Ecuador is currently experiencing an exponential growth in crime. Since 2016, the homicide rate has increased 500% and in 2023 was 45 per 100,000, the highest in South America. This rapid and unprecedented increase in crime, driven by gangs and the drug trade, has created an environment of fear and panic in a once peaceful country. The Fulbright Specialist Program supported this 5 week project to provide resources to a local campus to prepare for events of violence. Fulbright Specialist Sarah Maness traveled from East Carolina University to Guayaquil, Ecuador to partner with Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL). The team created workshops on preparedness for events of violence individually tailored for faculty, staff, and employees. All workshops covered psychological emergency preparedness for before, during, and after an event of mass violence. Key topics included modifying active shooter training components for the local situation in Ecuador, familiarization with the Stop the Bleed® program, stress reduction activities, and connection to professional psychological health. The fourth workshop was held for psychologists and social workers and specifically covered psychological first aid and introduced how to manage life threatening blood loss in an emergency. Over the 5 week period Dr. Maness delivered 5 workshops for professors, staff, workers, psychologists and social workers at ESPOL. The first workshop for was for professors (>50 attendees), the second for staff (>100 attendees), and the third for workers (>30 attendees). The fourth workshop was given at the ESPOL the marine science and aquaculture campus in Santa Elena Province (28 attendees). Lastly, a workshop was given to psychologists and social workers focusing on psychological first aid and in depth information about stopping life threatening bleeding (10 attendees). The most important outcomes of the project were providing the ESPOL campus with resources on how to prepare for events of mass violence and tools for psychological aid in living in an environment of fear. The recent exponential increase in violence in coastal cities of Ecuador has left people feeling vulnerable and afraid. Active shooter protocols and essentials of stopping severe bleeding were of particular interest to workshop participants. In addition, important connections between the Fulbright Specialist. and ESPOL psychologists were made, leading to research collaborations. This experience provided an opportunity for mutual understanding and cultural exchange and built the capacity for the ESPOL community to prepare for events of violence.
Sarah Maness – Fulbright to Ecuador 2025
