Protection
We promote the empowerment of victims of human rights violations and victims with protection needs through personalized plans for getting victims back on their feet. We use a psychosocial approach that seeks to strengthen individual, family and community capacities, as well as to engage government institutions to fulfill their obligations to guarantee victims’ rights. We call this “activating the State”
Why it matters?
Comprehensive victim assistance is a fundamental part of any process of enforcing human rights. Victims of violence in Central America’s Northern Triangle experience a number of obstacles to the restoration of their rights, including: fear, discrimination, corruption, and lack of government response. People in the northern triangle countries of Central America experience a wide range of violences. We have focused on the particular issue of forced internal displacement, in which it is estimated that that during 2020 nearly 100,000 new cases occurred in El Salvador alone. During the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020 and 2021, we documented an increase in restrictions on access to essential services for people being deported to the region, as well as for people incarcerated in the regions overpopulated prisons. The LGBTIQ+ community also continues to suffer constant attacks and discrimination by a variety of actors, from security forces to people from the communities where they live.
Accompanying strategies
Cristosal develops strategies of comprehensive victim assistance proposes models based on our experiences that can be studied and replicated. Cristosal encourages the exchange of lessons learned and promotes the consolidation of policies to improve victim assistance. We focus on reaching durable solutions and overcoming of the conditions of vulnerability that are catalysts for forced migration.