Sernam announces new campaign to tackle domestic violence

SANTIAGO.- The head of the National Service for Women (Sernam), Laura Albornoz, attended the launch of the campaign "Take a voice to combat domestic violence against women", which aims to generate awareness about the crime and encourage prevention as well as education.

The initiative will seek to hand out useful information with regards to the various organizations that specialize in the matter and stress the importance of the fight against domestic violence.

Minister Albornoz pointed out that the campaign was being carried out by the private sector, stating that violence against women "is not only a problem in Chile, but throughout the whole hemisphere" and stressed that tackling violence that takes place within the nucleus of the family is part of corporate social responsibility.

For Albornoz, the domestic violence figure in Chile and throughout the region "is alarmingly high, and well hidden", insisting that her entity supports campaigns "to help combat this problem".

According to the Ministry's figures, in Chile one in every two women falls victim to the crime.