Strengthening women affected by violence
Fundación Machaqa Amawta (FMA) | Bolivia, Stadtbezirk El Alto
The Fundación Machaqa Amawta (FMA) advocates for democracy, justice and equality and wants to counter the ever present gender-specific violence against women in La Paz. It gives 20 women the opportunity to train as community therapists who can then accompany and support female victims of violence in therapy groups. In this way, the women learn about their rights and are able to free themselves from situations of violence.
Due to an inadequate judicial system and authorities with little awareness of the issue, it is impossible for many women in Bolivia to defend themselves against sexual violence and to claim their rights. Also, the hurdles for single mothers to request and receive state family support are still very high.
The Fundación Machaqa Amawta (FMA) advocates for democracy, justice and equality and provides 20 women with the opportunity to attend a training to become “community therapists” in order to act against this unfair situation. The training enables these women to help and support others who are victims of violence in therapy groups, to inform them of their rights, and to find ways to escape from their situation of violence. FMA’s offer of support also includes legal and psychological counselling, for instance to formulate requests for state family support.
In 2025, 280 women benefited from this counselling that is being provided by a female psychotherapist, in cooperation with two trained “promotoras comunitarias” (municipal representatives) who endeavour to build bridges between women and social services. Moreover, the FMA project offers scholarships for further education of both “promotoras comunitarias”. Thanks to its targeted advocacy work and regular contact with political authorities and private institutions, FMA makes a significant contribution to the prevention of violence. As a recent achievement, FMA has set up a network with the “Centro de Atención Terapéutica” (CAT) of El Alto’s City Council. What is also new is the organization’s cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and Transparency’s official responsible for access to justice.
In combination with successful networking efforts to connect with other organizations, these steps have allowed the foundation, in the last three years, to set itself up as a reference organization for issues related to domestic violence, violence prevention, and strengthening affected women. It has achieved recognition by the Comité Interinstitucional contra la Violencia de El Alto (an alliance of six networks campaigning against violence).
