Pro Mujer and Banco Económico Join Forces to Provide Free Support to Survivors of Gender-Based Violence in Bolivia

Bolivia has the highest femicide rate in South America and the fourth highest in Latin America. In 2022, more than 90 femicides were recorded, and more than 51,000 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were reported. 

The new partnership between Pro Mujer and Banco Económico will focus on raising awareness of and preventing GBV and disseminating information about Mujer Segura, Pro Mujer’s free GBV hotline.

GBV refers to the physical, economic, sexual, psychological, and other harm that women experience just because they are women. It is not only a human rights violation but also limits women’s decision-making ability and impacts their general well-being and development.

The partnership between Pro Mujer and Banco Económico will seek to strengthen initiatives that provide women with opportunities to escape the cycle of violence, with a particular focus on spreading the word about the Mujer Segura program, which has already provided support to more than 10,000 women experiencing violence.

“As an institution committed to creating sustainable responses sensitive issues like gender-based violence, Banco Económico is proud to join this initiative to support women experiencing violence. We can’t ignore the social issues that impact people’s quality of life. We’re sure that this partnership to support and disseminate the Mujer Segura program will give more women a chance to escape violence,” said Pablo Romero, Head of Marketing at Banco Económico.

A Partnership Committed to Women’s Right to Live Free from Violence

“In 2020, in the face of an alarming increase in gender-based violence during the initial measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, Pro Mujer launched the free Mujer Segura hotline to provide information, counseling, and support to women experiencing violence. We subsequently launched in-person support services and we plan to expand our impact through partnerships such as the one with Banco Económico,” said Cecilia Campero, Pro Mujer Country Representative in Bolivia.

The Mujer Segura hotline has received 9,000 calls and provided guidance, information, and counseling to women experiencing violence. Additionally, the program has implemented 5,000 activities to provide women with counseling and information on services to help them escape the cycle of violence. More than 1,000 calls were referred to trained community health workers to receive specialized counseling and begin to put an actionable and timely escape plan in place. 

Banco Económico is committed to implementing a gender perspective across all its activities. The bank recently launched the Red Mujer, Mi Aliada program as part of this initiative. Created for businesswomen and women entrepreneurs, the program seeks to encourage women’s inclusion in the national financial system and eliminate the social and cultural barriers that limit their financial inclusion.