Six survivors speak out

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We’re not speaking out because it is healing. We’re speaking out because it is necessary.

In a world that too often ignores the scope and scale of sexual violence and trafficking, a single story can sometimes be one of our most effective tools for creating change. At The Voices and Faces Project, our job is to create a safe place for survivors to share their names, faces and stories. Through our creative, documentary and outreach programs, we then connect those stories to policymakers and the public.

In that spirit, The Voices and Faces Project has partnered with the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, the voice in Washington for those working to end sexual violence, to secure the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA will provide new resources for victims of crime, while expanding current rape prevention and education programs. By helping the alliance identify sexual violence survivors willing to share their stories in service to social change, and creating a series of online survivor portraits that speak to the need for VAWA, The Voices and Faces Project seeks to remind those in Washington that the political is also deeply personal.

In the words of Terri Poore, Vice President of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence: "These Voices and Faces Project survivor stories have been an essential tool as we've worked on the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act. They help us to communicate urgency to policy makers, breaking through our collective numbness. After 20 years of doing this work, survivor stories like this re-invigorate me to continue pressing forward for justice."

We are grateful to Voices and Faces Project members Missy Carson, Jenny Bush, Nobuko Nagaoka, Gabe Wright, Sasha Walters, and Michelle Lugalia, for sharing their stories in order to create change. Read them, and we know that you will be moved. But we hope that you will also act.

Find out more about the Violence Against Women Act. And call your REPRESENTATIVE and SENATORS and encourage them to support VAWA and its key provisions.

Make twice the impact: Between now and October 31st, the William H. Donner Foundation will match your donation to The Voices and Faces Project! Recently named one of "America's Best Charities" by the board of directors of Independent Charities of America, our organization is working to change minds, hearts and public policies. But we can't do it without you. You can maximize your impact by taking advantage of this limited-time giving opportunity. Thanks in advance for your generosity.

A film worth seeing, and sharing: "Burden of Silence."
The Voices and Faces Project recently consulted on "Burden of Silence," a short documentary film produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Tod Lending. "Burden of Silence" focuses on sexual violence in the Native American community, and the unique forces that those seeking justice encounter. We encourage you to watch, and share, this beautiful film. Watch the Film.

Making mindful connections: The Voices and Faces Project at the 92nd Street YMCA.
Voices and Faces Project founder Anne K. Ream recently joined Alisa Roadcup of Amnesty International, Jennifer Severns of BoomGirl and Tracie Wagman of We've Got Kids at the #140Conference in New York City, at the 92nd Street YMCA. Speaking on a panel that explored why connecting is more important than networking, Ream, Roadcup, Severns and Wagman also discussed how digital media can help (and hinder) social justice movements - and why using technology "mindfully" is so critical to creating lasting social change.

stories we tell

"The Stories We Tell," our Voices and Faces Project Testimonial Writing Workshop, returns to Chicago.
We believe every survivor's story has power and purpose. So we are excited to be bringing "The Stories We Tell," the country's first testimonial writing workshop for survivors of sexual violence, domestic violence and trafficking, back to Chicago. Our two day workshop, created by R. Clifton Spargo, an award-winning writer and Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers Workshop, will be November 10th and 11th, 2012 (location tbd). Read more about our last Chicago writing workshop.
Special thanks to Verizon Wireless, Guy and Courtney Comer, Christa Desir, Marc Marion, and Julie Burgener for their generous support of our newest Voices and Faces Project program! For the Workshop Application, email us.

Still demanding justice: The Women of Atenco, 6 years on.
Two years ago, Voices and Faces Project photographer Patricia Evans and writer Anne K. Ream traveled to Mexico, where they interviewed the Women of Atenco, victims of rape and torture at the hands of Mexican police. This case has been a high-priority for our allies at Amnesty International, and the failure of the Mexican government to hold police accountable has been condemned by members of the United States Congress, the United Nations, and the international human rights community. The willingness of the women to speak truth to power and perpetrators is inspiring, humbling and a reminder of how a small community of activists can challenge and change the world - and yet there has still been no justice.
Join The Voices and Faces Project and the Nobel Women's Initiative in demanding justice for the women of Atenco.
Listen to the WBEZ/Public Radio piece about our Voices and Faces Project work documenting the stories of the women of Atenco.

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