The purpose of celebrating International Day for the Violence Against Women is to inform the public about the importance of some topics like human rights.
The United Nations define violence against women as “all acts of violence that can cause physical, emotional, sexual or psychological harm.” It also includes cyber harassment, which includes constantly sending threatening messages, unsolicited explicit images, and exposing private information to the public. Ivania Gutierrez, founder of RGV Safe Project talks about the actions her organization is taking in regards to pages on social media in the Rio Grande valley who take part of this violence.
“We try to find these pages and report them to the FBI, and if any victim of these pages wants to obtain legal representation, we send them information on how to obtain free legal representation. Not everyone realizes that it is something that it is happening right now. It is an act against women, because it is something very horrific to see, everyday there’s minors, girls in high school that are victims to this problem. That is something that we are working on with other women, that is what we are working on right now,” said Gutierrez.
2 in every 3 women suffer a type of violence. Experts say that violence against women increases during vacation and less than 40% of women that suffer a form of violence search for help.
“Anyone can report to the authorities. If the images are shared online without their consent. victims of these crimes can press charges and there is a law that protects them,” added Gutierrez.
It is important to report to authorities if you are being a victim of any type of violence.
To report domestic violence you can contact 1-800-787-3224, and to receive guidance if you are experiencing cyber harassment, you can contact RGV Safe Project on their Instagram page @rgvsafeproject.
