“We became strong, strident and determined. The women in Juarez do not accept their fate.”  
Veronica Corchado, cultural professional, Juarez, Mexico

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.


Sisters

“The law protects victims of terrorism but not families like ours.” 


Who:
Carmen Sanchez and Ana Ortiz Salvador
What: Organise relatives of murdered women. 


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 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 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.


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 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 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 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 Lawyers

“With armed guards for protection.”


Who:
Hina Jilani and Asma Jahangir
What:
As lawyers, they pursue questions relating to women’s human rights.


The Home for Young Mothers

“We won’t hide the girls away, they have nothing to be ashamed of and they have rights.”


Who:
Hope Village Society’s home for young mothers.
What: Offers support and education to street children who have become pregnant.