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Survivors from across the globe are increasingly using their stories to change legal and social responses to gender-based violence. The #MeToo and Time's Up movements are a powerful continuation of this historical and global trend. Today, more than ever, our stories are our power.
How can we effectively use those stories to call the world to both compassion and political action? What are the risks — and rewards — of testifying to our experiences through our writing, our speaking, or our creative projects? Where are survivor stories truly "moving the needle" when it comes to legal and social reform? In "Our Stories Are Our Power: Using your personal narrative to create political change" — our newest interactive Voices and Faces Project lecture — audiences will:
1. Explore real-world examples of how survivors of gender-based violence (from the US, and beyond our borders) are using storytelling to change minds, hearts, and laws
2. Consider strategies for using personal narrative to argue for political change, with an emphasis on meeting the audience "where they are"
3. Take a closer look at the links between sharing our stories and healing from trauma (what has been called "post-traumatic growth")
4. Examine the ethics of story sharing in an increasingly connected, digitized word
5. Take part in an interactive writing exercise grounded in the power of personal story
To bring "Our Stories Are Our Power" to your school or community, email
speakers@voicesandfaces.org.
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When The Voices and Faces Project launched "The Stories We Tell," North America's first two-day testimonial writing program for those who have lived through or witnessed gender-based violence, we did so with a simple belief: that the stories of those who have lived through or witnessed violence can challenge and change the world. During a moment in our national life when politicians and pundits too often fail to confront the root causes of gender-based violence, injustice, and inequality, our "Stories We Tell" writers are using their testimonies to change minds and hearts. There is nothing beautiful about injustice, but there is something deeply beautiful about the women and girls who are speaking out about it. Their testimonies make us pause, feel, and think. Our hope is that the writing being created during "The Stories We Tell" will also compel readers to act.
Take part in a 2018 writing workshop:
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A unique collaboration between survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, writers from our Voices and Faces Project "Stories We Tell" testimonial writing program, and New Abolitionists, the World Without Exploitation Survivor Story Archive introduces readers to a powerful, purposeful community of survivor-leaders who are sharing their testimonies in order to challenge damaging stereotypes about who is bought, sold, and trafficked in America. Visit the WorldWE Archive and you'll see why we are so moved and inspired by the women and men at the heart of this unique storytelling project.
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Find out more about giving the gift of change by donating to our writing workshop scholarship fund. Every $500 raised provides a full two-day scholarship for a survivor waiting to take part in our program.
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Copyright © 2018 The Voices and Faces Project All rights reserved.
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