A Breeze of Hope

A Breeze of Hope 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

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

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.

References
  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. "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. "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.
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