El Salvador - Vanda Pignato, First Lady of El Salvador and President of the Salvadorian Institute for the Development of Women (ISDEMU by its Spanish acronym), IOM and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) this week signed a cooperation agreement to join forces to prevent violence against women in El Salvador.

The agreement is part of a 2.5 year regional project Prevention of Violence Against Women in Central America to be implemented in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, led by the Central American Integration System (SICA by its Spanish acronym) and implemented by IOM and UNFPA. In El Salvador, government partners include ISDEMU and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

“Funding from the Netherlands and Finland has been vital for the implementation of this very important project.  In El Salvador, women account for 48 per cent of migrants.  They are especially vulnerable to violence and human trafficking along the migratory route,” said Norberto Girón, IOM Chief of Mission in El Salvador.

The project includes direct assistance to victims; awareness raising events aimed at government officials; public debates on the subject involving high level authorities; support to advertising agencies and media for the design of women and violence-related messages; regional research on migration, women and violence involving countries of origin, transit and destination; and training and support to strengthen the capacity of local, national and regional institutions that provide assistance to women victims of violence and human trafficking

In El Salvador, the vast majority of female victims of violence are girls, adolescents and young women.  ISDEMU reported some 8,613 cases in a ten-month period in 2012 – nearly triple the number of women it assisted in 2011.

For more information, please contact

Adriana Granados
IOM El Salvador
Tel: + 503 2521-0535
Email: pressiomsansalvador@iom.int