Tag Archives: UN Women

16 Activists and Organisations Working Online To Stop Violence Against Women

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With the 21st century in full swing, the internet has become an integral part of everyday life for much for the world. From shopping to social lives, we have become increasingly reliant on the internet to get things done, as well as to communicate with other people. The younger generations, starting with Millenials, have never grown up in a world without the internet. With the increasing affordability and ubiquity of portable technology such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets, even the most remote of locations are getting online and getting connected. Indeed, the UN has even declared internet access a universal human right.

The internet, however, is a double-edged sword. While it has helped everything from business to education take massive leaps forward faster than ever, online communication platforms and communities such as blogs, social media networks, chatrooms, and forums have also helped amplify some of the worst aspects of humanity including misogyny and Violence Against Women (VAW). According to UN Women, “cyber VAWG already exists in many forms, including online harassment, public shaming, the desire to inflict physical harm, sexual assaults, murders and induced suicides”.

The anti-VAW movement has taken on the cyber VAW fight in two major ways. They use social media and other online platforms to educate, raise awareness, raise funds, and to turbo charge the fight against VAW and sexism. Crucially, anti-VAW activists are also finding ways to effectively tackle the tidal wave of cyber-VAW using tactics ranging from rallying individuals and organisations to unite against VAW to pushing social media companies to become more accountable for taking action to stamp out VAW in their communities.

The 16 activists and organisations listed below have been at the frontline of digital anti-VAW activism in the last decade as social media started its unstoppable rise to prominence. From providing an anonymous blog platform for survivors to tell their stories to creating viral educational videos to working with Facebook and Twitter to stop VAW on their watch, each of them have stepped up to take on this new frontier in the fight to end VAW. We hope their work inspires you to do so too.

Written and compiled by Samantha Carroll and Regina Yau. Introduction by Regina Yau.

Call To Action: Help us reach the $25,000 fundraising milestone for our Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign this holiday season by giving generously to our “16 For 16” fundraiser (which also includes #GivingTuesday)! Find out more and donate to get awesome book and music goodies at http://is.gd/16DaysGT2015 

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Recommendation #1: Aimee Smith

Aimee Smith_croppedAimee Smith is the pseudonym of a blogger who shares her story of rape survival.  On her blog One Woman, Smith inspires women to come forward (anonymously if preferred) and share their stories of survival too.  “If we can help even one woman deal with her pain, we will be succeeding”, says Smith.  When she’s not helping others, Smith is teaching, parenting, playing the piano and being nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award.

Recommendation #2: Anita Sarkeesian

Anita Sarkeesian_croppedAnita Sarkeesian is the pop-culture media critic who made headlines when she launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to support her production of a video Web series called Tropes vs Women in Video Games, which explores female stereotypes in the gaming industry. Her feminist critique of the gaming industry has garnered an ongoing vitriolic online backlash, including threats of death, sexual assault and rape, most recently escalating to hounding her out of her home and forcing her to cancel an event at Utah State University due to the threat of a mass gun massacre.

Recommendation #3: Breakthrough

breakthroughBreakthrough is a global human rights organisation based in both the U.S. and India. They work to make violence and discrimination against women and girls unacceptable via cutting-edge multimedia campaigns, community mobilisation, agenda setting, and leadership training equip men and women worldwide to challenge the status quo and take action to address and end violence against women and girls. Online campaigning is one of their key strengths – one of their best known online campaigns is their “Bell Bajao” campaign featuring YouTube videos that encourage the viewer to take action to stop domestic violence by ringing the bell. “Bell Bajao” has been adapted by domestic violence organisations in other countries including China and Vietnam.

Recommendation #4: Caroline Criado-Perez

Caroline Criado PerezCaroline Criado-Perez is a freelance journalist and feminist campaigner who successfully campaigned to persuade the Bank of England to include a prominent woman (Jane Austen) among an otherwise all-male group of British luminaries on the back of British currency. The success of the campaign made her and other women the target of numerous threats of rape and murder on Twitter from the day of the Bank of England’s announcement in July 2013. She fought back against the abuse publicly, which resulted in Twitter’s general manager in Britain, Tony Wang, announcing a one-click option on all posts enabling users to easily report abusive tweets, where previously there was no recourse for victims of online harassment on Twitter.

Recommendation #5: Jessica Valenti

Jessica_Valenti_in_March_2014_croppedJessica Valenti is the founder of Feministing.com and the author of four books on feminism, politics and culture, and. Her newest book, Sex Object, will be out in 2016. She is also a daily columnist and staff writer for Guardian US where she writes about violence against women and gender inequality. The Guardian has named her as one of their “top 100 women” for her work to bring the feminist movement online. Her work has also appeared in Ms.,The Nation, The Washington Post, TPMCafe, and Alternet.

Recommendation #6: June Eric-Udorie

June Eric-UdorieJune Eric-Udorie is a 16 year old campaigner against female genital mutilation, writer, and member of  Plan UK’s Youth Advisory Panel where she sits on the Board of Trustees. She advocates for women’s rights and is passionate about ending violence against women and girls. Udorie protests (both online and offline) against victim blaming, supports the empowerment of girls, blogs for New Statesman, and has written for Girls’ Globe and the Telegraph. In April 2015, Udorie petitioned against Sussex Police after they produced objectionable anti-rape posters. The posters were taken down within 72 hours. She was nominated for the Red Women of the Year Award 2015.

Recommendation #7: Meltem Avcil

Meltem Avcil_croppedIn 2007, at the age of 13, Meltem Avcil was placed in the Yarl’s Wood immigration centre, Bedfordshire, UK, with her mother. There she witnessed women (like her mother) who had fled their home countries due to VAW, and were placed in a prison-like space. In a Cosmo article, Avcil is quoted as saying that, “These women have experienced torture, rape, violence, sexual abuse. They have been tortured mentally and physically. So when they come to this country to seek refuge, they’re being tortured again by being put in prison.” As a result of her experience, Avcil has started a change.org petition and called on the UK’s on Home Secretary Theresa May, to end the incarceration of abused women seeking asylum.

Recommendation #8: Nuala Cabral

Nuala Cabral_croppedNuala Cabral created a short film in 2009 called Walking Home, to address street harassment. The film was uploaded to YouTube and was watched by tens of thousands. After Walking Home went viral, the film won the Speaking Out Award at the non-profit Media That Matters Film Festival.  Cabral is a cofounder of FAAN (Fostering Activism and Alternatives Now), a media literacy and activism project that focuses on transforming the way women of colour are depicted in the media. To achieve this and as part of their community engagement, FAAN offers and facilitates a range of workshops, presentations and professional development around media literacy, social media activism and creating media for social change.

Recommendation #9: Raquel Evita Saraswati

Raquel Evita Saraswati is the first woman under the age of 30 to receive a Durga Award for dedication to ending gender-based violence, FGM and forced and child marriages. Saraswati has spoken out publically against honour killings all over the world and has written for prestigious media outlets while campaigning vigorously online via her blog and Twitter where she has over 20,000 followers. Her new initiative is called Adalah: Ending Gender-Based Violence and will focus on “a holistic approach to ending gender-based violence”.

Recommendation #10: Soraya Chemaly

Soraya Chemaly is a feminist media critic and activist whose work focuses on women’s rights, freedom of speech, and the role of gender and violence in politics, religion and pop culture. She is a contributor to Salon, CNN, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, The Nation, Ms. Magazine, and Time and her work is also regularly published in gender-focused media. In May 2013, she teamed up with Women, Action, and The Media (WAM!) to organise a successful global social media campaign demanding that Facebook recognise misogynistic content as hate speech. She works regularly with social media companies to address gender-based inequalities.

Recommendation #11: Stop Street Harassment

SSH-New-LogoStop Street Harassment (SSH) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to documenting and ending gender-based street harassment worldwide. It started as a blog in 2008 by founder Holly Kearl and quickly went from strength to strength over the last 7 years as Kearl built a fast-growing community to push back against street harassment. Today, SSH runs the highly successful International Anti-Street Harassment Week every Spring, using social media, their website resources, and their mailing list to organise groups and tens of thousands of people around the world to take action against street harassment in their community. SSH also continues to collect and document stories of street harassment submitted by women and girls worldwide.

Recommendation #12: Take Back The Tech

Take Back The TechTake Back The Tech! was initiated in 2006 by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Women’s Rights Programme and was created as a call to everyone, especially women and girls, to take control of technology to end violence against women. It’s a global, collaborative campaign project that highlights the problem of tech-related violence against women such as cyberstalking, together with research and solutions from different parts of the world. The campaign offers safety roadmaps and information and provides an avenue for taking action. The collective runs several campaigns every year, and their biggest annual campaign takes place during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (25 Nov – 10 Dec).

Recommendation #13: The Pixel Project

Pixel Project ThumbnailThe Pixel Project is a global virtual non-profit working to raise awareness, funds, and volunteer power for the cause to end violence against women (VAW) worldwide. They focus on online campaigns which combine social media, new technologies, pop culture, and the arts. Their campaigns span a range of online tools and social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Hangouts, YouTube, and blogs, tailoring these online platforms to reach, involve, and mobilise a wide range of social demographics for the cause including VAW survivors, fathers, music artistes, authors, geeks and book lovers, pet lovers, and foodies. Their flagship campaign is the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign – a crowdfunding campaign which aims to get donors worldwide to reveal a million-pixel collage of 4 celebrity male role models by donating a dollar a pixel.

Recommendention #14: UN Women

UNwomen-Logo-Blue-TransparentBackground-enThe United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women. One of their key focal issues is violence against women (VAW) and in the last decade, they have successfully leveraged the power of the internet and social media to rally the global community to take action to stop VAW. In 2009, they launched the SayNO – UNiTE to end Violence Against Women campaign which aimed to raise at least 1 million actions to stop VAW (and succeeded). In 2014, they launched the #HeForShe campaign with Harry Potter star Emma Watson as the ambassador to get men and boys to step up to end sexism, misogyny, and VAW.

Recommendation #15: Women, Action, and The Media (WAM!)

WAM! states that they are a “nonprofit dedicated to building a robust, effective, inclusive movement for gender justice in media”. Founded by feminist activist Jaclyn Friedman, WAM! runs a variety of campaigns that aims to change the way online and traditional media treat and portray women and girls. WAM! has broken new ground with getting social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter to become more pro-active in addressing online harassment and misogyny that take place on their sites. In November 2014, WAM! collaborated with Twitter to address the online harassment of female Twitter users. In May 2013, WAM! took on Facebook with an open letter signed by more than 100 anti-Violence Against Women organisations demanding that Facebook recognize misogynistic content as hate speech. They won.

Recommendation #16: Yas Necati

Yas NecatiYas Necati is an 18 year old activist who describes herself as a “full-time patriarchy-smasher”. In 2013, she launched a campaign called #BetterSexEducation due to the UK’s Sex and Relationships Education out-dated curriculum. Nescati helps run the Campaign4Consent, which aims to make consent and information about sexual assault part of the UK’s Sex and Relationships Education curriculum. She is managing editor of Powered By Girl and a member of No More Page 3. And if all of the above isn’t enough, Necati is also writing a book on feminism for teens.

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The Pixel Project Selection 2015: 16 Notable Anti-VAW Activists and Organisations You Should Follow on Twitter

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twitter1-300x225Twitter has quickly become a reliable news source for many individuals.  It offers a real-time view and perspective of what is occurring both elsewhere and in our own communities, enabling us to become more aware of social issues like violence against women and join discussions to become more involved with these causes.

Twitter allows us to share information, a tool to help us better our world through understanding, and create an atmosphere of solidarity worldwide. Being able to look up a hashtag – #vaw for example – in order to find news sources, helplines, or other activists is a simple yet incredibly useful way to become involved.

With that in mind, The Pixel Project presents our 2015 Twitter selection of 16 organisations and individuals leveraging Twitter in the cause to end violence against women. These are groups and people who will keep you informed simply because they share the passion to create a better tomorrow for girls and women everywhere.

Written and compiled by: Rebecca DeLuca

Call To Action: Help us reach the $25,000 fundraising milestone for our Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign this holiday season by giving generously to our “16 For 16” fundraiser (which also includes #GivingTuesday)! Find out more and donate to get awesome book and music goodies at http://is.gd/16DaysGT2015 

Twitter Follow Recommendation #1: The A21 Campaign (@A21) – Global

A21 LogoThe A21 Campaign’s mission is to end human trafficking in the 21st century. A21 follows a “4 P model,” focusing on prevention, protection, partnerships and prosecution. Working in over 21 countries, A21 has offices in Greece, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Norway, Thailand and more. Followers of the A21 Twitter Page have the opportunity to follow real updates, lobbying efforts and number of rescues as they occur.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #2: Alexandra Pham (@DaughtersRising) – Thailand

AlexandraPhamAlexandra Pham is the founder of Daughters Rising, a nonprof0it organisation fighting sex trafficking by empowering and educating at-risk girls. Alexandra and her team created the RISE workshops to teach girls real world skills, including computer skills, women’s health and more. Pham also founded Chai Lai Orchid where she runs training and educational programming.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #3: AWID (@awid) – Global

AWID LogoThe Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) is an global, feminist, membership organisation committed to women’s human rights. AWID works with various organisations to create a collective voice against gender injustice. The multilingual AWID Twitter page shares news on global, national and local levels and provides timely and accurate information for activists to use in their own programs and projects.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #4: Chime for Change (@ChimeForChange) – Global

CHIME-FOR-CHANGE-LogoChime for Change is a global campaign raising awareness and funds for girls and women around the world, ensuring accessibility of education, health and justice. The organisation uses creative projects and programmes to achieve their goals, including short documentary films, global concerts and more. The Chime for Change Twitter page updates followers on over 409 projects across 86 countries. Following the hashtag #ChimeIn allows followers to interact with the organisation and give their opinions and thoughts on different programs, news, and events.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #5: Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) – United States of America

Feminist Frequency LogoCreated by media critic Anita Sarkeesian, Feminist Frequency is a video web series that discusses the portrayals of women in pop culture narratives. The videos serve as an educational resource and encourage creators to improve the representations of women in their work. Sarkeesian focuses many of her online discussions on the stereotypes and harassment of women in online and gaming spaces. She received the 2015 Game Developers Choice Ambassador Award, was nominated for Microsoft’s 2014 Women in Games Ambassador Award, and is a judge for the Games for Change Awards.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #6: He for She (@HeForShe) – Global

he-for-she-logoHe for She is a movement founded by the United Nations, and supported by big names such as Emma Watson, President Obama, Matt Damon, Ban Ki-moon and more. The He for She movement brings together men and women in support of equality for women. Supporters take action against gender discrimination and violence and understand that equality benefits everyone.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #7: It’s on Us (@ItsOnUs) – United States of America

ItsOnUs LogoFounded by Generation Progress and the White House, the It’s on Us Campaign aims to change the culture around sexual assault on campuses across the United States. The organisation provides resources to recognise, identify, and intervene in sexual assault, and develop a safe environment to support survivors. The It’s on Us Twitter page provides important news, legal updates and information on campus sexual assaults, keeps its followers updated on events through live-tweeting, and retweets videos and programmes from colleges and universities supporting following It’s On Us initiative.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #8: Konbit Sante (KonbitSante) – Haiti

KonbitSanteKonbit Sante’s mission is to create lasting change in Haitian healthcare. The organisation believes in promoting the empowerment of people to meet their own needs. Of their many clinical initiatives, Konbit Sante focuses on women’s health and works to improve maternal outcomes in Cap-Haitien. In Haiti, more women die in pregnancy and childbirth than any other country in the Western Hemisphere. Additionally, Konbit Sante works to improve emergency response time at the regional referral hospital and provides education and outreach at the community level.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #9: Män för Jämställdhet (@ManForJamst) – Sweden

ManMän för Jämställdhet, translated to Men for Gender Equality, is a Swedish organisation engaging men and boys in violence prevention. Operating on a local, national and Global level, Män för Jämställdhet fights masculine stereotypes and aims to reform them to support women’s health and rights. Follow Män för Jämställdhet on Twitter for receive updates on their various programmes, including Machofabriken (The Macho Factory) or Killfrågor.se (BoysQuestions.com).

Twitter Follow Recommendation #10: Refuge (@RefugeCharity) – United Kingdom

RefugeRefuge is a provider of specialist services for women and children escaping domestic violence. Through provision, protection and prevention, Refuge empowers women and children to rebuild their lives, free from violence and fear. Leading the charge against domestic violence since 1971, Refuge funds and plans campaigns, participates in lobbying efforts, publishes information on the effects of domestic violence, trains staff of various organisations and respond to individual needs. The multi-lingual Twitter page is a resource for news on supporting survivors, ending domestic violence, and more and is staffed Monday through Friday.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #11: Safe Delhi Campaign (@JagoriSafeDelhi) – India

safedelhihomepagelogoInspired by the many noninclusive changes of Delhi’s infrastructure, the Safe Delhi Campaign was founded in 2004. The campaign focuses on women’s rights to participate in city life and their right to be guaranteed an equal opportunity to use public spaces. Members of the Safe Delhi Campaign partner with citizen groups, create and promote public awareness campaigns, and conduct safety audits in commercial, residential and educational areas across the city to identify unsafe issues. The Safe Delhi Campaign programming fights poor urban infrastructure, lack of apathy on public transportation, and other ideas and beliefs about appropriate behavior.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #12: Speak Up for the Poor (@SpeakUp4ThePoor) – Bangladesh

SpeakUpForthePoorSpeak Up for the Poor is an organisation that works to create safe homes for girls born into brothels, rescued from human trafficking, or at risk of exploitation. It also runs an educational program and investigates and handles cases of abuse against girls. Those following the Speak Up for the Poor Twitter account will not only receive updates on programmes and successes in Bangladesh, but also worldwide.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #13: Together for Girls (@together4girls) – United States of America

Together For GirlsTogether for Girls is dedicated to ending violence against children, with a focus on sexual violence against girls. Together for Girls also publishes Safe, the first magazine on violence against children. The yearly magazine shares stories of survivors and highlights various individuals, activists, organisations, and communities who are working to protect children.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #14: UN Trust Fund To End Violence Against Women (@UNTrustFundEVAW) – Global

UNTrustFundThe UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women is committed to ending all forms of violence against women and girls. The UN Trust Fund is a grant-making mechanism that works with various global and local organisations. The organisation’s Twitter page shares global news and updates from its various partners, including news from Mongolia, South Africa, Asia and more. The UN Trust Fund empowers groups and communities to take part in prevention efforts, provides services to survivors, and lobbies for legal changes.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #15: Women’s Link (@womenslink) – Spain and Colombia

WomensLinkWomen’s Link’s bilingual Twitter page provides important legal updates, statistics and reports in English and Spanish to support gender equality around the world. An Global Human Health Risk Research (HHRR) organisation, Women’s Link uses the power of the law to create change in various ares, including gender justice, human trafficking, global gender crimes, global discrimination, migrant women rights and sexual and reproductive rights.

Twitter Follow Recommendation #16: Women Thrive (@WomenThrive) – Global

WomenThriveWorldwideWomen Thrive is an American lobbying organisation bringing the voice of global women directly to Washington, DC. Advocating for change on a national and global level, Women Thrive looks at women and poverty in Africa, education for girls, economic opportunity and poverty, violence against women and girls, women and world hunger, women, global assistance and more. The Women Thrive twitter page provides an inside look at important conferences, programs, and legal updates by sharing resources and live-tweeting events such as the #Gender360Summit.

The Pixel Project Selection 2013: 16 Films About Violence Against Women

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Film-Reel-225x300 (1)The Pixel Project’s annual selection of films, documentaries and television shows that raise awareness about violence against women has been a fixture in our annual “16 For 16” campaign from the very beginning. We firmly believe that the “Show, Not Tell” principle is one of the most powerful ways to create a connection between the movement to end violence against women and the person on the street who might not have even given this human rights issue a thought before. Film and television are some of the best tools that activists and educators have at their disposal to shape and galvanise public opinion and action to prevent and stop violence against women (VAW) in their communities remains strong.

This year, our selection entirely comprises VAW documentaries of all lengths, shapes and sizes. The VAW topics they tackle show just how wide-ranging and entrenched VAW is in communities and cultures across the world – honour killing, female genital mutilation and rape are some of the prominent topics highlighted. India, in particular, takes the spotlight after the horrifying rape and murder of university student Jyoti Singh Pandey in Delhi.

We hope that this year’s diverse selection will provide a thought-provoking range of resources to help you kick start discussions about VAW that break the wall of silence and taboo in your community.

It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.

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Selection Number 1: Eden: American Sex Trade

“Eden” is based on the harrowing true story of sex trafficking survivor, Eden, a young Korean-American girl, who was abducted near her home and forced into prostitution by a domestic human and drug trafficking ring. Throughout the two years she is held, Eden reluctantly ensures her own survival by carving out power and influence within the very organization that has imprisoned her.

Selection Number 2: FGM in the UK

“FGM in the UK” is The Pixel Project’s first mini documentary and focuses on the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the UK. The documentary features Integrate Bristol, an anti-FGM group and is aimed at raising awareness about what FGM is, how this form of Violence Against Women is being tackled in the UK and ideas for preventing, detecting and stopping FGM in the country.

Selection Number 3: FGM – The Film The Changed the Law in Kurdistan

Two filmmakers spent almost a decade reporting the greatest taboo subject in Kurdish society: female genital mutilation. Nabaz Ahmed and Shara Amin persuaded people to talk about the effects of FGM and the film they made helped get the practice outlawed in 2011. And in the last few years the number of girls being mutilated in Kurdistan has fallen by over 60%. The story of their decade-long fight against FGM has been made into a documentary by the Guardian and BBC Arabic. (Summary courtesy of The Guardian)

Selection Number 4: Fighting the Silence: Sexual Violence against Women in the Congo

Fighting the Silence (2007) is a documentary made by Ilse and Femke van Velzen to tell the story of ordinary Congolese women and men who are struggling to change their society: one that prefers to blame victims rather than prosecute rapists. Rape survivors and their families speak out openly about the suffering they endured because their culture considers women second class citizens and rape as a taboo. They give voice to thousands of other survivors and their families who have chosen to hide their grief and remain silent for fear of being rejected by their families and community.

Selection Number 5: India: A Dangerous Place To Be A Women

Following the brutal Delhi Gang Rape, 28-year-old British Asian Radha Bedi travels to India to uncover the reality of life for young women there. Whilst filming the documentary, she met many brave young girls and women willing to share their personal experiences of harassment and violence and discovers that it all boils down to the fact that they were born female.

 Selection Number 6: In the Name of the Family: Honor Killings in North America

Schoolgirl Aqsa Parvez, sisters Amina and Sarah Said, and college student Fauzia Muhammad were all North American teenagers—and victims of premeditated, murderous attacks by male family members. Only Muhammad survived. Emmy® winner Shelley Saywell examines each case in depth in this riveting investigation of “honor killings” of girls in Muslim immigrant families. Not sanctioned by Islam, the brutalization and violence against young women for defying male authority derives from ancient tribal notions of honour and family shame. (Summary courtesy of Women Make Movies)

Selection Number 7: Invoking Justice

In Southern India, family disputes are settled by Jamaats—all male bodies which apply Islamic Sharia law to cases without allowing women to be present, even to defend themselves. Recognizing this fundamental inequity, a group of women in 2004 established a women’s Jamaat, which soon became a network of 12,000 members spread over 12 districts. Despite enormous resistance, they have been able to settle more than 8,000 cases to date, ranging from divorce to wife beating to brutal murders and more. Award-winning filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj (SOMETHING LIKE A WAR) follows several cases, shining a light on how the women’s Jamaat has acquired power through both communal education and the leaders’ persistent, tenacious and compassionate investigation of the crimes. (Summary courtesy of Women Make Movies)

Selection Number 8: Justice For Sale

“Justice For Sale” follows the young, courageous Congolese human rights lawyer Claudine Tsongo who refuses to accept that justice is indeed “For Sale” in her country. When she investigates the case of a soldier convicted of rape, she becomes convinced his trial was unfair and uncovers a system where the basic principles of law are ignored—and when the system fails, everyone becomes a victim. The documentary not only provides a glimpse into the failings of the Congolese judicial system but also raises questions about the role of the international community and non-governmental organizations in reforming it. Does their financial support cause justice to be for sale? And who pays the price? (Summary courtesy of Women Make Movies)

Selection Number 9: Pink Saris

This powerful documentary by Kim Longinetto chronicles the story of Sampat Pal and how she went from an abused underaged bride and daughter-in-law to the founder and leader of the Pink Saris (the Gulabi Gang) – a grassroots movement of women in Uttar Pradesh determined to mete out justice to the men and families who abuse, batter, torment and murder them with impunity.

Selection Number 10: Power and Control: Domestic Violence In America

“Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America” is a documentary about domestic abuse in the U.S. context and offers a probing and intimate exploration of the troubling persistence of violence against women in America. The 2008/2009 economic crisis has contributed to a sharp increase in domestic violence around the country.

Selection Number 11: Quest For Honour

“Quest For Honour” investigates the still prevalent practice of honor killing in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. The alarming rise in the heinous act of men killing daughters, sisters and wives who threaten “family honor,” endangers tens of thousands of women in Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and adjoining countries. The Women’s Media Center of Suleymaniyah, Iraq, has joined forces with Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to end this practice. (Adapted from a summary by Women Make Movies)

Selection Number 12: Rape In The Fields

“Rape In The Fields” is a documentary by PBS about the hidden reality of rape, sexual harassment and violence faced by many immigrant women in the U.S. agricultural industry, especially illegal immigrants eking out a living on farms.

Selection Number 13: Sarabah

Rapper, singer and activist, Sister Fa is a survivor of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), she tackles the issue by starting a grassroots campaign, “Education Without Excision,” which uses her music as a vehicle to bring her message about ending FGM to communities still plagued by it. “Sarabah” follows Sister Fa on her challenging journey, where she speaks out and sings out to all generations in affected communities to bring about change.

Selection Number 14: Señorita Extraviada, Missing Young Woman

“Señorita Extraviada, Missing Young Woman” tells the haunting story of the more than 350 kidnapped, raped and murdered young women of Juárez, Mexico. Visually poetic, yet unflinching in its gaze, this compelling investigation unravels the layers of complicity that have allowed for the brutal murders of women living along the Mexico-U.S. border. In the midst of Juárez’s international mystique and high profile job market, there exists a murky history of grossly underreported human rights abuses and violence against women. The climate of violence and impunity continues to grow, and the murders of women continue to this day. (Summary courtesy of Women Make Movies)

Selection Number 15: The Burning Times

This short documentary, funded by the National Film Board of Canada, looks at the witch-hunts that swept through Europe just a few hundred years ago. False accusations and trials led to massive torture and burnings at the stake, and ultimately to the destruction of an organic way of life. The film advances the theory that widespread violence against women and the neglect of our environment today can be traced back to those times.

Selection Number 16: Violence Against Women in Haiti: The Enemy Within

In this short documentary by UNIFEM (now UN Women) that is narrated by internationally renowned TV journalist Daljit Dhaliwal, this 21st Century short documentary goes deep into Haiti’s makeshift camps to expose acts of violence and sexual assaults women, especially young girls, have encountered since the country’s devastating earthquake in January left 1.5 million homeless. While measures are being taken by, for instance, the Haitian National Police, UN police and UN Women, to curb such type of violence, this video underscores what has yet to be done to ensure the safety of women and girls as Haiti continues to build itself back from the ground up.

Transcript: http://www.un.org/webcast/pdfs/unia1253.pdf