A movement for the rights of Tseltal women is growing

• 16 women began serving as councilwomen and assistant coordinators in Indigenous community governments.

• Indigenous women, who are serving their communities as women’s rights advocates, worked very hard to organize public outreach and awareness activities so that men and women become more aware of women's rights.

• Several respected male leaders, who serve their communities in various capacities, are encouraging women to assume leadership roles and to participate actively in community meetings.

Indigenous women built a new support system for domestic violence survivors

Indigenous women leaders established a system to prevent and reduce domestic violence against women in Tseltal communities. Organized into 12 dedicated teams of family mediators, they learned about various forms of violence against women and family conflict resolution strategies grounded in traditional restorative justice practices. In the last 6 months, teams directly supported 31 women, facilitating resolution of domestic violence conflicts.

Family mediators learned techniques to facilitate emotional healing of domestic violence survivors

15 Indigenous women who are family mediators received specialized training to support survivors of domestic violence in their emotional healing. Training drew upon traditional wisdom and healing practices, as well as techniques adapted to the Indigenous context, to repair “the pain of mind and heart” of women survivors of domestic violence.