![\"MUA_01web\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/MUA_01web1.jpg?resize=800%2C518&quality=89&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime and only one-quarter of all physical assaults are ever reported.<\/p>\n
Immigrant women are especially susceptible to domestic violence because language barriers and fear of deportation often make it difficult to seek help.<\/p>\n
For women like Maria de Lourdes Reboyoso, domestic violence became the reason to leave her husband in Mexico and start a new life in the United States with her children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first came to the United States, I felt like I was in a completely foreign country. My two children didn\u2019t understand why we moved here. They missed home,\u201d said Reboyoso.<\/p>\n
Once here, as Reboyoso started on the path towards a new life, she met a friend that told her about Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), an organization located in the Mission District that helps immigrant women who have suffered domestic abuse. The program offers counseling, workshops and a variety of programs aimed at empowering women.<\/p>\n
Reboyoso made a living by cleaning houses in San Francisco. It was like \u201cjumping into a refreshing lake\u201d according to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough Manos Cari\u00f1osas I learned that it doesn\u2019t matter if you have papers or not, I still have rights as a domestic worker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manos Cari\u00f1osas is a multi-service workers\u2019 program within MUA that provides job training and placement as home health care, childcare providers and housecleaners. It is a workers\u2019 association program in which participants learn how to negotiate contracts, build labor skills and advocate for their rights as immigrant women.<\/p>\n
The program started in 1994 in response to MUA members need for new employment skills training and a work development program. Through this program women were able to create fair and just employment as independent contractors.<\/p>\n
Maria Hernandez, program coordinator and supervisor of the sexual crisis hotline at MUA, is also a survivor of domestic violence who once sought help from the organization at which she is now employed. She uses her learned skills to train other women to become more confident and independent.<\/p>\n
\u201cManos Cari\u00f1osas is a tool used to become a professional worker and gain independence. Women no longer have to depend on a man for stability,\u201d said Hernandez.<\/p>\n
Through Manos Cari\u00f1osas, women receive 80 hours of comprehensive job training in Spanish through facilitators that include: the Children\u2019s Council, Family Caregiver Alliance, the Employment Law Center and many other well-known and respected organizations.<\/p>\n
After graduating from the program, Manos Cari\u00f1osas staff members create and develop updated resumes, prepare workers for interviews, field calls from potential employers and continue to support workers through negotiations for a living wage and healthy work conditions.<\/p>\n
Members are also invited to participate in bi-monthly workers\u2019 association meetings where they continue to be trained and learn about their labor rights and receive advice on work-related problems.<\/p>\n
According to Hernandez, MUA is one of the few places in the Bay Area where immigrant women can openly come and discuss problems concerning to domestic violence and immigrant-related issues.<\/p>\n
Laurene Dom\u00ednguez, coordinator of the SAFE Place at SF State, claims that many immigrants hesitate leaving abusive relationships for fear of being alone and undocumented in addition to the safety of their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many victims of abuse there is a fear becoming financially unstable and having to deal with issues such as hunger, paying the rent on time or finding shelters,\u201d said Dom\u00ednguez.<\/p>\n
According to Dom\u00ednguez it takes five-to-seven attempts for a survivor to leave before they actually leave for good.<\/p>\n
\u201cViolent relationships are all about power and control,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody that I\u2019ve worked with says that there\u2019s a part of that person (the abuser) that they love. They have hope that things will change and the person will get help or stop the abuse, but usually the violence gets worse as the years progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.<\/p>\n
Viridiana Millan, a member of MUA, has found comfort and security through the organization in a different way.<\/p>\n
She used to live with her partner in a small apartment in San Francisco. After three years of dealing with domestic abuse Millan, who was then pregnant, called the police on her partner who was then arrested.<\/p>\n
When Millan\u2019s partner got out of jail he kidnapped her three-month-old baby and left the country to Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen my baby girl for 10 years now,\u201d said Millan. \u201cHe took her away out of vengeance for what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Millan recently got her U Visa \u2014thanks in part to the legal resources offered by MUA\u2014that provides her with authorized stay and employment in the United States.<\/p>\n
The U Visa is available to noncitizens who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse resulting from a wide range of criminal activity and have been helpful or likely to be helpful with the investigation or prosecution of the crime.<\/p>\n
Millan is now planning a trip to go to Mexico in hopes of finding and reconnecting with her now 10-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the help of this group I have learned how to value myself,\u201d said Millan. \u201cMost importantly I can now go to Mexico and see my daughter. One day I will reunite with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article was produced in partnership with Professor Katynka Martinez\u2019s Latina\/Latino Journalism class at SF State University.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime and only one-quarter of all physical assaults are ever reported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2161,2160,2159,358,2158],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-19571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-employment-law-center","tag-family-caregiver-alliance","tag-manos-carinosas","tag-mua","tag-mujeres-unidas-y-activas","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n