The Instructors
“We help the helpless to be able to manage on their own.”
Who: LAV (Laissez l’ Afrique Vivre)
What: Offers support and vocational training to young people - rape victims, child soldiers and street children.
Eight young women sit bent over their treadle sewing machines. They have learned how to thread the machine and pump the treadle at the right speed to sew evenly and safely. Their first task is to sew a straight seam on a piece of paper.
The Judge
“We see a lot of trifling matters here at the same time as other victims don’t even report serious crimes such as incest.”
Who: Paloma Mari
What: Is a judge in one of Spain’s specialised courts for violence against women.
The Male Activists
“Sadly, we men have learned that we are worth more than women.”
Who: Antonio Agraz
What: Works in a men’s network for equality.
Panzi Hospital
“Would a male lion destroy a female lion’s genitals? It’s unthinkable.”
Who: Panzi Hospital
What: Treats survivors of sexual violence and women with severe gynaecological problems.
The Police Stations
“We needed special stations and police officers who were trained to listen and understand.”
Who: Women’s police stations
What: Handle reports to the police and investigate crimes which affect women in relationships.
The Imam
“Sexual response is important. Mutual pleasure is good for the marriage.”
Who: Hassanein Abdelhakam
What: Religious leader who has changed his opinion and is now oppose to genital mutilation.
The Teacher
“If someone wants to murder me, they will.”
Who: Marisela Ortiz Rivera
What: Leads the association “Give us back our daughters”, at the risk of her life.
The Course Leader
“I can’t un-do what happened to Maggie, but I can decide what I’m going to do with my life. The same is true of everyone who takes my courses.”
Who: Susan Omilian
What: Works with abused women who want to thrive.
The Therapist
Is your family more important than you yourself?
Who: Maria Cristina D’Almeida Marques
What: Runs group therapy sessions and offers counselling to abused women.
“Someone who lives in a violent relationship loses track of time and appointments – in fact, of everything that’s going on around her,” says therapist Maria Cristina D’Almeida Marques. “A woman who is the victim of violence focuses on the man and his demands.”
The Police Officer
“The more time that passes between the crime and prosecution, the greater the risk that the plaintiff will change her mind.”
Who: Camilla Johansson, investigator in the external interview group of the family violence unit, north-west Skåne police district.
What: Turns out immediately there is a police report of violence in a close relationship.
The Women’s Shelter
“Several women who have stayed at Dastak have been murdered by their families when they have dared to venture out.”
Who: Dastak shelter
What: Offer protection to women who have been subjected to violence or threats of violence. Lahore’s only private women’s shelter.