Taller Salud, a Puerto Rico women’s health organization, expressed concern over continuing violence on the island and issued an urgent call to strengthen prevention, support networks and community response after five killings of women were reported, including two possible transfemicides. Executive director Tania Rosario Méndez said in a press release that the number of cases in just four days shows the urgency of reinforcing prevention and protection efforts.
She said the cases reported in San Juan, Mayagüez, Guaynabo (pending autopsy), Yabucoa and Ponce come a few weeks before the holiday season, a period that has historically raised concern about gender violence. Rosario Méndez said each death represents a life taken and a family and community deeply affected, and that it also reveals the system’s failure to act to prevent the problem.
She warned that the State has an obligation to guarantee an effective, coordinated response and said preventing gender violence must be a permanent priority. The organization urged relatives, friends and communities to watch for signs such as threats, controlling behavior, isolation, intimidation, harassment and physical or emotional aggression, to offer support without judgment, and to respect survivors’ decisions.
Through its Tu Paz Cuenta program, Taller Salud keeps a support line open seven days a week at 787-697-1120 for women facing violence.