‘Domestic violence is a pandemic in itself’
Hartford library, Hispanic Health Council raising awareness as COVID-19 keeps more people home
Hartford Public Library and Hispanic Health Council are holding their third annual Domestic Violence Awareness Walk in Hartford on Thursday. The issue of domestic violence is even more urgent than in previous years, the event’s organizer said, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Domesticviolence is apandemic in itself. COVIDjustmakesitworse. A lot of women are not reporting domestic violence because of the fear of where are they going to go,” Maria Ortiz said. “They don’t want to go to shelters because of COVID. They don’t want to get sick. People who might take them in don’t want to get sick. Theydon’t want their children to get sick. So this is a double whammy for them. Even if you run to the neighbor, the neighbor will not let youin the door. COVID closes a lot of doors.”
Ortiz works with Hispanic Health Council as a community liaison. She said the pandemic has put even more roadblocks in front of Hispanic women. This is especially true of immigrants whodon’t speak English, don’t have insurance, whoare afraid of getting onto the police’s radar and who can’t travel home to their families.
“Women already feel like they are in an alien world, alienated from everyone. And nowthey can’t go outside and can’t talk to their friends,” she said.
Ortiz added that some women don’t recognize domestic violence for what it is. “They think that if someone calls them the ‘b’ word it’s normal because it happened to their mother and their grandmother. Women become immune to that treatment,” she said. “Our job is making them aware that this is not acceptable.”
Ortiz founded a women’s empowerment group three years ago, and has weekly meetings — now on Zoom — as well as workshops and activities. Most recently, the group helped create the mural at ArtBox, 769 Park St.
Graciela Rivera, branch manager of the library’s Park Branch, said the pandemic keeps people home all the time, and that is not always good. “If your home is a toxic environment, you have a greater risk of becoming a victim of domestic violence,” she said.
“We are women who feel supported and have different opportunities to learn things. The group is to empower women in all aspects of their lives. We want them to understand there are many ways to contribute to a community. Civic engagement is a taboo. We don’t know what civic engagement is, how it looks, how to go about doing something like that. There are different ways to do that.”
To contact Rivera, email grivera@hplct.org. For the Hispanic Health Council and the women’s empowerment group, go to hispanichealthcouncil.org.
The awareness walk starts at 11 a.m. at Hispanic Health Council, 175 Main St., and ends at ArtBox at around noon. About three dozen women, of the women’s empowerment group, will march holding signs with affirming messages for women. Anyone is welcome to join, if they are masked and keep socially distanced.