Employment Development Program for Survivors of Domestic Violence
Don’t Forget About Me (DFAM), Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos, y Coordinadora Paz para las Mujeres (The Peace for Women Coalition) are partnering to start Yo Misma Fui mi Ruta (I Am My Own Pathway): an employment development program in cosmetology and barbering targeted at survivors of domestic violence in Puerto Rico. The goal of the program is to help survivors break the cycle of domestic violence by giving them the skills to earn their own income and transition to economic independence. DFAM has developed a three-month professional development curriculum to be delivered to survivors of domestic violence who participate in the programs of one or more of CPM’s coalition of community-based organizations.
Domestic violence not only leaves survivors with physical scars and emotional and psychological wounds, but also deprives them economically. While in abusive relationships, survivors become economically dependent on their abusers, and when they escape those relationships they are disconnected from nancial resources, making it dicult for them to rebuild their lives. Addressing the immediate safety and well-being of survivors is crucial, but equally important is teaching them with the skills necessary to achieve long-term economic independence.
In Puerto Rico, statistics show that domestic violence is on the rise. For example, comparing the total number of domestic violence incidents reported to Puerto Rico Police in 2023 with the number reported in the rst eight months of 2024, there already has been a 17% increase in reported incidents. This increase will be higher once reporting for all of 2024 has been completed. In addition, there is increasing recognition of the role that restrictions on economic well-being play in domestic violence. This was seen in 2023, when the Puerto Rican legislature amended its anti-domestic violence law, Act 54, to include “economic violence” as a form of domestic violence codied under the law. Taken together, these statistics and legislative actions indicate the growing societal concern with domestic violence in Puerto Rico.
