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THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN LAW (VAWA)
VAWA offers the opportunity for abused husbands, wives or children of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents to petition for their legal residence in the U.S. without the knowledge of the abuser.
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Our Work with
Battered Immigrant women
For more than 10 years, Poder de La Mujer was an organizaiton of power in El Paso. The organization was comprised of women who were survivors of domestic violence and community health promoters, or promotoras, that gave presentations in the community on HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and the Violence Against Women Act.
Project BELLA and Promotora Program
Las Ameicas now offers leadership-buliding classes at various domestic violence shelters in El Paso, working to get women out of the revolving door of violence. These six-week courses teach battered immigrant women many skills and teach them to organize.
Promotora Program
Las Ameicas has one of El Paso's oldest and most successful promotora programs. The promotoras, or community health outreach workers, do education and outreach on domestic violence, VAWA, and HIV/AID in El Paso poorest reagions as well as in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico.
Last year we reached 16,200 people as part of our efforts to provide education on HIV/AIDS. We currently have 30 members who are receiving legal services from Las Americas, our partner organization.
Our outreach last year was conducted in the local schools, for parent’s groups in the schools, in the agricultural fields, at meetings in our colonias, at local grocery stores, at labor pick-up and drop sites, in public health offices, in neighbor’s homes and at local events and fairs. We distributed 10,000 brochures on domestic violence at one event alone.
The HIV/AIDS prevention work that we do brings us into the clubs, adult entertainment centers and bars of the area. In addition, we sometimes join in the harvesting of crops so that we can speak with migrant farm workers about prevention of AIDS while they are working.
The population we reach is almost entirely monolingual Spanish speaking. This population has difficulty with accessing and interpreting U.S. laws and policies. We serve as cultural interpreters for this population.
Many of our contacts are without documentation, but many have U.S. citizen children. All of us live and work in our own communities. We are also Spanish speaking and many of us are immigrants.
For more info call (915) 544-5126 Ext. 21
HELP TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE!
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence includes all kinds of physical, verbal, sexual, psychological or economic abuse that has occurred between two people that have had a personal relationship and/or have lived together. This abuse can occur in the form of insults, humiliations, hair pulling, hitting, child abuse, the destruction of property, forced isolation etc.
- It is against the law.
- It is not normal behavior.
- In general, the abuse continues and worsens with time.
- The violence is not the victim's fault.
- The abuse does not resolve conflicts.
- The victim never deserves the abuse.
- Abused children can suffer physical, emotional and psychological trauma.
- They may grow up using drugs, join a gang, and/or become a criminal.
- They can grow up to be abusers or, once again, victims.
For more information, call (915) 544-5126 Ext. 21
HELP TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE!
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