The Pioneers
“As far as the politicians are concerned, it’s a reality that doesn’t exist.”
Who: Casa Amiga
What: Centre for support and advice for women who have been subjected to violence.
She was a retired accountant who settled in Juarez where, in 1993, she began to notice the many reports in the local paper of young girls who had been found murdered and raped. Why was this spate of murders not attracting any attention?
The Psychologists
“When I started working I was naive, and my aim was to have families reunited.”
Who: Elena Zolotilova and Tatiana Pavlova
What: Fighting to open the city’s first women’s shelter.
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.
Family Justice Center
Police, food vouchers and child therapy in the same building.
Who: Family Justice Centre
What: Has gathered all forms of support for victims of violence in close relationships under one roof: a One Stop Shop.
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 Lawyer
“Sometimes I sit in the courtroom and hold her hand, or stroke her back. I don’t want her to feel she is alone.”
Who: Susanne Croné-Morell
What: Is the victim’s own lawyer – the plaintiff’s lawyer.
The Midwife
“When I look back on it, I feel genuine regret and compassion.”
Who: Enayat Abdelhanid
What: Midwife who has changed her opinion and is now opposed to genital mutilation.
“I used to circumcise up to twenty girls a day, and I was paid in money, tea and sugar. We used to cut out three parts. We held the girl down and she usually screamed. When I look back on it, I feel genuine regret and compassion.”
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 men’s movement
“Violence is about control. It’s the loss of control that triggers violence.”
Who: Alexander Gogolkin
What: Leads M21, which works both for greater gender equality, and with the treatment of violent men.
The Children's Clinic
Red Riding Hood versus the Wolf
Who: Teddy Bear Clinic
What: Offer support to children and young people who have been abused.
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.