WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY RESOURCES: EL SALVADOR
Civil Society and NGO Reports, Papers and Statements | UN Documents | Government Statements and Reports | Books, Journals and Articles

UNIFEM WOMEN, WAR AND PEACE WEB PORTAL: EL SALVADOR

Civil Society and NGO Reports, Papers and Statements

No Rest: Abuses Against Child Domestics in El Salvador
Human Rights Watch, January 15, 2004
Tens of thousands of girls in El Salvador work as domestics, a form of labor that makes them particularly vulnerable to physical abuse and sexual harassment, Human Rights Watch charged in a report released today. The report, “No Rest: Abuses Against Child Domestics in El Salvador,” called on the Salvadoran government to include domestic workers, who are almost exclusively girls and young women, in its program to address hazardous child labor.

Boletina 2003: Prevención de la violencia, la participación política de las mujeres, la recuperación y fomento de la memoria histórica como parte del ejercicio ciudadano y mas
Asociación de Mujeres por la Dignidad y la Vida (Las Dignas), 2003
For other Las Dignas publications click here

Adding Value: Women’s Contributions to Reintegration and Reconstruction in El Salvador
Women Waging Peace, Executive Summary, November 2003
The study documents women’s ongoing contribution to reconstruction and assesses how considerations of gender issues can improve disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) program efforts in post-conflict countries worldwide. The success of El Salvador’s peace process and DDR efforts is, in many ways, the result of women being present in negotiations and active in implementing official programs and civil society initiatives. Despite these contributions, there has been limited acknowledgement or support for their efforts. In the few communities where women were supported, they have shown their commitment to leadership and development. They represent immense social capital and are indicative of the vast untapped potential of women across the country.

Rehabilitation and development project for war-torn areas in the Department of Chalatenango
International Fund for Agricultural Development, January 2001
After the Peace Accords were signed in 1992, indicating the willingness of Salvadorans to reconstruct their country and society, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) designed a rehabilitation and development project (known as Prochalate), in collaboration with the Government of El Salvador aimed at restoring social and economic structure in the department of Chalatenango, a region that was severely devastated by civil strife. In order to address the high incidence of poverty among women-headed households, the project actively involves women, focusing on activities designed exclusively for them. These include gender training focused in different productive skills as well as management and finance. As most of the women were left widowed after the war, the project established a daycare programme for children, enabling women to work. Although they are skilled producers, they have difficulty in obtaining land, credit and training services. Thus Prochalate has provided training, support and credit to enable them to establish microenterprises. This training has helped men recognize the role of women in the production strategy. Local teachers and schools have also received education on gender issues.

Refugee Women in El Salvador and Guatemala: Challenges and Lessons of Reintegration
International Center for Research on Women, April 2000
The studies considered in this report traced the experiences of women who were among the 20,000 Salvadorans who crossed the border into Honduras. The research teams visited women who went through the ‘refugee experience’ in order to examine their lives, options, and attitudes during and since the return from exile. The experience of women in the unlikely context of refugee camps empowered them to learn new skills and to organize for the purpose of collective action. Unfortunately, upon their return and with the end of armed conflict in their region this personal progress came to an end as they assumed more traditional roles within the household.

Exile and their Application in Peacetime: A Qualitative Study of Salvadoran Refugee Women
Las Mujeres por la Dignidad y la Vida (Las Dignas), 1999
From 1979-92, many Salvadorans abandoned their homes and lands to escape internal conflict and civil war between the Farabundo Martí Liberation Front (FMLN) and the government. As a result, citizens were subjected to persecution and murder. By 1984, a quarter of the population was either internally displaced or refugees. Many of the poorest inhabitants of rural areas crossed into Honduras to live in refugee camps, which became known for their high degree of organization and community cohesion. During their time spent in the camps, women learned new skills and challenged traditional roles. In 1987, they began returning to El Salvador, bringing with them communal systems of education, medical care, and production. Although the women had high hopes, after the 1992 Peace Accords, circumstances forced them to set aside their new ideas and skills and revert to their former, more submissive roles. During the conflict, Las Mujeres por la Dignidad y la Vida (“Women for Dignity and Life”)—a nongovernmental organization commonly known as Las Dignas—analyzed women’s shifting roles. In 1998, the organization documented women’s experiences during exile and repatriation and explored their roles in conflict and post-conflict settings. Las Dignas provides vocational training, education, and reproductive, sexual, and mental health programs for women.

Gender, Conflict and Reintegration: An Analysis of Household Evidence from El Salvador
International Center for Research on Women, 1999
The International Center for Research on Women studied the interaction between armed conflict, the flight of refugees, and the internal displacement of people in El Salvador, particularly with regard to economic consequences for households and individuals. The study aimed to explore the use of survey instruments to identify repatriated and internally displaced individuals and households. And to determine whether these populations were disproportionately likely to be poor or to reside in female-maintained households.

After the Peace: Women in Post-Conflict Reconstruction
International Center for Research on Women, November 1998
In the past decade, many countries have embarked upon the difficult transition from armed conflict toward reconciliation and reconstruction. The international community's role in this transition has shifted from narrow humanitarian and relief activities to more comprehensive efforts to foster sustainable peace. This requires the full participation of all citizens. Despite a multitude of challenges, women's groups in El Salvador have taken advantage of opportunities to participate in new ways at the national and local levels.

UN Documents

Preliminary Note on Special Rapporteur's Missions to El Salvador and Guatemala
Yakin Ertürk, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, E/CN.4/2004/66/Add.2, 8 March 2004
The Special Rapporteur visited El Salvador (2 to 7 February 2004), and Guatemala (8 to 14 February), at the invitation of both Governments. The objective of the mission was to study the causes and consequences of violence against women and to formulate recommendations for an effective response to the phenomenon.

Extension of the first country cooperation framework for El Salvador
Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme and of the United Nations Population Fund, Third regular session 25-29 September 2000
As a result of the Beijing Conference and with UNDP support, the National Institute for the Development of Salvadoran women was created, and a national policy for women was formulated with CSO participation and adopted since 1997. There is broader acceptance of gender as a crosscutting issue in public institutions, with some ministries setting up gender units or commissions. Furthermore, the NGO Las Dignas, through a UNIFEM project, has promoted the participation of women in the planning processes at the municipal level and in municipal councils. The creation of an association of women in municipal councils, promoted by this project, represents an important achievement.

Peace Programme for Women via Radio Diffusion in a Post-conflict Situation
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNESCO's contribution to national reconciliation in El Salvador was through a culture of peace program with women as the focal population for human rights, social and environmental awareness building. The overall objective of the radio program entitled "Support to Radio Services in Non-Formal Education, Training and Information on Women" was to constitute a common goal in order to change external factors on the ground.

Government and Statements Reports

Sixth Periodic Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Government of El Salvador, November 2002
The Committee has adopted guidelines to help states prepare these reports. According to these guidelines, the initial report is intended to be a detailed and comprehensive description of the position of women in that country at the time of submission; it is meant to provide a benchmark against which subsequent progress can be measured. Second and subsequent national reports are intended to update the previous report, detailing significant developments that have occurred over the last four years, noting key trends, and identifying obstacles to the full achievement of the Convention.

Aftermath: Women’s Organizations in Post-conflict El Salvador
Center for Development Information and Evaluation
U.S. Agency for International Development, October 2000
As part of its ongoing studies on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of societies ravaged by civil wars, USAID's Center for Development Information and Evaluation (CDIE) undertook a multi-country assessment of gender issues in post-conflict societies. Women’s organizations in El Salvador played a major role during the conflict and afterward in dealing with the problems unique to women as well as in advancing the feminist agenda.

Inter-American Convention On The Prevention, Punishment And Eradication of Violence Against Women "Convention Of Belem Do Para"
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States, 9 June 1994
The Convention affirms that violence against women constitutes a violation of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and that the elimination of violence against women is essential for their individual and social development and their full and equal participation in all walks of life.

Convención Interamericana Para Prevenir Sancionar Y Erradicar La Violencia Contra La Mujer "Convención De Belém Do Pará"
Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Organización de los Estados Americanos, el 9 de junio 1994
La Convención afirme que la violencia contra la mujer constituye una violación de los derechos humanos y las libertades fundamentals, y que la eliminación de la violencia contra la mujer es condición indispensable para su desarrollo individual y social y su plena e igualitaria participación en todas las esferas de vida.

Books, Journals and Articles

After the Revolution: Gender and Democracy in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala
Ilja A. Luciak. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001

Looking at Peace through Women's Eyes: Gender-Based Discrimination in the Salvadoran Peace Process
Journal of Public and International Affairs, Vol. 10, Spring 1999

Este es mi Testimonio
Maria Teresa Tula. Lynn Stephen (Ed.). Cambridge: South End Press, 1996

The Seeking of Truth and the Gendering of Consciousness: The Comadres of El Salvador and Postwar El Salvador
Sarah A. Radcliffe, Sallie Westwood (Eds.). Doctoral dissertation, New York: Graduate Faculty of Anthropology, City University of New York, 1993

The Hour of the Poor, The Hour of Women: Salvadoran Women Speak
Renny Golden. New York: Crossroad, 1991

A Dream Compels Us: Voices of Salvadoran Women
New American Press (Eds.). Cambridge: South End Press, 1989