Foreign Affairs Ministry will train its employees to improve consular assistance to Chilean women who experience gender-based violence abroad

Foreign Affairs Minister Alberto van Klaveren and the Undersecretary Gloria de la Fuente, met with the Minister of Women and Gender Equality, Antonia Orellana, to evaluate the Gender Transversalization Fund "Chile for All", granted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to improve consular assistance to Chilean women victims of gender-based violence abroad.

The project seeks to install the material and technical capacities to provide this service on a permanent basis, providing initial reception, containment and support, as well as links to those resources available in institutional support networks and local organizations, as well as existing consular assistance programs.

The work plan for this initiative includes the following actions: systematizing consular assistance in matters of violence against women, which involves gathering information on cases of violence against women by a psychosocial team composed of a social worker and a psychologist; preparing a protocol for assistance to victims of violence against women; training consular and Foreign Ministry officials in matters of violence against women; and a communications campaign to raise awareness of this project among the Chilean community abroad.

Currently, the generation of the protocol of attention and a training course is being developed through a consultancy of the Universidad de Concepción.

The project arose in response to the need for support for Chilean women in all their diversity who, while abroad, experience gender-based violence. They generally do not have support networks and often have difficulties associated with their temporary stay or migration project, in addition to being exposed to a level of vulnerability conditioned to the country of stay.

So far in 2023, consular officials of the Foreign Ministry have handled 48 cases of gender-based violence abroad, of which 24 have been dealt with by the specialized care system for violence against women, formed by the psychosocial team.

"It is an exemplary program that reveals the permanent collaboration we have had with the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity. And obviously it could not be otherwise, to the extent that this Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through our Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, and all the support team we have, promotes a Feminist Foreign Policy," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Finally, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs pointed out that "this project is limited to the consular field, which is very important for us, because we understand that consulates are the visible face of the State of Chile abroad. Therefore, in order to attend to the needs of women abroad when they are victims of violence, it is essential to have our teams ready to take charge, to welcome and to be able to provide guidance".