VCU representatives brief White House on violence against women in Guatemala

By Mike Porter

A delegation that included two faculty members, a student and an alumna from Virginia Commonwealth University visited the White House to present a briefing on violence against women in Guatemala.

The briefing last week featured testimony collected by the group during a visit to the country in August as delegates with the Guatemala Human Rights Commission.

Janett Forte, M.S.W., director, VCU Institute for Women's Health and assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry, arranged the meeting with Lynn Rosenthal, White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. Rosenthal advises the Obama administration on domestic violence and sexual assault issues and offers recommendations for policy and funding priorities.

“We discussed femicide, the killing of women by men simply because they are women.  This gendered violence takes place in all levels of society in Guatemala,” Forte said. “Fewer than 2 percent of these cases are ever successfully prosecuted.

“We highlighted the testimony we took while in Guatemala from women’s rights organizations, victims and their families, human rights workers, midwives and indigenous women in rural communities,” she said.

The White House briefing was part of the delegates’ commitment to increase awareness about violence against women and support for human rights in Guatemala.

“We also underscored current U.S. foreign policy in Guatemala, where recent U.S. funding of ‘rule of law’ and civil society programming has been inadequate in the area of violence against women,” said Karen Rotabi, Ph.D., assistant professor, School of Social Work.

Forte, Rotabi, VCU alumna Abby Dini, VCU School of Social Work student Priscilla Witwer and 10 others met with Rosenthal at the White House on Nov. 6. Witwer discussed the need for international support in ending the violence and noted 722 women were killed in Guatemala last year.

The group encouraged Rosenthal and representatives from the offices of Virginia congressmen and senators to support re-introduction and passage of the International Violence Against Women Act, legislation aimed at addressing and ultimately ending violence against women and girls globally. Group members said passage of the act could positively impact women in Guatemala by funding domestic violence shelters and supporting other social interventions and advocacy work.

“This day illustrated our efforts to build on an initiative that blends human rights work and advocacy with service learning and global community development,” Rotabi said. “This is exactly the kind of community engagement that enriches student experiences and makes an important contribution to national and international policy. To see a student engaged in a White House briefing is really satisfying.”  

Go here to learn more about the findings of the delegation and to see photos from their trip to Guatemala.