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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | June 2005 
Abuse Rampant Among Huichols
 Ulises Zamarroni Martínez - El Universal
| | Local specialists estimate 90 percent of women in the indigenous groups' communities are beaten by their husbands. |
Colotlán, Jalisco - During six years of marriage, Delfina Hernández, an indigenous Huichol woman and mother of five children, has seen a local doctor at least 10 times for serious injuries resulting from physical violence suffered at the hands of her husband.
The director of a state domestic violence agency, Luz Elia González Navarro, says that nearly all Huichol women endure domestic violence and almost all Huichol men are prone to a violent alcoholism.
"We are talking about domestic violence in just about every single Huichol home. It's difficult to come up with an accurate figure, but I feel it's safe to say that at least 90 percent of Huichol men frequently abuse alcohol and subsequently abuse their wives and families," said the official.
Though Delfina denies that her husband is aggressive, she does confirm that he drinks daily and that he shouts at her and occasionally hits her, almost always in the presence of their children.
"If we take into account that so much of the violence occurs in front of the children, we see the formation of a chain of violence from generation to generation," said González Navarro.
Delfina's home, Colotlan, a town located 194 km (120 miles) north of Guadalajara, is a town where few live and most come only to work.
The transient nature of the community, González Navarro stresses, is a key factor in the growing domestic violence there.
"The most common forms of domestic violence are psychological and physical violence, economic manipulation and abandonment, in that order," she said, adding that she sees at least one new domestic violence case from Colotlan every day.
For Samuel Salvador, an indigenous Huichol lawyer and member of an indigenous communities support entity at the University of Guadalajara, alcohol is the principle detonator for domestic violence.
"[In these communities] many men do not have much to do and end up spending a lot of time drinking ... It is a common practice for men there to hit their women as a daily part of community life." he said. "It's not really that they are alcoholics, but rather that (domestic violence) is ingrained in the culture."
These factors alcoholism and culture collide, said González Navarro, "making it even more difficult to try to end the problem of domestic violence in the Huichol communities."
"It reminds me of the case of a woman who was abused by her man, she decided to come to us but the man followed her here. These are things that are out of our control. We can't force anyone to be reasonable. A peace can not be made between them, but we have to let them go," she said. "Many times we are unable to help ... They have their customs and we cannot intervene without both of their permissions."
"Up to now, thank God, we've only seen only non-life-threatening injuries, but we know that if there is not rapid action to address this growing problem greater tragedy is inevitable," said González Navarro. |
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