The social climate in Colombia brings troubled images of a country wrought in political strife, guerrilla wars, drug abuse and poverty. It’s a long-standing struggle for Colombians caught in the middle, especially women and children. Although there are crusades and campaigns helping to uplift women’s rights in Colombia, harsh realities still cloak the nation in continuing turmoil.

History
1. Colombia’s internal conflict, which started in the 1960s, has seen numerous administrations and paramilitary parties wage war against guerrilla insurgency. Along with the spoils of war, violence against Colombian women has ensued. The unrest has also brought about internal displacement for women who had to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere.

Victims of War
2. The United Nations has reported cases of violence against Colombian women in many forms, from slavery to domestic abuse. Women have been exploited as mere weapons of war, either as combatant or sexual servant. Being forced into prostitution, these women are also made to take harsh contraceptive methods. Indigenous women from the poor rural areas fall victims to these crimes.

Thwarted Voices
3. Colombian women freedom fighters crusading for rights and peace have been abducted, brutally tortured and in some instances, killed. Extreme rightists have prohibited women from organizing demonstrations; they threaten women activists with torture.

Effects
4. The crisis has led women to a marginalized state, with poor and displaced women having little or no access to education and health care. Victims don’t know where to turn to, ashamed and bewildered by the degree of violence in their lives.

Some Colombian women are also lured by a life filled with freedom, modern conveniences and a normal family. This dream brings them to join numerous online agencies operating matchmaking services to foreign men based outside Colombia. Likewise, there are many of these international marriage broker sites offering dates with Latin women, some of which are Colombian.

Advocacy Campaigns
5. Global nonprofit groups focused on women’s rights have organized programs to help internally displaced women, largely through awareness advocacy. Lectures and trainings teach local women the necessary skills and information to survive the ordeal. Efforts in constructing shelter and learning centers are also provided by organizations such as the UN, so that victims of gender-based violence can have a safe place to live and study.