9. Strong Women program: This year, in one of our newer community programs, we worked with two communities of women to facilitate conversations about self-esteem and empowerment, and help share the tools and support to identify and respond to abusive home situations. Together with programs for families and impact clubs for youth, our work is strengthening families and building bridges of trust in Honduran communities.
Nine Ways ASJ Is Doing Justice In Honduras
January 1, 2018
Here are nine moments where ASJ (formerly known as AJS) saw change in 2017!
8. Changing the Dialogue on Child Abuse: Our work to protect young survivors of sexual assault, abuse, and trafficking has seen great success this year. Our brave investigators were able to crack investigative puzzles that baffled police, leading to the identification and eventual arrest of serial criminals. Beyond individual cases, our staff have visited schools, hospitals, and courtrooms across the country to change the dialogue and improve best practices for responding to these horrific cases in ways that support and do not re-traumatize the survivor.
7. Social Security Scandal Microsite: Hundreds of hours went into this exhaustive summary of one of Honduras’ worst corruption scandals in recent years. Revistazo, ASJ-Honduras’ Spanish-language new site has earned hundreds of thousands of views this year for its insightful and in-depth reporting, which shines a light on corruption scandals and serves as a basis for community advocacy.
6. Instinct for Life Global Campaign: In an initiative that spans all of Latin America, ASJ was chosen to represent Honduras in an effort to raise awareness of high levels of homicide and violence and facilitate coordinated anti-violence efforts. Thousands of people have attended our Instinct for Life events, laying the groundwork for a multi-year campaign in Honduras.
5. Political Advocacy: In the lead-up to a complicated election, ASJ met with leaders from every political party and called on them to be transparent and prioritize violence prevention and governability in their administration. We also launched a national movement called “3 de 3” to encourage candidates for office to disclose information about their backgrounds, finances, and plans for government. Our political efforts have been led by empowering youth to join the cause of peace and transparency.
4. Community-led Audits: In a new initiative that blends our community programs with high-level government advocacy, this year we mobilized dozens of community members to be a voice for change in their communities. We trained community members in the tools they needed to audit their local schools and health centers and hold them accountable, and were able to share these audits with authorities in the government ministries of Health and Education.
3. Baseline Studies on Government Ministries: Three years after we launched a bold new plan to audit government ministries and hold them accountable for implementing improvements, we have completed improvement plans for five of the most important government agencies in Honduras. Our intervention has already resulted in positive change, for example, in dramatic improvements in the Property Institute. A study sponsored by the Millennium Challenge Corporation found that more than half of government employees felt corruption was decreasing.
2. Expanding Peace and Justice: Our methodology to reduce community violence has gained attention everywhere from the New York Times to the streets of Chicago. Now after 12 years of working for justice in some of the country’s most difficult murder cases, we have a chance to replicate our success in a larger area. This year, Honduras’ National Police announced that it will adopt our groundbreaking methodology in communities across the capital city, responding to the needs of hundreds of thousands of Hondurans.
1. Reforming the Honduran Police: As the second year of the reforms in the Honduran National Police winds to a close, we see fundamental changes in the police force that will make a lasting impact. Over 4,000 officers in total were removed from the force and replaced with nearly 5,000 well-trained, highly-vetted new recruits. In constant media appearances and frequent trips to Washington, ASJ leaders have advocated for a transparent, well-managed force that responds to the needs of the Honduran people. ASJ was also involved in the writing of two new laws that were passed by the Honduran Congress, and help ensure that these positive changes are made permanent.
ASJ’s work in Honduras is made possible through the generosity of donors from around the world. To learn more about who we are, visit our who we are page, sign up for email updates, or contact us directly. Together we can do justice in Honduras!
ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People, Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US
A call to action for Honduras
The Association for a More Justice Society-US Supports the Network to Defend Democracy; Calls for Free and Fair Elections in Honduras November 25, 2025
Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections
Dear friend, I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
Calvin alums turn faith into action through nonprofit
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Thank You for Moving Forward With Us this Summer!
When Policies Shift, Families Pay the Price * by Jo Ann Van Engen
Inspiring civil society in the US with a vision of a more just society
