The reality accompanied by Caritas has a woman’s face. According to the latest data, Cáritas accompanied more than 13,834 women in Spain in 2021 in 28 specific programs related to women. One in four women assisted in these projects (3,500) were victims of violence or found themselves in contexts of prostitution.
In recent years there has also been an increase in the number of homeless women (20% of women, compared to 80% of men). This reality has forced the diocesan Caritas to increase their resources. Currently, one in three has a specific project for women due to the increase in demands.
In addition, 64 percent of the people accompanied in the employment programs are women. “This trend has been maintained over the years, as a result of the multiple barriers and obstacles that women face when it comes to accessing, maintaining and progressing in the labor market,” she explains. Paul Noeliaresponsible for the Women, Trafficking and Prostitution programs of Cáritas Española.
The care tasks
Thanks to the daily work with thousands of women in vulnerable situations, Cáritas wants to commemorate International Women’s Day, on March 8, with a call to attention on the pending challenges to advance women’s right to equality and a life free from all kinds of violence.
Among these aspects, the current welfare system stands out, which places care tasks on women. “This reality limits their job placement and has serious personal and social implications: less economic independence to decide about their lives, less access to leisure and culture, and less participation in the democratic life of their community. In addition, they are the largest recipients of non-contributory pensions upon retirement, which is why older women are more economically vulnerable”, points out Noelia de Pablo.
In relation to employment, they have a lower unemployment rate and more difficulties in finding decent and equal work. The wage gap stands at 9.4%. “Added to this is the large number of women who neither work nor seek employment because they have to take care of themselves,” says De Pablo. The digital divide is also a gender gap that affects older women more.
Many of the most precarious jobs fall on them. Within the domestic work sector, only 39,852 people appear as Social Security contributors. “Many of the workers carry out their work without the rights and protection that they should have. It is a highly feminized sector that also lacks the social recognition it deserves and that frequently places workers in situations of job insecurity and lack of social protection”, points out the person in charge of the Women, Trafficking and Prostitution programs of Cáritas Española.
Invisibility and stigmatization
Violence against women has a greater impact on people in situations of poverty and social exclusion. “In our day to day, we accompany women who are immersed in different manifestations of violence and often invisible. This invisibility not only violates, excludes and stigmatizes the women who come to our resources, but also increases the risk that they suffer abuse, violence and exploitation”, she points out.
At the extreme of social exclusion, there are women in a situation of homelessness, whose number is only increasing. “This is a situation of special lack of protection and vulnerability, as well as greater stigmatization,” adds Noelia de Pablo.
Double victimization in humanitarian crises
In the international arena, conflicts, wars and humanitarian crises aggravate pre-existing patterns of discrimination against women and girls and expose them to greater risks of suffering human rights violations.
For example, in the war in Ukraine, there are 17.7 million people in urgent humanitarian aid situations, of which 9.5 are women, according to DG-ECHO sources. Likewise, the reality of women and girls in the Colombian conflict shows that violence against them is used as a war strategy by armed actors. They are different forms of physical, psychological and sexual violence. Specifically, 51,919 women victims of this armed conflict have been registered.
Faced with this reality, Cáritas calls for urgent and courageous responses to put an end to gender inequality and sexist violence. “The advances of the last decades have been important, but there is still a long way to go,” explains Noelia de Pablo.
Initiative “They are us”
With the aim of making visible the multiple gaps and situations of exclusion suffered by women, Cáritas has launched the initiative ‘They are us’. Through the voice of nine leading women in their sector and publicly committed to equal opportunities, the proposal aims to make society aware of the situation of vulnerability suffered by the women whom Cáritas accompanies and whose rights are violated.
`They Are Us’ also seeks to promote economic solidarity with the Caritas women’s care programs in which we are present both in Spain and in other countries of the world thanks to fraternal cooperation projects with local Caritas.
Under the hashtag #EllasSomosUs, this initiative will publicize different realities of exclusion on social networks that Cáritas accompanies inside and outside Spain. Among them, the digital divide, job insecurity, homelessness and violations of rights suffered by women in conflict-affected areas stand out.
“We hope to be able to give a voice to thousands of women and continue strengthening our work thanks to the solidarity of all of them, because they are us and we are them,” she says. Maria Angeles Garciacoordinator of the Donors and Institutions Team of Cáritas Española.
