Women in Nicaragua, often too timid to speak for themselves, have been beaten and sometimes killed by their partners or husbands who were unable or unwilling to see this as a crime, as unacceptable, as a way of life that needed to be changed.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reports that nongovernmental organizations “estimate that up to 60 percent of (Nicaraguan) women have been physically abused by a partner at least once.”

Enter Catholic Relief Services and its partner agency, Caritas Nicaragua, which joined forces to reduce the violence against women by providing programming for men. The agencies’ officials said they saw the potential to reduce the violence, save women’ lives and promote healthy families in the process