Comité Fronterizo
de Obrer@s
CFO

For the labor rights and all human rights of the maquiladora workers

The courage to speak out
Domestic violence worrisome

Zócalo Newspaper
Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

Friday, August 13, 2004

Women who have the courage to denounce domestic violence must be empowered, said Julia Quiñonez, coordinator of the Comite Fronterizo de Obreras when asked about the various cases of domestic violence that have households in Piedras Negras mourning women murdered by their husbands.

That would prevent women from waiting until it is too late to avoid getting involved in situations of extreme violence.

Advising abused women is not the main goal of this organization, but Ms. Quiñonez said the CFO offers workshops on self-esteem for women workers who may be experiencing a difficult crisis in their homes that causes strong emotional conflicts.

Nevertheless, she considered that in many cases the context of violence in which women live puts them on risk.

The answer for diminishing such cases lies not on the institutions but on the women themselves.  Women who are victims of violence need to find a way to confront the problem in order to avoid ill-fated cases such as the woman murdered by her husband.

Elsa Guadalupe Flores, a government official in Piedras Negras mentioned that abused women should be more coherent at the moment they press charges against their partners.

“They should be conscious that if their lives are being threatened, they need to get away from the aggressor forever.”

Top

www.cfomaquiladoras.org is produced in cooperation with the
Mexico-U.S Border Program
of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)

Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s (CFO)
Monterrey #1103, Col. Las Fuentes
Piedras Negras, Coahuila
C.P. 26010, México