Content Warning: The Theme entry on Revenge and Retaliation contains references to sex trafficking and rape.

At the start of Prayers for the Stolen, Ladydi describes a key feature of Chulavista: “On our mountain there were no men. It was like living where there were no trees” (8). Her mother also describes the absence of men “like being a person with one arm… like being asleep without dreams” (8). These words capture part of the strangeness and difficulty of life in their small village. With sons and husbands emigrating to the United States for work or being recruited by traffickers, Chulavista is left as an exclusively female world. The absence of men presents many challenges, including increased vulnerability to attacks by the drug traffickers. Without the traditional protective role assumed by men in such places, the traffickers have even more license to operate with impunity. The women must devise ingenious methods to hide and disguise themselves, since they are regarded as easy prey. As seen with Paula and Maria’s mother, these methods are, tragically, not always successful.

The absence of men also has an impact on women’s romantic and sexual expression and development. Ladydi’s mother asks, lamentingly, “Why the hell can’t this place have a bar full of men so that you can get drunk and get yourself kissed?” (54).