“Despite everything, the war has given us a chance to change traditions and to question the discrimination.”
Justin Kabanga, Professor of Psychology, Bukavu, Congo

The Statisticians

“Mutilations are the worst.”


Who:
Aurat Foundation
What:
Create the only statistics on violence against women by reading every word of the country’s newspapers.


The Police Commissioner

“The turning point was 2004, with the new law on violence in the home. Violence against women was no longer a private matter.”


Who
: Adolfina Prieto
What: Heads LIBRA, the special police unit which combats violence against women and also offers survival courses to women who have lived with a dangerous man.


The Radio Presenter

“The media are hugely important because what we don’t show doesn’t exist.” 


Who:
Martha Gomez
What: Journalist who for the last seven years has been broadcasting Tolerancia Cero (“Zero Tolerance”) a radio programme about violence against women.


The Men's Group

“It annoys me that people keep asking ‘Why doesn’t she leave?’ People seem to want to lay the blame on the woman, when the only valid question is - Why does he hit her?”


Who:
Sara Brammer
What:
Psychologist who treats violent men.


The Police

“Have you got any children he knows aren’t his? Does he spy on you, or leave threatening messages?”


Who:
Family Crimes Division, Department of Police
What:
Prioritise cases of violence against women.  


The Researcher

“It is still the woman who is given the blame. People say it’s her responsibility to hold the family together.”


Who:
Natalia Lokhmatkina
What: PhD in the study of abused women in the Russian healthcare system.


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 Village Mother

“I used to sit up at night waiting for him to come home and beat me.”


Who:
Motshidisi
What:
Uses her position as “village mother” to work against violence and the spread of HIV/AIDS.  

Both Motshidisi’s daughter and her ex-husband died of AIDS. Since then she has talked and talked and talked about the disease - and about the violence. Slowly, people are beginning to respond.