Nov 23, 2015
Voices against Violence
One in three women experience violence in their lifetime. It’s a crisis of pandemic proportions, rooted in gender inequality and social norms that set in early. The best way to end this violence is to stop it from happening in the first place.
Voices against Violence is a unique non-formal education curriculum for young people aged 5–25 years, co-developed by UN Women and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) to prevent violence against women and girls. The first phase of the project to roll out the curriculum started in 2014, in partnership with Zonta International. It aims to train 3,000 youth leaders and reach 800,000 children and young people in 30 countries by the end of 2016.
During the roll out, facilitators trained youth leaders and trainers from the Girl Guiding movement how to deliver the curriculum. Below, some of the facilitators and youth leaders share their experiences working with Voices against Violence.
“Voices against Violence is about creating a world where young women and girls have the freedom and opportunity to reach their fullest potential.”
Farheen Rashid is a Girl Guide from Canada, and part of a diverse team of lead facilitators who jointly deliver the four regional training-of-trainers workshops, where national trainers and youth leaders from the Girl Guiding movement learn how to roll out the Voices against Violence curriculum in their countries. “I am confident that the participants we have trained will go on to make a positive difference in the lives of many others. The curriculum enables girls and young women to create a safe space, learn about their rights, and develop the confidence to speak out and take action to stop the violence affecting their communities.”
“The biggest challenge is to change the mindset and dismantle the myths, because they are so entrenched in people’s minds.”
Eylim Henry and Furia Pedril are Girl Guides from Saint Lucia. They want to use the Voices against Violence curriculum to raise awareness about violence against women and girls in their communities. Guiding is school-based in Saint Lucia, and they could potentially reach many students.
“Voices against Violence gives girls and young women the words they need to name and reject this violence. It passes on a powerful idea to girls — they do not have to accept gender-based violence as their norm or reality.”
Billeen Carlson is Member Service and Programme Specialist with Girl Scouts of Alaska, USA, who recently completed the training. “I am a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault. I have two daughters and a son, and many friends whose lives have been impacted by this pervasive violence,” Billeen shared. A state-wide survey conducted in 2010 showed that 59 per cent of adult women in Alaska have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence or both, in their lifetime.
“I was 22 when I was sexually harassed. I knew it was not my fault, but I was discouraged from reporting it,” shared a Girl Guide from Tunisia. Another recounted her first experience: “I was 12. I was waiting in line to buy something and he touched me inappropriately. Then he looked me in the eyes and said it was nothing…”
Learning about violence against women triggers memories for many survivors in the programme. That’s why the training workshops include support mechanisms and safe spaces for the participants. The Tunisian Girl Guides are preparing to roll out the Voices against Violence curriculum to engage girls and boys on the issue, so that they do not grow up thinking that violence against women is the norm. They are working with UN Women to translate the curriculum in Arabic and adapt it to their national context.
Where does violence against women start? What consequences stem from it? How should we address the root causes so that the solutions bring lasting change? These are some of the questions that youth participants discuss, using the tools and materials from the Voices against Violence curriculum. Upon completing the curriculum, they build youth-led advocacy projects that are locally relevant in their communities. In the training workshop in Zambia, the Girl Guides from Malawi work with Hannah Stanton, one of the lead facilitators (pictured center), to discuss their “problem tree” and what actions they want to take to prevent violence against women and girls in their communities.
“People, even young people, blame the victim, criticize women and girls for the clothes they wear to justify the violence they suffer.”
María Soledad Paternoster, 29, is Chief of Programmes in the Girl Guide Association of Argentina. She recently completed the training of trainers workshop for the Latin America and the Caribbean region, to roll out Voices against Violence. “Dating violence and violence perpetrated by former intimate partners is a growing problem in Argentina,” says María Soledad. She believes that hyper-sexualization and objectification of women and girls in the media is an important driver of this violence. She believes that through the Voices against Violence curriculum, the Girl Guides can engage girls and young women in speaking out against this violence.
“I have a daughter and I am doing this for her. Someday, what I am trying to achieve with this project, will make the world a better place for her.”
Azza Nasr from Egypt has been a Girl Guide Leader for the past 15 years. She is now a Lead Trainer for the Voices against Violence project, and also a mother. “I came into this project without any academic knowledge about violence against women. I didn’t know that violence against women was a human rights violation.” Azza wants to roll out the curriculum in Egypt. “If I can change even one person’s mindset with this curriculum, it is an achievement that counts.”
“I am a feminist survivor and that identity motivates me in doing this work.”
Stefanie Argus is with Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada and a Lead Facilitator for the Voices against Violence curriculum. She believes that preventing violence against women and girls begins with recognizing and questioning the harmful practices and attitudes that have become normalized, and to make impactful change, men and boys must also be engaged in this work. Stefanie introduced the concept of ‘brave space’ in the recently concluded training workshop in New York. “A ‘brave space’ acknowledges that there is risk, difficulty, and controversy associated with discussing issues of identity, oppression, power and privilege. Conversations will not feel comfortable; we must be courageous.”
What constitutes a healthy or an unhealthy relationship? Participants learning from the Voices against Violence curriculum examine photos depicting different kinds of relationships and hang them on a clothesline to demonstrate and discuss the spectrum. The activity allows peer educators to challenge gender stereotypes, discuss power relations, and encourage healthy relationship building.
When Girl Guides complete the curriculum, they get a Voices against Violence “badge.” Badges are popular incentives for the Girl Guides!
“One day, I will look back and say, I was part of this, and now the world is a better place for all of us.”
Edith Chukwu, 29 years old, is a Girl Guide from Ebonyi, Nigeria, and a trained peer educator. She has a powerful story to tell. “I was abused as a girl and have come a long way since then. When I joined Girl Guiding, having a safe space to share my experience helped me seek support and heal. Today I am a lead trainer for the Voices against Violence curriculum. I work with girls around the world, empowering them to speak out against violence…”
Read her story here.
During a regional training workshop in Zambia, Africa, the participants visited the Kalingalinga community, where girls are often preyed upon by older men, impregnated and forced to marry their rapists. The Zambian Girl Guides did a community mapping and realized that one of the key influencers in the community were traditional women counselors whom parents and the girls trusted. The Girl Guides in Zambia are conducting workshops with local counselors so that they can better provide appropriate and empowering information to girls in the community, and encourage parents to keep the girls in school. In the photo above, traditional counselors perform a dance to greet the Girl Guides.
India was among the first 12 countries to roll out the Voices against Violence project in 2014, and 59 national trainers from 21 states have already been trained to deliver the curriculum. The Guiding and Scouting movement in India is co-educational, and this is the first time that Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in India are learning about gender equality and ending violence against women and girls through non-formal education. Following a workshop where youth leaders learned about violence against women, they organized a “Stop the Violence” march in support of the UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign in May, 2015, near India Gate, New Delhi.
What will it take to stop violence against women, before it happens? It will take changing mindsets, beliefs and behaviours that perpetrate and condone such violence, as well as protection and services for survivors. Non-formal education is a powerful tool for prevention of violence against women and girls when implemented in alignment with broader prevention efforts. Voices against Violence combines early intervention with youth-led community mobilization to challenge gender stereotypes and promote respectful relationships.
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