Theater has the power to engage communities and educate them about complex subjects. In El Salvador ArtCorps is using theater to reduce violence against women and increase economic opportunity.
Rural communities in El Salvador frequently do not have access to financial services and when they do, women often lack the financial literacy to benefit from them. As a result, women cannot engage in activities that could help them break out of poverty, such as starting a micro-enterprise or buying a few goats. While many women in El Salvador struggle with extreme poverty, they are also vulnerable to violence: one in three women in El Salvador is a victim of gender violence.
Theater conveys important information in an accessible format. ArtCorps is using theater to educate and engage communities in preventing gender and community finance, train field staff in grassroots organizations and build local female leadership.
This project will increase awareness and decrease the incidence of violence against women in Salvadoran communities. It will also increase women's knowledge of and ability to participate in community finance, thereby reducing poverty.
