Jerry Rivera, PAHO Fight Violence Against Women

Singer Jerry Rivera has joined with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to raise awareness of and reduce violence against women in the Americas.

Rivera became PAHO's newest Champion of Health late last year during a celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women at PAHO headquarters. He is partnering with PAHO in a new public service campaign and a special fund, and is incorporating messages against domestic violence in his recordings and concerts around the world.

To launch the new PAHO campaign, Rivera recorded a public service announcement (PSA) for PAHO in which the singer tells Spanish-speaking audiences that violence against women "is a punishment to us all" and appeals to viewers to "stop this injustice." The PSA can be seen here and is also posted on Rivera's web site and is being distributed in Latin America and to Spanish-language television stations in the United States.

Rivera is also partnering with PAHO and the Pan American Health and Education Foundation to establish a new Fund to End Domestic Violence (for more information or to donate to the fund, see PAHEF's web site). It will provide funds to set up shelters for battered women and their families, promote women's self-help groups, and support the design and implementation of evidence-based domestic abuse programs that draw on data collected from hospitals, police, medical examiners, and other sources.

According to PAHO survey data, one out of three women in Latin America and the Caribbean has been subject to sexual, physical, or psychological violence at the hands of a domestic partner. In some countries, the proportion is much higher. In Bolivia, 53 percent of women say they have experienced physical violence, and 12 percent have been victims of sexual violence. In Peru, 42 percent have experienced physical violence and 10 percent, sexual violence.

Rivera and his sister Saned composed and recorded "Rivers of Pain," which depicts a woman's escape from domestic violence.