Based in United States

A Breeze of Hope

A Non-profit

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Organization Details

A Breeze of Hope Foundation works to eradicate sexual violence and to restore the lives of those who've suffered childhood sexual violence by providing them free, holistic support. To accomplish our goals, we focus on two broad initiatives: First, we provide child survivors with a safe and comfortable environment where they can become the protagonists of their healing journeys and reach their full potential. We provide free legal, social, and psychological services. Our goal is for the girls to build the skills and confidence they need to live joy filled lives, continue their education, find meaningful jobs, and become powerful advocates. Second, we aim to dismantle machista culture, the culture of maledomination of women and girls, and tofoster a culture of collaboration, equality, and partnership. We engage in legal reform and also provide awareness raising education. We also work with an innovative school that focuses on respect for human rights, self-agency, and gender equality. 

Impact Story

As a teenager, I—Brisa De Angulo (Founder and CEO of ABH)—was repeatedly raped and tortured. After breaking the silence, I received tremendous backlash and intimidation. Everywhere I went I was blamed. I went from office to office, and no one took me seriously. My ex-family and community sought to silence me and to protect my aggressor at all cost. I was alone. There was not a single place in the entire country where victims of sexual violence could receive specialized treatment. 

After years of struggling to get my case to court, I discovered that there are thousands of children and adolescents who suffer what I suffered, and who have nowhere to go, no door to knock on. At age 17, I decided that I would become for others what no one was for me: a safe haven. So I founded A Breeze of Hope Foundation, the first and only center in Bolivia that specializes in legal, social, and psychological support for child survivors. Since opening in 2004, A Breeze of Hope has: 

  1. Provided free legal, social, and psychological services to over 1,600 child survivors of sexual violence and their supportive, non-offending family members.
  2. Trained over 100,000 people in sexual violence awareness, best practices, and human rights.
  3. Maintained a 95% conviction rate in the hundreds of criminal trials we have taken to court. Before we opened, the Government’s conviction rate was just 2%.
  4. Successfully pressured the Bolivian Government to repeal the Rape-Marriage law,a law that pardoned sexual aggressors of their crimes if they married their victims. Also thanks to ABH’s efforts, sexual predators no longer confront child victims face-to-face in court.Additionally, A Breeze of Hope worked together with Bolivian judges and prosecutors to produce Bolivia’s first uniform interpretation of criminal trail procedure for child sexual violence cases. 
  5. Successfully pushed the Bolivian Government to declare August 9ththe National Day Against Child Sexual Assault.