In Ecuador, a woman is the victim of femicide every three days, and social organizations record 28 crimes of this type between January and March 2022.
Diane Morales She was about to be killed twice at the hands of her ex-partner. The first time she was able to escape before being attacked with a knife, thanks to the fact that her neighbors saved her by hearing her cries of despair.
The second time, instead, he managed to hit his assailant while he hanged her with his hands.
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Morales remembers that the aggressor was also waiting for her outside the company where she worked to intimidate and harass her.
Tired of living in fear this 35-year-old woman decided to seek help. One of her best friends told her about the Valkirias collective, a feminist group in which women learn to defend themselves against possible attacks.
Flor Tipán, one of its founders, says that the collective was born in 2017 “in response to the murders and to the physical, verbal, sexual aggressions that women experience every day”.
Without any trust in the state, Tipán says that she founded the collective with a group of women who also believe that personal self-defense is a way out to at least not be killed.
Since 2017, Valkirias has trained more than 100 women to defend themselves when a person wants to attack them or simply steal.
How is the training?
It is 09:00 on Saturday, April 9, 2022. A group of 15 women, including girls, young people and adults, is concentrated in the El Ejido park, north center of Quito, for a new self-defense training.
“Stretch, stretch, you have to warm up first,” says Josseyn Gualoto, coach and another of the Valkyrie founders.
The women imitate his movements to not suffer injuries during the second part of the training, in which sports techniques such as judo are incorporated.
The coach’s order is to form two groups, A and B. Those in group A pretend to be aggressors, while those in B are the victims.
That is when the women put into practice what they have learned: they protect themselves from blows, get rid of grabs and try to escape.
After two hours of physical activity, the women finish the day. Before returning home, they receive a talk about gender violence and the importance of not being silent in the face of aggression.
Tipán explains that the training is divided into four modules with a duration of two months each:
- In the first, women learn basic defense postures and throw some punches with your hands.
- In the second they practice judo and techniques to defend against attacks on the ground.
- While the third and fourth are aimed at learning how to get out of hanging, hair, hand and torso grabs, in addition to discovering new self-defense techniques.
alarming figures
Feminist groups and organizations recorded 1,075 femicides between August 2014 and March 2022. This means that in Ecuador, on average, a woman is murdered every three days. While the Judiciary registers 539 from 2014 to April 2022.
Also, in the first quarter of this year alone, the Fundación Aldea reported 28 femicides, an increase of 50% compared to the same period in 2021.
The foundation’s spokeswoman, Geraldine Guerra, says that The government has not yet finalized its offer to implement programs aimed at eradicating violence against women.
In October 2021, the Human Rights Secretariat announced that it will invest USD 24 million in public policies to reduce the problem. Of this total, USD 12 million must be spent this year, but the specific projects are not yet known.
