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.
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.
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 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 Veteran
“I said I had two other options: I could become a beggar or a prostitute.”
Who: Ana Maria Perez del Campo
What: Started a women’s shelter where the women stay for eighteen months. So far no-one has returned to her violent husband after her stay.
The Women’s House
“We give all the women a make-over; it helps them feel that they have become a new person.”
Who: Sin Violencia
What: Takes in women from around 40 women’s shelters all over Mexico.
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 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 Mothers
“Why didn’t the police show me the whole of my daughter’s body, just a left foot which was sticking out?”
Who: Rosaura Montañez
What: Member of a network of mothers who have lost daughters.
Araceli disappeared on the 30th of June 1995 and was found four days later on a refuse tip on the southern outskirts of the city. She had been raped and strangled. She was 19 years old. No-one has been found guilty of her murder.
The Doctors
“No-one really knows how to circumcise a woman.”
Who: Magda Adly and Joseph Kamel.
What: Magda works with rehabilitation of victims of torture and violence in the home, and Joseph is a local doctor.
The Parents
“We had no idea of the dangerous life our daughter led. Now we want to warn other people.”
Who: Marta and Rick Omilian
What: Manage the Remembering Maggie Fund, which spreads information about violence among young people and agitates against the US liberal weapons legislation.