Facing high rates of sexual violence, Colombia turns to salsa as therapy

Cali, Colombia’s salsa capital, is incorporating the popular dance with other therapies to deal with trauma. Growing up as the only girl in a family of nine boys, Carmen Diaz, not her real name, lived a lively youth in the port city of Buenaventura, Colombia. Her energetic childhood involved a lot of playing with her brothers. But her happiness was marred by sexual assault from her uncle, a reality her parents refused to acknowledge, accusing her of lying instead. Devastated, she left home at the age of 13.

Feeling lost in the streets of Cali and struggling with drug addiction, Diaz found a way out through the city's social services. They provided her with resources and connected her to a local nonprofit, "Mi Cuerpo Es Mi Historia" or "My body is my story". This organization offers an experimental therapy that uses salsa dancing combined with psychotherapy to assist victims of sexual violence in processing their trauma and expressing their feelings.

According to Martha Isabel Cordoba Arevalo, a psychologist and its founder, dancing can prove a potent tool for healing trauma. It offers a non-verbal form of expression for those who cannot or do not wish to verbally express their experiences. Over the past ten years, the project has assisted around 700 young girls, primarily via referrals from city services.

Although the path to recover from such trauma is never simple or straightforward, Arevalo saw that Diaz showed a natural talent for salsa dancing. Diaz gradually began to feel more at ease and found dancing salsa therapeutic. When she was on the dance floor, she felt free and joyful. She no longer sees herself as a victim, but a survivor.

Studies have supported the idea that dance can provide benefits for both mind and body. According to a review of 41 studies, dance movement therapy effectively reduced depression and anxiety. Dance movement therapist Dita Federman cited dance's ability to encourage people to recall and express past experiences, which conventional treatments often struggle to achieve. However, Federman emphasized that caution must be taken when using dance therapy, as it can be retraumatizing.

Despite its potential, Arevalo warns that addressing sexual violence is a complex process that requires sufficient time, resources, and trained professionals. Dance therapy, she believes, could contribute to addressing high rates of gender-based violence in Colombia. As many as one-third of Colombian women have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner.

Arevalo employs a technique called "mirroring" to avoid direct pairing, which can risk retraumatization. Dancers learn their steps in a larger group and rehearse their partner's moves at a distance. Her nonprofit also offers a pathway for survivors to become salsa instructors and possibly set up their own businesses.

Sofia Murillo, one of the program's graduates, has since become a salsa teacher and finds dancing therapeutic and freeing. Despite her painful past, she focuses on the present and the future, which is filled with dancing and imparting her skills to others.