Estrategia para el empoderamiento de las mujeres víctimas de violencia atendidas en la fundación San Juan Bautista, El Guabo, 2024-1

Abstract

Today, gender violence is a reality that continues to affect millions of women around the world, with consequences that seriously limit their physical, emotional and social wellbeing. In Ecuador, the rates of femicides and gender violence have increased alarmingly in recent years, which reveals the urgent need to generate effective intervention and prevention strategies. This paper focuses on the analysis of the empowerment strategies implemented in the San Juan Bautista Foundation, El Guabo, for the benefit of women who have been victims of violence, many of them in a situation of human mobility. The study was developed under a descriptive methodology since it seeks to characterize the social, psychological and economic conditions of the beneficiary women, as well as the strategies implemented by the foundation to promote empowerment. A mixed approach was adopted, integrating quantitative and qualitative techniques through surveys directed to women beneficiaries and semi-structured interviews with the foundation's technical team, composed of social work and psychology professionals. This methodological combination made it possible to obtain valuable information on the factors that affect the women's empowerment process, as well as on their perceptions of the services received. The results showed that the factors that most limit women's empowerment are linked to low self-esteem, economic instability, lack of social support networks, emotional dependence on their aggressors and poor access to essential services. However, it was also identified that the beneficiaries positively value the emotional accompaniment activities, workshops, psychoeducational talks and spaces for active listening facilitated by the Foundation, which constitutes a solid basis for strengthening future intervention strategies. In response to these needs, an instrument called “Toolkit for psychosocial and legal empowerment” was designed and applied, aimed at strengthening the individual and collective capacities of the women served by the foundation. This instrument was validated with the technical team and made it possible to generate a space for professional reflection on the importance of having practical and accessible resources to strengthen the intervention from Social Work. Its usefulness in promoting knowledge of rights, improving self-esteem and fostering the construction of community support networks was verified. In addition, the Foundation's commitment to replicate this initiative in future interventions was highlighted. In conclusion, this work not only contributes at a theoretical level to the understanding of empowerment processes in contexts of violence and human mobility, but also proposes a concrete strategy that articulates psychosocial, legal and community dimensions. The experience demonstrates the relevance of Social Work as a discipline that articulates change processes, through contextualized interventions, with a rights and gender focus. It emphasizes the need to continue generating practical and participatory resources that allow women to rebuild their life projects, access justice, and consolidate lasting support networks that guarantee their inclusion and integral wellbeing.