Camila was almost killed—just for being a woman
Camila thought she had found the love of her life.
She was living in Bolivia with her father after her mother died. She felt alone and was looking for support during a vulnerable time.
That’s why she thought she had found someone who would love and protect her.
But he turned out to be the opposite. He became the perpetrator of unimaginable harm in her life: attempted femicide.
Femicide is murdering a woman specifically because she is a woman.
He attacked Camila and she spent weeks in a coma with horrific life-threatening injuries. She has a distinct memory from that time:
“Everything was dark. I saw my life like a movie. That is when I prayed to God. ‘No, not yet please,’ I kept repeating. ‘Not yet. There is more I need to live for, it is too soon.’”
And she did live! Camila got what she calls her “second chance in life.”
She was able to leave the hospital and slowly began physical healing. But her emotional and mental healing had a long way to go.
Not only that, but she was navigating the justice system alone. She had poor legal counsel and her case was categorized as domestic violence instead of attempted femicide.
The perpetrator was put on unenforced house arrest, which meant he often crossed paths with Camila, bringing great risk to her.
But then things changed. Camila found her IJM team: a family, as she calls them.
She started receiving the legal help she really needed. Her team is fighting for the perpetrator to be convicted of the crime he committed: attempted femicide.
People like you—people who want to see women safe and loved—are helping make Camila’s fight for justice possible. Your generosity means IJM offices around the world can keep pursuing justice in cases like Camila’s.
Thank you for your important role in this fight! And thank you for supporting a journey like Camila’s.
Now Camila doesn’t have to heal by herself—like she once tried to.
“Like any person who pretends to be strong, I tried to do this alone, without a psychologist. But I only made it through half of the battle. It wasn’t until I found IJM that I realized I truly needed help. I was carrying a lot inside. With the psychologist’s support I’m now on the path of healing.”
Her IJM team helped her access a no-cost psychologist and trauma-informed aftercare. She’s learned practical tools and methods for healing—like journaling, narrating her story and accepting herself for who she is.
Thank you for walking this path with Camila—and so many other women like her. Thank you for showing them your love and care. Thank you for ensuring they can say these same words:
“My fight is not over, but I am healing, and I feel safer. I have dreams and goals for the future.”