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A Breeze of Hope

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Breeze of Hope (Spanish: Una Brisa de Esperanza) is a Bolivian nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides free legal, social, and psychological support to victims of sexual violence.[1] The charitable organization is globally partnered with Equality Now. Over the course of 14 years, the organization's legal team has prosecuted 500 abuse cases.[2]

History

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Brisa de Ángulo, an advocate and survivor of sexual abuse, founded A Breeze of Hope in 2004 to address the urgent need for support and justice for sexually abused children in Bolivia.[3] She experienced repeated rape by a family member at 16, and her decision to report the abuse was met with intimidation and blame from her community, extended family, and the authorities.[4]

Work

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In 2013, A Breeze of Hope's advocacy before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights successfully pressured the Bolivian government to repeal the Rape-Marriage law, a law that pardoned sexual aggressors of their crimes if they married their victims.[5] The first school-based study on the scope of sexual violence against children and adolescents in Bolivia was undertaken in 2009 by the A Breeze of Hope Foundation in collaboration with the Bolivian Ministry of Education and Towson University.[6] They discovered that 1 in 3 girls said they had experienced sexual assault before turning 18.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Moloney, Anastasia (16 April 2020). "In lockdown Bolivia, calls from abused girls flood hotline". Reuters.
  2. ^ Collyns, Dan (28 December 2018). "The woman breaking Bolivia's culture of silence on rape". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Rueckert, Phineas (22 March 2018). "Meet The Woman Battling Bolivia's Sexual Abuse Crisis". Global Citizen.
  4. ^ "Inspired by Alumna, Rutgers Law–Camden Team Triumphant in Abolishing Rape-Marriage Law in Bolivia. : Rutgers-Camden Campus News". news.camden.rutgers.edu.
  5. ^ Wright, Emily (26 June 2017). "Bolivia: Home to Latin America's Highest Rates of Sexual Violence". The New Humanitarian.
  6. ^ "A BREEZE OF HOPE FOUNDATION - TOGETHER WOMEN RISE". Together Women Rise. August 2016.