are requesting support from [the IELCO] to start such support groups,” Rincon said. About 190,000 Colombians are estimated to be HIV-
positive. Most are women living in poverty who experi- ence sexual and gender-based violence and have limited access to health care, Rincon added. In her work she sup- ports women struggling to build sustainable livelihoods “as they also deal with gender and sexual violence, fear, shame and ignorance, and their obligation to provide for and protect their families, especially children.”
Ros Marie Rincon, coordinator of HIV/AIDS work for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia, says the goal is to have zero new infections in communities.
Walking together O
Lutherans in Colombia work with marginalized people
n the first Saturday of each month, 40 to 50 people meet at the Redeemer congregation of the Evan- gelical Lutheran Church of Colombia (IELCO) in
Bogotá. Often a new face joins the conversations about daily life, community concerns and what this group does. Begun 10 years ago, “Walking Together” has grown
into a support group for people living with HIV/AIDS. Membership is open to everyone and those of all faiths. For many affected by HIV, it’s the only place they can find assistance. “We strive for zero discrimination on who can be a
member of the group so we can reach our goal of zero new HIV infections in our communities,” said Ros Mary Rincon, coordinator of the IELCO’s HIV/AIDS work. Lutherans in Colombia help raise awareness about
HIV prevention and encourage those with HIV to live in dignity and claim their rights. Tey also engage in net- working and advocacy with local and international civil society organizations and the government. Redeemer’s efforts “are paying off and other churches
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www.thelutheran.org
Government accountability Last October, with support from the Lutheran World Federation, Rincon spoke about women’s rights in Colombia during a meeting of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. She and other participants discussed the impact of sexual and gender-based violence on women and the right to health care for people living with HIV in a country that has experienced five decades of civil conflict. Rincon welcomed the committee’s call for the govern-
ment to amend and develop its legal framework around preventing the high levels of domestic and sexual vio- lence in Colombia, and to revise laws that allow medical practitioners to impose sterilization on women or girls with disabilities and those living with HIV. Colombia’s conflict has displaced up to 5 million
people (more than 10 percent of the population), mostly women and children. While all civilians are impacted by the fighting, “women and girls are primarily and increas- ingly targeted by the use of sexual violence,” which is perpetrated by all of the armed groups involved, the U.N. committee reported. Rincon hopes peace talks begun in October 2012
between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia will lead to the conflict’s end. Yet she is clear that violence doesn’t stop with a peace agreement and, for most women, oſten increases and is worsened by failure to “prevent, investigate and punish all forms of gender-based violence.” According to the National Institute of Legal Medicine
and Forensic Sciences, Rincon said, “the impunity of these crimes is 98 percent, [a figure that] goes together with a high percentage of underreporting, the invisibility of these crimes and the constant fear to denounce them.” Despite some progress, “many challenges [remain] in
breaking the culture of violence that has become com- monplace in Colombia,” Rincon said.
Based on a report from Lutheran World Information.
LWF/MAXIMILIAN HAAS
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