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Marisa Viana-Aitchison
26 years old
Program Assistant, Latin America and Africa, International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC)
Brazil

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Marisa joined IWHC in January 2006. Prior to coming to IWHC, she worked at the Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies in New York where she was responsible for researching and organizing conferences on public private partnership and state reform in Brazil. Before moving to New York, she worked as an Office Assistant at Amnesty International in Massachusetts; and interned with local environmental NGOs in Brazil. In 2007, she participated in the Advocacy in Practice training in New York City, prior to the 51st Session of  the Commission on the Status of Women, and worked with a group of young trainees to effectively advocate for women's and girls' health and rights. Originally from Brazil, Marisa speaks Portuguese and Spanish and has a Bachelor's degree in International Affairs and Environmental Social Justice with a focus in Latin America. 

IWHC: Tell us the story of your life. 

MVA: I grew up in Arara, a small village in the Amazon, and one of the poorest regions in Brazil. I was born into a very big family; I have five brothers and three sisters.

I lived in the village until I was nine or ten. There, school was non-existent, so through my parents' and other residents' initiative, an informal school was built.  Along with my siblings, I attended this school until age nine. At that time, I went to live with my oldest sister in Manaus-the capital of the Amazon, and where most of the children from the village move to live with relatives in hopes of having a chance to receive a regular and consistent education.  I lived in Manaus until I was about 16, and then I came to the United States with my sister and her husband and have, for the most part, been here ever since. 

I finished my last year of high school in the United States and went on to attend university in Boston. Given that the beginning of my education wasn't so promising, the odds of attending university were low—let alone attending university in the U.S.  Most of my friends from the village didn't even make it to high school. Growing up, I feared that moving, travelling, and school would separate me from my roots and create a disconnect between myself, my family, and my childhood friends.  But this has never been the case: If anything, my early informal education (at times the lack thereof) and the path to acquire a higher education have only positively impacted my life. In the transition from childhood to adulthood, I have acquired an appreciation for the undeniable value of education.

I got married shortly after my first trip to the U.S., at 17.  I realized that 17 is a young age to marry, but that was what I wanted. It is with caution that I make this statement, because child or forced marriage is a terrifying experience for many girls and young women. I entered into marriage fully aware of the circumstances, and it was with my full and expressed consent that it took place. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many girls across the globe. 

I stayed married for five years. Many of my classmates were shocked that I was married. Very sadly, my husband passed away three years ago. He was HIV-positive. He fought it for a long time.  He was on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), taking all the appropriate medications, and receiving all the proper care-treatment many people with HIV/AIDS cannot access.  But eventually he became ill. It made me upset to know that there was so much prejudice surrounding my husband, me, our circumstances, and those of so many others.  Seeing and also living the impact HIV/AIDS had on him made me so much more committed to my desire to help people access comprehensive sex education; make people aware of HIV prevention, treatment, and care; and help those who are infected and affected by the epidemic know that they have the same rights as anybody else-they shouldn't be ashamed of their status or afraid of demanding what they need.

It is sad, but at the same time it is what inspires me to want to speak out. Never once have I thought of lying about how he died; I don't want to contribute to the stigma and discrimination that people living with HIV/AIDS must face-the idea that if someone is HIV positive, he or she must have done something bad or they must have contracted the virus because they are not decent.  I saw what my husband went through. I felt the impact that HIV/AIDS has on those that care for their loved ones, and I wouldn't want anybody to go through the same thing. As a result, I have become very involved and dedicated to working for social justice and human rights, in particular women's rights. I want to contribute as much as possible.


IWHC: What is your first memory as a young girl or young woman of a situation where you were personally aware of or effected by gender inequalities or a lack of rights for girls and women?

MVA: Growing up, I could do the same things as my sisters but never the same as my brothers.  My brothers were free to do things without my parent's supervision, but my sisters and I were given much less freedom because my parents felt they had to be more protective of us.  I remember my brothers being able to go to soccer matches, but I was told that I had to stay home and play with my girlfriends.

I realized at a young age that I would have to speak out if I wanted to have the same freedoms as my brothers. I became independent very early on, and instead of asking to do things, I would just announce what I was going to do. I made my parents understand that I was aware of the dangers they were envisioning, and I could protect myself.


IWHC: How did the experience of growing up in your village differ for girls and boys, both as young children and as teens? Did the activities/interests/and perceptions of the future differ for girls and boys?

MVA: At the village's school, where we had one teacher for 30 students, the teachers tended to prioritize the boys. If a class was too large, the teachers would promote the older boys to the next grade level, and the younger girls would be left behind to advance the following year. Boys always had the first opportunity to advance.

IWHC: Growing up, did you ever learn or talk about sex and reproductive health and rights?

MVA: Not at my house. Maybe if my parents had known about reproductive health and rights, and family planning, they wouldn't have had nine children. Then they would probably have talked more about it!

The government began providing family planning services to the village where I grew up in 1997. About once a month, the public health system would send a fully-equipped boat up the river to go house to house and provide contraception and prenatal care as well as other health services. But often the boat wouldn't come for several months, so people would be left without any means of contraception. Eventually, the government built a health post in the village, but usually there is no healthcare worker at the post. There would be boxes of condoms and other contraceptives available at the health post, but the residents couldn't access them.


IWHC: How did you get involved in the struggle for women's and young people's rights?   

MVA: For as long as I can remember, I've been interested and tried to be involved in social and environmental justice. Being from the Amazon, I have always been concerned about river pollution and deforestation, and have had a deep interest in the struggles of indigenous people in Brazil.

From a very young age, I saw the hardships faced by women from the village, including my mother. My mother always wanted to make sure that my siblings and I had more opportunities than she did.  As a teenager, friends who were my age were pregnant because they didn't know about contraception.  I remember thinking that their lives were based on what they couldn't do.  Among other things, they couldn't attend school once they had a child. They were children raising children. Even now, when I go back to visit my parents, I see girls who I saw as babies, pregnant. They are often no older than 14 or 15 years of age.  I have teenage nieces, and I have always tried to be the "cool aunt" who they can come to with any questions-it is so important for young girls to have a place to turn to for vital information about their sexuality as they grow up.

My first experience working to promote women's and young people's rights was when I attended school in Manaus. I had a really nice teacher who volunteered at a community center for mothers suffering from domestic violence. I asked to join her one day, and then became a volunteer myself. Most of the women would come to the center to recover from abusive relationships and gain strength to leave their partners. I remember thinking, "This is not fair. Your husband got drunk, came home and was upset because the house was not in good order, and you suffer for that." Later, when I was attending college in Boston, I volunteered again with an organization for battered women, and I joined a feminist organization at my university. There, I learned that the empowerment of women is essential for the betterment of society and to create a cycle of positive change. 


IWHC: What inspired you to start working at IWHC?

MVA: In college, I majored in International Affairs and Environmental Social Justice with a minor in Women's Studies. I read an International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) publication for one of the Women's Studies courses I took. I was inspired by IWHC's mission to protect the rights and health of girls and women worldwide, and when I was offered an opportunity to be part of the organization, I was thrilled.

I had thought about working on the fight for indigenous rights and environmental social justice, but I eventually realized that I had deep interest in and was committed to promoting the global health and rights of women and girls. IWHC is certainly the place to do this.


IWHC: How do you feel that IWHC has changed young people's lives, either in specific instances or in general?

MVA: My time at IWHC has taught me that it's not about giving a voice to young people.  We have a voice. It's about listening to their whispers and encouraging them to stand up for their rights.

IWHC has invested a lot in creating a space where young people can be empowered through capacity-building. I work for IWHC's Latin America and Africa programs. Through an IWHC program called "Advocacy in Practice," we provide advocacy trainings for young people and emerging leaders from these regions, as well as from countries in Asia.  We then bring them together at major international forums, such as at the UN, where they can advocate for their rights, increase their participation in the decision-making process, and network. 
 
Many organizations have all these brilliant ideas and nicely worded documents stating an interest in involving young people in decision-making, but the ideas are not put into practice. IWHC, on the other hand, realizes these goals by ensuring that young people are included at the policy table and have the necessary skills to advocate for their rights.  

IWHC: What do you see as major challenges facing young people in Brazil today?  What about greatest opportunities?

MVA: Being part of an international organization that works in so many places, I have learned that many societies have the same underlying issues. Young people around the world face a lack of empowerment and a lack of, or inadequate, education.  In Brazil, the government has set up a decent educational system, but like in many societies, not everybody has access to it.  Many young people have the immediate need to work at an early age, and attending school is left as a second plan. 

Access to health services is another problem for young people. It may be that my perspective comes mainly from growing up in rural Brazil, but often young people cannot access services because they don't have the means to get to a regional city hospital. Confidentiality is another issue for young people, because in a small city, people talk. Healthcare workers often cast judgment on young people, especially young girls, when they ask for information on contraception, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or abortion. The Brazilian government provides free condoms, contraception and HIV-testing, but it needs to invest more in training  healthcare workers to counsel a young person who wants to have an HIV test; who wants to know how to protect him- or herself from a sexually transmitted infection; or who needs information on abortion or contraception. The government needs to invest in training healthcare workers who can provide accurate information on these issues, and do so without making discriminatory assumptions.

Eliminating gender discrimination at home, school, and in the work place is another challenge faced by young people and women across regions. It's something that exists and needs to be addressed more consistently.

Regarding greatest opportunities, I think young people have to start to take advantage of the openings for greater participation. I feel that there have already been some significant shifts in acknowledging the need for increasing youth participation. There has been realization that young people matter and their opinions and concerns need to be addressed.


IWHC: What do you think are some of the most important issues for programmers and policymakers to address in order to promote and protect the health and rights of young people - especially young girls?

MVA: Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)—in particular, that young girls are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections; the necessity of sexuality education; and the need for an accessible and comprehensible legal system where women and young girls are taken seriously. 

IWHC: Do you have positive examples from your professional or personal experience in which both dialogue and programming have achieved meaningful youth participation or leadership?  What was effective about these particular examples?

MVA: I was one of the 15 participants in the Advocacy in Practice training session that IWHC organized last year. Other participants included members from our partner organizations in Latin America and Asia.  During this training, we put forth our expectations for the outcome of a UN conference and practiced our advocacy skills. We then went on to advocate at the United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women. The theme of the meeting was violence against young girls, so it was important to have young people's voices heard in such an influential forum. 

Each participant contributed in making recommendations for the resolution to ensure a better outcome for women and girls. It was exciting to have the opportunity to be involved in the collective effort of representing the views of IWHC and advocating for common goals. IWHC's partners from Latin American and Asia were excited—and I was excited—to be working with such a committed group of people.  

IWHC: What are you proudest of?

MVA: Personally, I am proud of being able to speak for myself-to know that I have rights that cannot be infringed upon.  To be recognized by my family, friends and colleagues as an individual committed to fighting for a better world.  Professionally, I am proud and humbled to have the opportunity to work with and meet so many amazing women from all over the world.

IWHC: What are your dreams for the future? Can you describe your vision of an ideal or better world?

MVA: I have too many dreams.  A better world for me is a place where people don't go hungry when we produce enough food, where people don't die from preventable diseases and malnutrition.  A better world would be a place where our environment is respected and appreciated. I dream of a world free of suffering, violence, rape, inequality, injustice, disease, and oppression. 

IWHC: How do you imagine your future?

MVA: I definitely envision myself continuing to work to promote women's health and rights. I want to devote more time to efforts to increasing access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and to promoting greater participation of people living with HIV/AIDS in decision-making processes.  It's something that I have a personal commitment to, but also it's a need. 

I hope to go back to school for public health in the next year or so. Eventually, I want to go back to Brazil and work at the grassroots level in the north and northeast of Brazil focusing on young people. And perhaps one day I will be the President of Brazil or the UN Secretary General. It is a dream…


Page last updated 3/2/08