Guam Bureau of Women's Affairs

07/03/2026

Our Acting Director, Dr. Sarah Elmore-Hernandez, shares a reflection on the work of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs and the importance of addressing the challenges facing women and families on Guam.

🔗 Read the full letter:

It’s been said that the true measure of any society is how it responds to its most vulnerable.

07/03/2026

This International Women’s Day, the Bureau of Women’s Affairs joins partners across Guam in pledging to advance opportunity, visibility, and support for women and girls in our community.

01/02/2026

We need to put the focus on the ones committing the sexual assault.

27/01/2026

Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and related crimes will no longer have to be re-victimized by being transported in a squad car. BWA, through a grant from the federal Office of Violence Against Women, has purchased for GPD’s Domestic Assault Response Team (DART) an unmarked passenger van to transport victims to safety.

“Through our 2024 OVW Rural grant we purchased a Kia Carnival 8-passenger van and several infant and child car seats for GPD. Their advocates will now be able to transport victims of domestic violence and related crimes, along with their children, to safety in a much more trauma-informed approach,” said Jayne Flores, Director of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs.

“Our administration has always been very supportive of helping victims to become stronger,” said Governor Lourdes Leon Guerrero. “The purchase of this van is part of our commitment to creating an environment that is respectful and dignified, even as these people face a very traumatic situation,” she added.

“We are very proud of the work the Bureau of Women’s Affairs is doing to help strengthen women,” said Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio. “Part of the reason we revived the BWA was to help our island’s most vulnerable persons - many of them women and children - to pick up the pieces of their lives after a traumatic experience and help them move forward. The purchase of this van is proof that we are making a difference for these people.”

“GPD is thankful for our partnership with BWA, and for the grant funding they obtain for us,” said GPD Chief Stephen Ignacio. “This new victim services van is the first of its kind for GPD.”

17/01/2026

We have lost a tireless advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Rest in peace, Pale’ Mike. You are among the BEST of God’s soldiers.

14/01/2026

Happening NOW: Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence ED Cynthia Cabot and BWA Director Jayne Flores talking about human trafficking on Joy FM 91.9…. Tune in!

13/01/2026

January is Human Trafficking Prevention and Stalking Awareness Month. Bureau of Women’s Affairs participated in the Guam Coalition’s HT Awareness outreach at Agana Shopping Center. The important thing here is to be AWARE. If your neighbor has young females in the house and men coming and going at all hours - something may be up. CALL 911, or call the Marianas Regional Fusion Center at 671-475-0400. They can help. Remember- if you see something that looks “off” - call 911 or the Fusion Center. SAY something. You could be rescuing someone from unspeakable crimes.

02/01/2026

We have lost a most fervent advocate. May God welcome you into his arms, Pale’ Mike.

16/12/2025

Please join in on the holiday fun!

13/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1G2KmbyRX1/?mibextid=wwXIfr

From Germany to Zimbabwe, from China to Fiji, cities around the world lit up in orange during the of Activism against gender-based violence.

These monuments, marches, and illuminated skylines carried one message: ending violence against women — online and offline — is urgent, universal, and non-negotiable.

Together, we for safety, dignity, and justice .

🔗 Learn more about this year’s global movement: https://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/16-days-of-activism

13/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/16nyv2h4JQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

"Circa 1986, second-year Harvard Law student Michelle Robinson almost dropped out after a white professor told the entire contracts section that 'some of you are only here because of affirmative action' while staring straight at her. That night she called home collect, ready to quit, but her mother Marian answered and said only eight words: 'Make them swallow those words with your degree.' So Michelle marched to the library, checked out every single casebook the professor had ever cited, highlighted them in three colors, and for the rest of the semester raised her hand first with answers so razor-sharp he stopped calling on her out of fear. At the final exam she wrote a forty-page bluebook that began with the quiet dedication 'for the seats they said I stole' and earned the only A+ the professor gave in ten years. He mailed the graded exam back with a handwritten note that simply read 'touché, Ms. Robinson.' She framed that note behind her Harvard diploma and hung it in every office she ever had, including the East Wing, where visitors thought it was decorative until she told them the story and watched their jaws drop. Years later, when that same professor retired, Michelle sent him a signed copy of 'Becoming' inscribed 'thank you for the fire; I used it to light the way.' The girl they tried to shrink became the woman who taught a nation that excellence is the sweetest revenge, served ice-cold with perfect citations."

13/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AD3wCKTQC/?mibextid=wwXIfr