“I have decided to stop being ashamed for something I didn’t do.”
Eszter, Uppsala, Sweden

The Night Patrol

“I never think about tomorrow. I think about what’s happening now.”   


Who:
Ahmed Samy Ali and Khaled Abo-El Fadl.
What: Social workers who seek out street children.

In the front of the vehicle there are some seats and a table. On the table is a notebook. At the back of the bus there is an open space with a pile of newspapers in a corner.  


The Support Person

“Those four months changed my life.”


Who:
Paulina Bengtson
What:
Runs Novahuset, a voluntary association which supports victims of sexual assault.

“Actually, I had a feeling straight away that something was wrong. He looked like someone from the Mafia, not at all as gentle as he’d seemed. But I was gullible and ignored my own warning signals. I was used to trusting people.”


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 Village Activists

“You only have to look at the TV series, and how badly the women behave. It’s because they haven’t been circumcised!”


Who:
BLACD (The Better Life Association for Comprehensive Development).
What: Visit the villages to talk about genital mutilation, and have radically changed the situation. These days only one in ten girls undergoes genital mutilation; previously the figure was nine in ten.  


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.


The Lawyer

“I hope to go to court with my own mother one day, but she doesn’t want to. Not yet.”                    


Who:
Valentina Frolova
What: Lawyer at the Crisis Center for Women in St Petersburg.


The Project for Equality

“Damaging women is like killing the roots of the tree.”  


Who:
Mathilde Muhindo
What:
Former parliamentarian who runs a project to promote equality in villages in South Kivu.


The Men’s Organisation

“No African culture supports the violence.”


Who
: Sonke Gender Justice Network
What:
Work with men to stop the violence against women, and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.


The Listeners

“Conversation could do more good than all the medicine in the world.”


Who:
CAMPS (Centre D’Assistance Medico–Psychosociale)
What:
Gives psychosocial support to families who have been subjected to violence in South Kivu.


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 Youth Leader

“Partner violence in Santa Marta has not disappeared, but it is no longer hidden away.”


Who:
Itamar Silva
What:
Runs a project to raise equality awareness in the Grupo Eco youth group in the Santa Marta favela.