• Senior Program Manager for the Middle East and Africa, Bukeni Waruzi, conducted a training for LGBTQI activists in Johannesburg, South Africa May 4-10. The training brought together 25 activists from South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, and Swaziland for a week-long training on advocacy, filming, storytelling and distribution for the promotion of LGBTQI rights.

• Thursday, June 4, Program Manager Madeleine Bair will be participating in the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City. The conference, that runs June 4-5, brings together  opinion makers, political practitioners, technologists, and journalists to explore the intersection of politics and technology. Madeleine will be participating on the panel, “Check It Before You Wreck It”, discussing video verification. Find out more about the conference and Madeleine’s panel here.

• Matisse Bustos-Hawkes, Senior Communications Manager, will be participating in the Greenwich Film Festival, speaking on the panel, “Social Impact”. The conversation will explore why some social issues garner more media attention than others, and discuss the role of film and media in proliferating social issues around the globe. The panel is free and open to the public— come check it out!

• Mark your calendars: On Monday, June 29, WITNESS will be hosting a free screening of Jon Stewart’s Rosewater in Brooklyn, NY. Keep an eye out for more details to come!

WITNESS’ Senior Program Manager, Bukeni Waruzi, organized a panel, Women and Technology: Effective documentation of sexual violence and empowering survivors, which showcased the various ways technology is being used to protect and advocate for women’s rights.

Bukeni, who has led WITNESS’ work around Gender-Based Violence (GBV) including the development of our guide on how to interview survivors of GBV, moderated the panel that included:

Esther Wambui Kimbani, Young Women’s Leadership Institute, Kenya

Mandivavarira Mudarikwa, a lawyer with Legal Resources Center, South Africa

Dafne Sabanes Plou, The Association for Progressive Communication, Argentina

As part of a larger, international effort to secure more support for female Syrian and Palestinian refugees— populations that are highly vulnerable to sexual violence— WITNESS partnered with Oxfam and ABAAD on a three-day training in Beirut that focused on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) advocacy and education.

The training was led by WITNESS’ Senior Program Manager for the Middle East/North Africa, Bukeni Waruzi. The 20 participants learned more about the laws surrounding GBV in Lebanon, and how to safely and ethically document sexual violence on camera in order to advocate for support, systemic change, and justice when those laws are violated.

“Thanks to the great coordination of ABAAD, the training went very well,” said Bukeni of his time in Beirut. “Participants were able to identify practices of sexual violence including forced marriage, sexual harassment… Some of these practices are the result of war-driven poverty in the refugee settlements, and other practices have exponentially increased, such as forced marriage”.

Throughout the training Bukeni used WITNESS’ resources, including our guide to “Conducting Safe, Effective and Ethical Interviews with Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.” This helped provide a comprehensive understanding of how to ethically and effectively document GBV, and enabled discussion around how these resources could be used according to the specific needs of the participants. The trainees will take the skills and knowledge acquired at this training back to their respective communities in order to train others on GBV advocacy.

“I feel like I’ve gained a lot in these few days of the training. I know many things now and how I could use my own story to advocate for peace and to address the situation” —Syrian trainee.

Bukeni leads WITNESS’ global effort to combat Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, supporting activists to create effective strategies to fight for gender justice through video and other technologies. More about WITNESS’ work on GBV and our advocacy resources can be found here, and in our recently launched digital library.

Sara Federlein, WITNESS’ Associate Director, Foundations, participated in the training and writes on The WITNESS Blog that while South Africa has strong legal protections for sexual minorities, activists still need to focus on public perceptions of these issues in order to create change.

“I’ve learned, for instance, that South Africa today has the world’s most progressive Constitution (it was in fact the first country to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation) – but paradoxically, there remains a culture of deep hostility toward sexual minorities and victims of sex crimes. Many of the filmmakers in the room say their goal is less about passing favorable legislation, since they already have that on their side.”

The training covered a variety of issues and techniques, such as:

• The legal frameworks for gender-based violence in a South African and an international context;
• Conducting safe and ethical on-camera interviews;
• Learning how to film interviews using a cellphone;
• And story development and storytelling tips.

Specific topics included the treatment and rights of individuals in South Africa; the use of “corrective rape,” a disturbing phenomenon where LGBTQ individuals are raped in an attempt to “turn them straight;” the use of rape against older women who are believed to be “witches;” child marriage; and the frequent instances of sexual violence perpetrated against women and girls in communities where people must travel far distances to access basic sanitation.

Participants included representatives from STEPS, an organization working on documenting stories of HIV and AIDS; SONKE, an organization focusing on male survivors of gender-based violence; StreetTalk TV, a community television and documentary production group; and participants from Equal Education, LiveSA and BigFish Film School.

WITNESS is excited to see how the participants share lessons learned in the training within their networks.

For example, Big Fish School’s Buhle Ndamese will be using the the training and its resources to train 150 youth activists in November who are part of a government task force to reduce violence amongst youth in Port Elizabeth, Umtata and East London (Eastern Cape Province).

“I am fortunate to have this type of training,” reflected trainee Banele Poni from Equal Education. “It opened my mind and eyes and I can see that we need to change many things in the films we are making on sexual violence as part of our campaign on gender-based violence.”

For more information on our work on gender-based violence, visit gbv.witness.org.

Bukeni Waruzi, WITNESS’ Senior Program Manager for Africa and the Middle East at the United Nations, Sept. 25 2014.

Bukeni Waruzi, WITNESS’ Senior Program Manager for Africa and the Middle East, took part in a UN panel last week on ending sexual and gender-based violence in conflict zones.

The panel was held to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, which was authored by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK FCO) and UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Upon its publication, the Declaration was signed by 133 countries, a number which has now risen to 155. In addition, the UN and UK FCO have recently released the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, a guide for anyone working to document gender-based violence.

Bukeni was joined on the panel by Zaineb Hawa Bangura, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict; James Duddridge, Minister for Conflict Issues for the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and Kate Gilmore, the Deputy Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

WITNESS, along with the UNFPA were invited to present on what civil society organizations are doing to help end gender-based violence in conflict.

Bukeni spoke about WITNESS’ work training activists on how to document sexual violence through our guide on Interviewing Survivor’s of Gender-Based Violence and highlighted some of the benefits and challenges of working in the current technological landscape. He explained:

“Now everyone can be a documenter. The question thus becomes, how can we make sure that everyone is documenting in an ethical manner and using standards so that the documentation can be used by international justice or transitional justice mechanisms?”

While Bukeni commended the protocol for helping to improve documentation and ethical standards, he also challenged leaders to consider how we can work to ensure that sharing stories of gender-based violence brings about long-term change.

“What do we do with the stories that we hear? In the end, what do these women get from telling these stories? We need to make sure they bring about change and justice.”

Bukeni concluded his remarks with a call for governments, the UN, and civil society organizations to help strengthen ties amongst themselves and work together to end sexual violence in conflict by making sure that stories motivate substantial action on the part of those in power.

These speeches were echoed by short remarks by government representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Finland, The United States, Croatia and Liberia on their commitment towards ending gender-based violence around the globe.

This event followed the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, hosted by the UK FCO and actress Angelina Jolie, which Bukeni also attended. WITNESS would like to thank the UK FCO and the United Nations for the opportunity to participate in this important conversation.

Images: Photos by WITNESS’ Sarah Kerr.

The convening aims to provide a strong communication platform for the groups to share experience around video advocacy and best practices by developing a collaborative framework of “video/film for social change”. It will also discuss the challenges and constraints encountered by activists in the field, and explore collective strategies to address them.

The convening will also serve as a platform to strengthen alliances and dialogue between the groups. Most of the breakout sessions and plenaries center on the intersection between human rights and video advocacy in the region.

Stay tuned for more stories from our senior program manager, Bukeni Waruzi.

WITNESS’ Senior Program Manager for Africa and the Middle East traveled to Jordan to train activists on how to interview survivors of gender-based violence; to England to participate in the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict; and to Australia to lead training workshops on how to document sexual violence at the 20th International AIDS Conference.

Gender-Based Violence Training in Jordan

Bukeni’s work started in Amman, Jordan where he trained women’s rights activists on using WITNESS’ GBV Guide for interviewing survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. The guide, Conducting Safe, Effective and Ethical Interviews with Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, along with a six-part video series that accompanies it is a practical tool for both practitioners and trainers.

In Amman, participants produced short videos reflecting how the guide can be used in their work.

“I definitely appreciate how useful this is in my capacity as trainer and researcher,” said Thoraya El-Rayyes, a researcher and trainer from the International Labor Organization, a group that documents the abuse of female migrant workers in Jordan and Lebanon. “Everyone knows how difficult the situation of women migrant workers is in Jordan and Lebanon, and we need these kind of skills to ensure proper documentation that will enhance research and advocacy.”

Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in England

Next up for Bukeni was the four-day Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.

As Bukeni wrote on the WITNESS Blog before heading there:

I am excited to talk about best practices for documenting sexual violence in conflict, an issue that WITNESS has been working on for years…

…The issue of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict is personally very important to me. In my home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo I used video documentation to record stories of sexual violence against girls soldiers who I came across as part of a disarmament and demobilization mission I was carrying out in militia camps across the province of South Kivu.

The summit, which brought together 1,700 delegates from 129 countries, was an opportunity to share WITNESS’ gender-based violence training materials, meet with allies and develop new ones.

Bukeni also participated on a panel that explored ways documentation and investigations are conducted, and how an international protocol — as a best practice — will strengthen such investigations of sexual violence in areas of conflict.

Later, after conversations with representatives from the Côte d’Ivoire army, Bukeni posted the following on Twitter:

20th International AIDS Conference in Australia

The final stop in Bukeni’s whirlwind month was AIDS 2014 in Melbourne, Australia where he conducted six training sessions on documenting sexual violence, and a seventh on how to ethically and safely interview HIV/AIDS patients as part of an effective advocacy campaign.

So, one month, thousands of miles traveled, trainings conducted, GBV Guides distributed and participation in best practices leadership in combating gender-based violence. Not bad. Let’s see what August may bring.

Images: Twitter posts from Bukeni Waruzi.

Resources: WITNESS’ Gender-Based Violence resources can be viewed, shared and downloaded here.

Related: Videos highlights of WITNESS’ work with the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and their locally-based partners are available on this Playlist from our YouTube Channel.

This meeting was the beginning of a multi-year partnership between WITNESS and RAU. Since 2000, sexual violence has been used as a weapon by a number of Zimbabwean political parties to repress political dissent, intimidate political opponents and incur psychological damage. While working together RAU and WITNESS created a number of video advocacy pieces featuring the stories of survivors of physical and sexual violence. For each video, WITNESS worked with Kuda and her team to produce a Video Action Plan, a process designed to help activists think through messaging, how to reach their target audience and how to tell the story most effectively.

RAU and WITNESS took great precaution and care to ensure the safety of the survivors filmed in the project. They went through a rigorous process of obtaining informed consent, ensuring that participants fully comprehended the purpose and implications of the interview and the video as a whole. They also protected the subjects’ identities while filming to minimize the risk of retaliation against the survivors and themselves.

Kuda remembered, “People were scared to support us at first, as the issue of political, let alone sexual violence is a sensitive issue. And it’s understandable, because a lot of people within NGOs [in Zimbabwe] have been beaten up and arrested for programs that were regarded as political.” Regardless, the women involved knew that the stories must be told, “and if we get arrested, so be it,” said one survivor.

When the videos were completed, RAU traveled to communities throughout the country, hosting screenings, spreading wider awareness and encouraging education and discussion. As Kuda noted, “Using a written report, we’re already cutting off people who can’t read. If you can go into a village and just show a video, people can start to engage on the issues.”

Following one screening a woman stood up and shared that she had been the victim of politically motivated sexual violence. The woman had thought that her case was an isolated incident. Kuda explained how cases like this showed her how the videos helped the women themselves by giving them a way to reclaim their voice and heal. For many of the women who appeared in the videos, sharing their stories was a positive opportunity to talk about their traumatic experiences, often for the first time.

RAU’s videos were able to reach an even larger audience online, demonstrating the power of video to tell universal stories that resonate across cultures, languages, political backgrounds, and literacy rates.

Kuda sees visible results of the videos everyday. Leading up to the 2013 election, many anticipated that there would be a resurgence of violence, including sexual assault. But that wasn’t the case. Kuda attributed this to greater attention and vigilance surrounding the issue, stating, “they [potential perpetrators] knew that if they used sexual violence again, it would be out in the open.”

Since their training sessions with Bukeni and other WITNESS staff, RAU has produced three videos on their own. Kuda and RAU are now focusing on child marriage, another prevalent issue that is not widely discussed in Zimbabwe. Kuda has already started thinking about her Video Action Plan.

Image from 2010 WITNESS training with RAU in Zimbabwe

Together we pressured the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring charges against Thomas Lubanga, a well-known Congolese warlord. The videos co-produced by Bukeni and WITNESS were used to sensitize the court to the experiences of children recruited for warfare.

On March 14, 2012, the ICC found Lubanga guilty of the war crime of using children in armed conflict. This was the first-ever ICC verdict. Video footage played a role at the trial. “We were unable to dispute the visual images or deny the sound,” said Honorable Mr. Justice Fulford, ICC Presiding Judge, “the evidences presented to us were credible and outstanding.”

After partnering with WITNESS for several years, Bukeni spent seven years working for WITNESS leading our programs in Africa & the Middle East. He now serves as a member of our Advisory Board. Watch more of Bukeni’s story:

Image: Still from A Duty to Protect: Justice for Child Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)