- Poor are the main beneficiaries.
- Participants learn skills and how to work as a group.
- Men see stakes in gender equality.
Argentina, February 14, 2008 — A woman should spend all day at home, cooking, cleaning, and looking after the kids. She should put up with domestic violence for the sake of her children. And she should keep any questions she has about family planning to herself. These are some of the attitudes expressed by women in poor families in Argentina. This way of thinking helps to make women isolated and vulnerable – and to keep them poor. “You think: you put up with it for your children. My daughter was two months old. I was beaten every day for seven months,” says Marcela, a young victim of domestic violence in San Salvador de Jujuy. Recognizing the links between gender inequity, family breakdown, and poverty, in 2000 the Government of Argentina initiated a Family Strengthening and Social Capital Promotion Project (PROFAM), with a US$5 million loan from the World Bank. The Strength of Families as Cohesive Units
PROFAM’s objective was to build on the strength of families as cohesive units. “The project became even more relevant when a severe economic crisis hit the country in 2001-2003,” said Josefina Stubbs, World Bank task manager for the project. “With many men – the traditional breadwinners – out of work, women and youth had to enter the labor force and this generated an increase in family conflicts and domestic violence.” PROFAM’s main beneficiaries were poor Argentine families with a history of domestic violence against women and children, teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency and/or substance and alcohol abuse. Families living in areas with limited access to reproductive health information and services were also targeted. “We have health rights, as people, as mothers, to participate in policymaking. Because all rights are Human Rights,” said Pimpi Colombo, president of Argentina’s National Council of Women (CNM). The CNM implemented the project in collaboration with local governments and community-based organizations. The main activity carried out by PROFAM, the Programa Equidad (Equity Program), provided grants for 221 small sub-projects aimed at strengthening families in poor communities. ‘I Was Embarrassed to Talk, but Later I Got More Comfortable’
Training was a key component – both in productive activities such as bakery, bricklaying, or market gardening, and in areas such as reproductive health, parental responsibility, rights and citizenship, and child welfare. Rosa María Fernandez, a young woman, who took part in a workshop on reproductive health, said: “Many guys asked a lot about the condom. I was also embarrassed to talk, but later I got more comfortable…My siblings refused to join me at the beginning, but later they came.” Participants learnt both professional skills and how to work as a group and help each other. According to Angela, a young mother from the province of Tucuman who took part in training on producing leather goods, “The workshop changed me a lot … because I didn’t only learn how to work with leather. This workshop gave me back my dignity as a woman.” Nelly Borquez, project coordinator in the province of Salta, summed up the philosophy behind the workshops: “Training a woman is like planting a tree in the middle of your house. If I rise, all the fruit that I produce and all the benefits I obtain are not for us women, they are for the people around us, for our children, our partners, our extended families. So, lifting up a woman means lifting up many people.” ‘I Realized What I Was Doing Was Wrong’
Domestic violence was one of the top themes requested, especially by women, particularly aspects like legal advice, domestic violence detection, and establishing and managing shelters for victims. These training activities stimulated dialogue and reflection among the participants. “I realize that what I was doing was wrong,” testifies Orlando, a project beneficiary from Cordoba. "Now I have an 8-year-old boy and sometimes he pushes me to the limit and my blood boils, but I stay calm. I don’t hit him anymore; I try to talk to him and the other boys. I have changed.” PROFAM also reached out to Argentina’s indigenous peoples. In the province of Formosa, for example, a sub-project helped strengthen four associations of indigenous women artisans and consolidate networking among artisans at the departmental level. Overall, PROFAM benefited 49,109 individuals directly and indirectly (80 percent women and 20 percent men) in all Argentina’s provinces. Effective in Reducing Family Vulnerability
“PROFAM proved to be effective in reducing the family’s vulnerability,” commented Pedro Alba, Country Director for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay at the World Bank. “It empowered women, made men aware of their own stakes in gender equity, helped families identify and respond to violent behavior, and expanded family and social networks.” Implementing PROFAM activities has strengthened the National Council of Women’s work on mainstreaming gender into main social policies. Moreover, the Ministry of Social Development is now using the methods tested and used by organizations that participated in PROFAM to enhance the effectiveness of its own social development programs, such as the Programa Familias por la Inclusión Social (Social Inclusion Family Program). The program also strengthened the institutional capacity of local police stations, local hospitals and judges to respond more rapidly and effectively to cases of domestic violence. | 
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