In Memoriam: Esther Chavez Cano
12/25/2009
Esther Chávez Cano is world-renowned human rights activist and long time Vagina Warrior who, for over ten years brought international attention to the horrific violence committed against women and girls in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Since 1993, over 600 women and girls have been murdered in Juarez. Chavez worked tirelessly to assist the families of these women, and to help other survivors of violence through her work as founder of Casa Amiga, a domestic violence and rape crises center. In just ten years Casa Amiga has sheltered thousands of survivors of sexual crimes and other types of violence in the border region of Chihuahua, Mexico and provides psychological counseling, medical assistance, and legal aid for the survivors of domestic violence and incest.
Through Casa Amiga, Ms. Chávez Cano brought much needed education to the public on the rights of women and girls, and violence prevention. Ms. Chavez created a model, both nationally and internationally for empowering survivors of violence. She was the recipient of the 2008 National Human Rights Prize in Mexico (El Premio Nacional de los Derechos Humanos).