, lack of education and adequate healthcare, limited access to legal options and social services, and corruption in the criminal justice system. These social contexts in which anonymity is low and patriarchal notions of gender are especially persistent, are challenging in terms of creating safe space for victims of intimate violence. Even where legal interventions are available, the outcomes often favor the perpetrators, making this option less attractive and in some cases, dangerous. Because of these barriers, victims of intimate partner violence in rural settings rely more often on informal or community networks of support rather than formal authorities and legal sanctions to stop the violence. Consequently, addressing intimate partner violence in rural areas in developing countries requires more than a criminal justice response; it requires community intervention, empowering rural women economically and socially. This article describes one program in particular that attempts to empower rural women in Nicaragua, and the implications for creating safe space for victims of violence in challenging contexts.

Highlights

The 63rd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women—focusing on social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (UN Women 2019)—narrowed attention to the underserved population of women in rural villages in developing countries who have few options to escape intimate partner violence and limited access to social services
Given that survivors of intimate partner violence in rural areas in developing countries are more likely than their urban counterparts to utilise community links for coping with, or escaping from, intimate violence, policy and practice solutions should include methods for changing the norms in those communities
If safe spaces cannot be accessed outside the community, one option is to create them within the community

Summary

Introduction

The 63rd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women—focusing on social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (UN Women 2019)—narrowed attention to the underserved population of women in rural villages in developing countries who have few options to escape intimate partner violence and limited access to social services. The inadequate criminal justice response to instances of intimate partner violence in rural areas of the developing world calls for the creation of an alternative policy approach that supports survivors and that intensifies the need for prevention work. Rural women in developing countries are less likely to have options for escaping intimate partner violence due to many unaddressed reasons—insufficient support from social services (e.g., there are fewer shelters in rural areas), a limited understanding of laws and legal options, more traditional gender restrictions and consequences for divorce, a lack of education, a high level of poverty and other obstacles to women’s employment and financial independence (Kids in Need of Defense and Human Rights Center Fray Matías de Córdova 2017; Sagot 2005; Schuler, Bates and Islam 2008; Naved and Persson 2005; Salazar et al 2012; Sayam and Khan 2012). Due to the infrequency of sanctions, rural women may feel that they are safer not reporting crimes to authorities (Kids in Need of Defense and Human Rights Center Fray Matías de Córdova 2017; Sagot 2005)

Partner Violence in Nicaragua

Conclusion