In Brazil’s major centres Recife/Pernambuco, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, women who have been victims of violence will receive ICT training through a seed grant programme set up by the APC’s Women’s Networking Support Programme (WNSP) as a part of it’s work on the third Millennium Development Goals on equalisty for women. Women’s grassroots organisations in Brazil will use technology in their work to end violence against women. The six winning organisations vary from legal groups, to black women’s groups, to lesbian and graffiti groups through virtual libraries, videos, radio and other means.
TAKE BACK THE TECH! FUND WINNERS IN BRAZIL
Grupo de Mulheres Cidadania Feminina (Women’s citizenship) in Northern Brazil’s Recife area is using ICTs to prevent violence against women, by setting up a virtual network to share experiences of violence and exchange information. 20 women age sixteen and up in the community will learn to use the internet to produce multi-media texts, audio, and video files. The over 5000 women who listen to Fala Mulher will also indirectly benefit from the radio and online network.
Centro das Mulheres do Cabo (Women’s centre in Cabo) 60 women in the Recife area will be trained on how to use ICTs to prevent domestic violence and sexual abuse. Using various ICTs such as computers, mobile phones and web 2.0, women’s organisations in the state of Pernambuco will learn to produce multimedia resources that will be used to reach out to journalists, bloggers, independent producers and communications to address violence against women.
Coturno de Vênus Associação Lésbica Feminista de Brasília (Feminist lesbian organisation of Brasilia) will be examining feminist practices that will help end violence against women, and especially violence directed towards lesbian women. The organisation will train 30 women between the ages of eighteen and 30 to create a website where information can be exchanged and shared, and where lesbian and bisexual women can learn to identify and address “lesbophobia” and cases of violence against them.
Rede Nami – Anarkia Feminista, Política e Grafiteira (Network of feminist anarchist graffiti artists – NAMI) in Rio de Janeiro is a network that works to end violence against women (VAW). 100 girls will learn to use ICTs in order to create a virtual library with content on VAW. They will also produce a thematic graffiti mural on the issue in order to bring awareness to the legislation on violence against women in Brazil.
Promotoras Legais Populares (mulheres negras) – (Popular promoters of Legal matters – Black women’s organisation) in Sao Paulo will train 37 women between 20 and 70 years of age, from different organisations in the city on how to prevent violence against women. Using computers, women will create a slide show and other audio, video, and text resources thanks to the internet. The women will create a short video about the organisation for victims of domestic violence that have been hospitalised and will disseminate 20 CD ROMs on violence against women.
Sociedade Comunitária Ecológica Cultural e Escola de Samba “Fala Negão / Fala Mulher” da Zona Leste (Community society on ecology and culture, school of Samba) in Sao Paulo is giving 40 women between 32 and 60 ICT training sessions on how to prevent violence against women to raise awareness on the issue. The women will also produce a short video in order to generate a debate within groups and the community at large. Women will learn to use various programmes such as photo- and video-editing software, the internet, email, etc., and will meet twice a month to exchange experiences in using ICTs in their work to prevent violence against women.
AMZOL – Associação de Mulheres da Zona Leste (Association of Women in the East Side) in Sao Paulo will use ICT training to create a virtual network of women’s organisations in order to work together to find solutions to end violence against women. 47 women and two men aged 18 to 60 will use various technologies (mobile phones, computers, internet and multimedia programmes to support their work in building awareness around VAW through over 500 photos, three short videos and the dissemination of resources in forums, blogs and other social networks.
The Take Back the Tech! fund is a part of the APC women’s programme Take Back the Tech! to end violence against women project, which falls under the APC’s work towards achieving the third Millennium Development Goal on equality for women. A total of $20 000 dollars have been disbursed to twelve country partners for redistribution to local and grassroots organisations that are working with women and ICTs.
Photo by Rede Nami. Grafiti mural to end violence against women