The Colombian Refugee Project

Mennonite Church of Quito

Pasaje Payamino y 6 de diciembre, N300
Quito, Ecuador

June 29, 2015

Besem Obenson
Head of Field Office Solanda
Av. Amazonas 2889 y la Granja
United Nations Building, 1st. Floor
Quito, Ecuador

Dear Besem Obsenson, Head of Field Office Solanda:

The Refugee Project of the Mennonite Churchproposes supporting a refugee-led initiative

to combat sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) by offering a series of workshops
facilitated by representatives of the Nansen Award winning Red Mariposas, a group of
courageous women supporting survivors of SGBV and displacement in Buenaventura,
Colombia.
Given the mission of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to
provide protection and support to refugees, we hope that you will consider supporting this
initiative. Our proposal draws inspiration and guidance from the UNHCR-sponsored
event Days of Inter-institutional Holistic Attention to Survivors of Sexual Violence held in
Lago Agrio in November, 2014, to which representatives of the Mariposaswere invited to
speak and lead workshops with professionals on the identification and response to cases
of SGBV.1
1Las Mariposas participan en las jornadas sobre violencia sexual en Lago Agrio,
UNHCR, accessed May 30, 2015, http://www.acnur.org/t3/noticias/noticia/ecuador-lasmariposas-participan-en-las-jornadas-sobre-violencia-sexual-en-lago-agrio/

1. Purpose
UNHCR Representative John Fredrikson states: Refugees, stateless persons and
internally displaced persons all over the world suffer from sexual and gender-based
violence, not only as a form of persecution in conflict, but also during flight and
displacement, and thus are doubly victimized.2 Double-victimization is anappalling
reality for many Colombian women for whom SGBV is both the cause and the
consequence of being forcibly displaced.A majority of Colombian women in Ecuador
with refugee status or in need of international protection (PNIP) have experienced sexual
violence in some form or another both in Colombia and in Ecuador.3They escape a
context of violence only to find themselves in another where different perpetrators
victimize them.4
The statistics on violence against women on both sides of the Colombia-Ecuador border
are staggering. In Colombia, women account for 83% of the total number of victims of
crimes against sexual integrity.5In Ecuador, 60% of women have suffered from some
form of sexual violence.6This national average, if disaggregated by ethnic identity,
reveals an even higher rate of violence experienced by Afro-Ecuadorian and indigenous
women, 66.7% and 67.8% respectively.7Looking more closely at the refugee population
in Ecuador, of the roughly 55,000 registered Colombian refugees, about half are women
heads of households who struggle to support their families, encounter barriers to

2Las Mariposas participan en las jornadas sobre violencia sexual en Lago Agrio, my
translation.
3Gal, Amandine. Escrito en el Cuerpo: Rompiendo el Silencio y Construyendo Justicia
Integral (Quito, Ecuador: Asylum Access Ecuador, 2012), 8.
4 Ortega, Carlos Ernesto y Ospina, Oscar Ral, Coordinators. No se puede ser
refugiado toda la vida Refugiados colombianos y colombianas en Quito y Guayaquil
(Quito, Ecuador: FLACSO, 2012), 210.
5 Informe Delitos contra la integridad y la libertad sexual de las mujeres en el marco del
conflicto armado colombiano, Red Nacional de Informacin, accessed June 26, 2015,
http://rni.unidadvictimas.gov.co/sites/default/files/Documentos/Informe%20violencia
%20sexual%20mujeres.pdf
6 Violencia de Gnero, Instituto Nacional de Estadstica y Censos, accessed June 1,
2015, http://www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/violencia-de-genero/
7 Violenca de Gnero.

accessing asylum, and find it challenging to gain employment,all of which places them in
particularly vulnerable situations and exposes them toexploitation and discrimination.8
In addition to the many challenges women face,they also meet critical obstacles to
accessing justice. Refugee women and PNIP survivors of SGBV express that they do not
want to press charges or access justice through the Ecuadorian judicial system because of
their immigration status.9A lack of confidence in state institutions is a significant factor in
addressing SGBV. 32% ofrefugees and migrants residing in Quito, Lago Agrio and
Esmeraldasexpress having no trust in the police (compared to 15.9% who say they have a
lot of trust) and 21.9% express having no trust in the courts (as opposed to 2.7% who
express having a lot of trust).10Furthermore, stigmatization and avoidance of retaliation
from the perpetrator, serve as deterrents to seeking legal redress.
The tragic reality of SGBV demands an urgent, coordinated response involving various
stakeholders, including refugees and Ecuadorians themselves.
The purpose of our proposal is to strengthen existing networks of women with refugee
status, asylum-seekers, and Ecuadorians, by training and supporting them to serve as
volunteer activists within their communities to prevent SGBV, accompany survivors,
advocate constructively for their rights, and assist in accessing appropriate medical,
psycho-social, humanitarian and legal assistance.
2. Theories of Change
Training and workshops can create the space and opportunity for the participants to take
what they learn and apply it to their own experiences and context to form a resilient
community of volunteer women providing one another with mutual support in addressing
SGBV. The Mariposas, with their profoundly personal experiences living within the
Colombian armed conflict and direct knowledge of the culture and dynamics of their
context11, are best-suited to facilitate these workshops to transfer their knowledge, share
their expertise, and provide technical assistance on how to organize themselves and
collaborate with state institutions and non-governmental organizations.
8 The dilemma that faces some female Colombian refugees, UNHCR, accessed June 1,
2015, http://www.unhcr.org/53738c839.html
9 Gal, Escrito en el Cuerpo: Rompiendo el Silencio y Construyendo Justicia Integral, 14.
10Pugh, Jeffrey D. Resumen Ejecutivo de resultados de la encuesta elaborado por
CEMPROC: Redes de Migrantes y Refugiados en Ecuador: Un Estudio de Quito, Lago
Agrio, y Esmeraldas (Quito, Ecuador: CEMPROC, June 2014), 12.
11 Carrillo, ngela. Buenaventura, Colombia: Brutal Realities (Bogot, Colombia:
Norwegian Refugee Council, September 2014), 16.

Because of common experiences and shared identities, the Mariposas and the participants
can build quickly trust and confidence in the workshops in a short amount of time. As a
recently arrived refugee from Buenaventura informed the coordinators of the Refugee
Project of the Mennonite Church: I know the Mariposas personally and the important
work they do.12
Women in vulnerable situations are also strategically positioned within their communities
to learn about and recognize cases of SGBV, provide support to survivors, and
accompany them to access appropriate services. The Mariposas, for example, employ the
strategy of comadreo (i.e. informal networks of communication by word-of-mouth) as
a collective response to the gaps in protection in the context in which they live and work.
Through trusted channels of communication, a network of trained women can respond
quickly and increase resilience when there are acts of SGBV, and perhaps even detect
early-warning signs that could lead to prevention. Serving as a rapid response team,
awomens network can help victims access appropriate medical care in a timely manner
and be informed about the proper procedures for evidence collection. Through continued
accompaniment, they can also encourage and support victims if they decide to seek
justice.
Receiving instruction in legal and human rights, training in accompaniment, and
guidance on forming and sustaining a resilient network of peers, will legitimize the
participants to assume leadership roles and serve as vital points of reference within their
communities.
3. Project Description
Our proposal consists of three activities that serve the main purpose of supporting and
strengthening networks of mutually supported peers addressing the problem of SGBV:
3.1 Peer-led workshops
Two to three representatives of the Mariposaswill facilitate an intensive, two-day
workshop in November 2015, with twenty to thirty participants to transfer knowledge and
expertise in the formation and sustained continuation of grass roots networks of women
working for the defense of human (womens) rights and the eradication of SGBV within
the refugee population and wider society.
The Mariposas can serve as a catalyst to animate the participants to organize themselves
into a network of volunteer activists to accompany SGBV survivors, with a central output
of the workshops being the development of an action plan with detailed next steps toward
forming a womens led network.
3.2 Inter-institutional meeting
12Personal interview, March 12, 2015.

At the conclusion of the workshops, theworkshop participants will meet with

representatives of the various organizations to report their action plans and find concrete
ways to strengthen networks with organizations. The following is a preliminary list of
organizations to be invited to attend the inter-institutional meeting:
Grass roots
o La Red
Mariposas

o
o
o
o
o

Faith-based
Organizations
Refugee Project,
Mennonite Church
Misin
Scalabriniani
Jesuit Refugee
Services
Caritas
Catholic Relief
Services

Non-State
o UNHCR
o UNIFEM
o Asylum
Access
o HIAS
o RET
o Fundacin
Casa de
Refugio
Matilde

State
o Defensora del
Pueblo
o Instituto Nacional
de Estadstica y
Censo (INES)
o Law enforcement

Possible outputs for this activity may be:

o The formation of a regularly meeting inter-institutional board where all entities,
including the womens network, tasked with protection and assistance can discuss
cases that emerge from the womens network, make appropriate referrals, and
strengthen the capacity of institutions to address SGBV.
o The publication and distribution of a brochure modeled on the Ruta de Vida y
atencin en Violencias de Gnero13 that illustrates all the medical, legal and
humanitarian agencies to which victims of gender-based sexual violence have a
right to access.
3.3 Public Conference on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against
Women
As a culmination to workshops and the inter-institutional meeting, we propose holding a
public conference at FLACSO Quito on the next occasion of the International Day for
the Elimination of Violence against WomenNovember 25th, 2015to increase visibility
of the problem of SGBV in Ecuador, highlight existing mechanisms in the identification,
attention and protection of survivors, and strengthen networks between grass roots, faithbased, non-state and state actors.
An output of this activity would be to ensure wide turnout to the conference to
disseminate information to the public about the problem and responses to SGBV.

13Ruta de Vida y atencin en Violencias de Gnero, Red Mariposas, accessed March

23, 2015, http://www.redmariposas.com/files/6014/1048/9821/Ruta_de_Vida.pdf

4. Methodology
4.1 Peer-led workshops
Asylum Access Ecuador and Misin Scalabriniani jointly support this proposal, which
seeks to build on their considerable experience supporting the organization of womens
groups that continue to meet regularly in their respective spaces.Representatives from
both organizations express that this proposed initiative would be well received by their
womens groups.14 The Refugee Project of the Mennonite Church has also identified
potential participants.
Given that six out of ten women in Ecuador report experiencing some form of sexual
violence15, we will also invite Ecuadorian women to participate in the workshops by
reaching out to local womens organizations, such as Fundacin Casa de Refugio
Matilde. Involving both Ecuadorians and refugees has the added benefits of facilitating
the integration of refugees into Ecuadorian society, fostering positive, meaningful
relationships between the two groups, and increasing the stability and sustainability of a
peer network.
Asylum Access Ecuador will also offer meeting spaces for the proposed workshops.
4.2 Inter-institutional meeting
The Mennonite Church is available and willing to host the inter-institutional meeting.
4.3 Public Conference on the International Day Against Violence Against Women
Asylum Access is currently pursing a connection with faculty at FLACSO to explore the
possibility of holding the conference on their campus. To publicize the event, the
Refugee Project of the Mennonite Church will produce and distribute flyers, send
personal invitations, post the event on websites such as www.1800refugio.org.ec and
advertise on the air with Radio HCJB.
5. Support Needed & Costs
To bring this proposal to fruition, we kindly request the financial support of ACNUR to
assist with the costs to cover flights, room and board for two to three representatives of
the Mariposas.
The following is the proposed budget:
Item Requested
Round trip tickets
from Cali,

Amount
2-3

Unit Price
$450

Total
$900 - $1,350

14Personal interview with Asylum Access, June 10, 2015 and personal interview with
Misin Scalabriniani, June 22, 2015
15Violencia de Gnero.

Colombia, to
Quito, Ecuador
Room & Board

$80.00 per person

for max. 5 days.

$400

$800 - $1,200
Sum total:
$1,700 - $2,550

6. Conclusion
We believe that this initiative will be of significant benefit to Ecuadorian, refugee and
asylum-seeking women and encourage them in the formation of a network of peers
volunteering within their communities to prevent SGBV, accompany survivors, advocate
constructively for their rights, and assist in accessing services and assistance. This
initiative will also be of benefit to the Mariposas, as it draws greater attention to their
crucial work and affords them the opportunity to understand better the reality of
Colombians in Ecuador. Broadly speaking, connecting grassroots peace organizations,
like the Mariposas, with Ecuadorians and refugees animated to work peacefully for
justice, strengthens civil society in both countries and contributes to the important work
of peace and human security in the region.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and I look forward to the opportunity to
receive your feedback and further a conversation about the possibility of implementing
this proposal.

Sincerely,
David Sulewski, Coordinator
The Colombian Refugee Project
Mennonite Church of Quito
Pasaje Payamino y 6 de diciembre, N300
Quito, Ecuador
Tel. 02-2273777
colombianrefugeeproject@gmail.com

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Carrillo, ngela. Buenaventura, Colombia: Brutal Realities. Bogot, Colombia:
Norwegian Refugee Council, September 2014.
Gal, Amandine. Escrito en el Cuerpo: Rompiendo el Silencio y Construyendo Justicia
Integral. Quito, Ecuador: Asylum Access Ecuador, 2012
Instituto Nacional de Estadstica y Censos. Violencia de Gnero. Accessed June 1,
2015. http://www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/violencia-de-genero/
Ortega, Carlos Ernesto y Ospina, Oscar Ral, Coordinators. No se puede ser refugiado
toda la vida Refugiados colombianos y colombianas en Quito y Guayaquil. Quito,
Ecuador: FLACSO, 2012.

Pugh, Jeffrey D. Resumen Ejecutivo de resultados de la encuesta elaborado por

CEMPROC: Redes de Migrantes y Refugiados en Ecuador: Un Estudio de Quito,
Lago Agrio, y Esmeraldas. Quito, Ecuador: CEMPROC, June 2014.
Red Mariposas. Ruta de Vida y atencin en Violencias de Gnero. Accessed March 23,
2015. http://www.redmariposas.com/files/6014/1048/9821/Ruta_de_Vida.pdf
Red Nacional de Informacin. Informe Delitos contra la integridad y la libertad sexual
de las mujeres en el marco del conflicto armado colombiano. Accessed June 26,
2015.http://rni.unidadvictimas.gov.co/sites/default/files/Documentos/Informe
%20violencia%20sexual%20mujeres.pdf
UNHCR. Las Mariposas participan en las jornadas sobre violencia sexual en Lago
Agrio. Accessed May 30, 2015. http://www.acnur.org/t3/noticias/noticia/ecuador-lasmariposas-participan-en-las-jornadas-sobre-violencia-sexual-en-lago-agrio/
UNHCR. The dilemma that faces some female Colombian refugees.Accessed June 1,
2015. http://www.unhcr.org/53738c839.html