WITNESS, Author at WITNESS Blog

16 Days Series: Revealing Rape – How to Illustrate a Crime Women describe their rapes from behind black face scarves in videos on our site that documents sexualized violence in Syria. We have no photos of women whose faces aren’t covered. We have few photos of survivors of rape even with their faces covered. Sometimes these women hide themselves for religious reasons or for safety—for fear of retribution for speaking out—but oftentimes they cover themselves out of mortification. Rape has taken their cultural purity. December 6, 2012
16 Days Series: Rape as Weapon in Political, Ethnic & Religious Conflict in Burma Over the last half-century, the Burmese have endured a violent military regime, censorship, ethnic tension, and religious conflict. As these videos indicate, the conflict in Burma affects minority populations and their women the most. December 4, 2012
Voices of Dignity: A Story of Struggle for Women’s and Victims’ Rights Yoladis Zúñiga and Petronila Mendoza survived an attack of right-wing paramilitaries on their villages, in which women and girls were raped, homes burned and a number of people killed, including their husbands. November 29, 2012
16 Days Series: Videos Document Sexual Violence As a Tool of War In a number of current and past armed conflicts in Africa, rape has been used as a terrifying tool of war. From the Democratic Republic of Congo to Sierra Leone, sexual and gender-based violence have introduced a unique aspect of civilian atrocity during conflict, and rendered men, women, and children victims and survivors of heinous war crimes. November 28, 2012
Open Heart: A Short Film About the Importance of Access to Health Care By watching the journey of these brave children and their families, viewers come to understand more deeply the necessity of accessible health care and the importance of second chances. We are honored that Open Heart has been shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination in the Short Documentary category. November 27, 2012
Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Early Days of Music Video Activism This video of ‘My Country Tis of Thee You’re Dying’ is from an episode of Pete Seeger’s Rainbow Quest, is demonstrates an early blending of video, song, and human rights advocacy. November 24, 2012
Emmanuel Jal Calls for Peace, Equality and Freedom For All Citizens Emmanuel Jal is inaugurating this series. He recently performed at WITNESS’ 20th Anniversary Gala, moving people to dance and to take action. And he’s doing so once again with “We Want Peace,” his newest hit. November 17, 2012
Victims of the Latin American War on Drugs Make the Case for Reform Latin American drug policies have made no dent in the drug trade; instead they have taken a tremendous toll on human lives. In 2009, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Transnational Institute (TNI) embarked on an ambitious project to document the real impact of Latin America’s “war on drugs” and to show its human cost through the video testimoniesof the victims themselves. November 10, 2012
Participate and Rise on Feb. 14, 2013 to End Violence Against Women Worldwide One in three women worldwide will face rape or gender-based assault in her lifetime. "One Billion Rising," released in September, portrays a diverse set of women facing different types of attacks, effectively showing that any woman, in any country, and any social situation could become part of this statistic. But it also shows them symbolically standing up, and uniting with women across the world to oppose this wave of violence. November 7, 2012
Running for a great future: Team WITNESS tackles the 2012 ING NYC Marathon As a Brooklyn-based organization, we at WITNESS start to feel the buzz in the air every fall as the New York City Marathon approaches. I’ve actually been feeling the energy for quite some time – I’m lucky enough to be inspired daily by the group of runners who make up this year’s “Team WITNESS.” These eight dedicated individuals have been busy training and fundraising for the 2012 ING NYC Marathon, which is fast approaching on November 4th. October 28, 2012
#ImHere – THE CALL: A Choice No Mother Should Face Imagine dropping your child off at school every day, afraid that you won't be back at pick-up time. Imagine staying with a violent partner because calling the cops could tear you away from your kids. Imagine arranging for a neighbor to take care of your children in case you disappear — which could happen any time. Tough to imagine? This is reality for millions of immigrant women in the United States. October 26, 2012
“Half the Sky,” or Half the Story? I was disturbed by PBS’s new film, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women. The two-part series is inspired by the 2010 book of the same name written by New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. Accompanied by high profile celebrities, Kristof takes viewers on a tour of the dangers that women face in the developing world. October 25, 2012
Anatomy of a Bombing in Syria For many people outside Syria’s borders, shelling and bombings are concepts. They’re terrible and tragic, to be sure, but they remain hard to fathom as long as they remain unseen. That's why the Anatomy of a Bombing, our most recent playlist on the Human Rights Channel, is particularly arresting. October 3, 2012
In Depth on the Human Rights Channel: The Lonmin Mine Massacre In recent months, we’ve maintained video feeds for citizen journalism from Syria and worldwide. We’ve published in-depth playlists on topics ranging from the recent anti-American protests, to the persecution of the Rohingya minority in Burma, to the Mexican #YoSoy132 electoral protest movement. September 21, 2012
Video, Human Rights and Drug Policy in Ukraine At my organization, the Association of Substitution Treatment Advocates of Ukraine, we provide psychosocial support to patients in substitution therapy (ST). Ukraine has the highest HIV infection rates in Europe, and one of the highest rates of drug addiction in the world, so I can say with confidence that I'm doing useful work. September 20, 2012