Girl-talk-Girl: Young Women Standing Up Against Gender-Based Violence
Authors: Kristen Ali Eglinton, Phd, Kathryn Weenig, Antonina Tereshchenko, Phd, and Adam W. Marshall, Esq
December 10th commemorated Human Rights Day — the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, declaring those rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled and which serves as the basis of human rights protections globally.
Human Rights Day falls on the last day of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence — a global campaign insisting on the prevention and end of violence against women and girls. These 16 Days of Activism begin on November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and fittingly end on Human Rights Day.
Gender-based violence (GBV), or what we will refer to interchangeably as violence against women and girls (VAWG), is one of the world’s most insidious human rights violations. Defined as acts intended to hurt women or make them suffer physically, sexually, and/or psychologically, VAWG is a global pandemic: 1 in 3 will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. VAWG is as harmful and as serious a cause of death for women of reproductive age as cancer.[1]
This year’s theme for Human Rights Day is “Stand Up for Human Rights” with a specific focus on youth, including the ways in which young people are using their voices to stand up for rights. This year’s 16 Days of Activism’s theme, launched by United Nations Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign, focuses on women across the globe standing up against violence, specifically sexual violence and rape (entitled: “Generation Equality Stands Against Rape”).
Defined as acts intended to hurt women or make them suffer physically, sexually, and/or psychologically, VAWG is a global pandemic: 1 in 3 will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. VAWG is as harmful and as serious a cause of death for women of reproductive age as cancer.
At Footage Foundation (Footage), a non-profit based in the U.S., we have been tirelessly working at the intersection of youth, human rights, and WAWG for more than a decade. In particular, since 2014, we have been designing, conducting, and evaluating our flagship initiative, Girl-talk-Girl.
An international dialogue program and online platform, Girl-talk-Girl is a measurable, scalable initiative for young women ages 15–35. Girl-talk-Girl has thus far reached and connected young women across the U.S., Russia, Ukraine, Chile, and, very recently, Kazakhstan, using Footage’s narrative methods, including mVoiceWorks©. Our methodology combines mobile digital storytelling (2–5 minute multimedia narratives) and human-centered design (where user needs are prioritized in the production of local technology). Specifically, young women share their experiences with violence, using Girl-talk-Girl’s mobile application — an application they contextualized and re-designed themselves. These stories are later shared amongst and across countries, exploring both unique and common experiences with respect to the GBV that is ever-present in the lives of young women globally.
Girl-talk-Girl raises the voices of young women at risk of experiencing or subject to violence, as it simultaneously levels the inequalities that sustain GBV by building the capacities of young women in technology and leadership. The program and platform mitigate the harmful impacts of GBV by employing a conceptual framework that draws on the science of storytelling, compassion, and connection. In fact, Girl-talk-Girl, like all Footage programs, uses our unique “Drivers of Change” to catalyze the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Indeed, Girl-talk-Girl is impact-proven, shown to significantly increase among young women, compassion and empathy for oneself and others; communication, technology, and leadership skills; community and connection; and awareness and advocacy around GBV, all of which are vital to mitigating GBV and its harmful effects.
Initial programs, which started in the U.S. and Russia, were designed and scaled through two U.S.-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialogue Program Awards from the U.S. Department of State. In 2017, we expanded Girl-talk-Girl into Kyiv, Ukraine (with young women internally displaced by armed conflict with Russia), and into Santiago, Chile (working with first generation women university students). Both programs in Ukraine and Chile were funded through Public Diplomacy Program Awards from the countries’ respective U.S. Embassies.
Girl-talk-Girl raises the voices of young women at risk of experiencing or subject to violence, as it simultaneously levels the inequalities that sustain GBV by building the capacities of young women in technology and leadership.
And Girl-talk-Girl is now growing.
In October 2019, Girl-talk-Girl started its expansion into Kazakhstan with sponsorship and support from the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Kazakhstan.
Why Kazakhstan?
In Kazakhstan, just as in other countries around the world, young women are at great risk to violence: 17% of women in Kazakhstan (ages 18–75) have experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence, 21% report psychological abuse; what is more, domestic violence is the leading cause of divorce [2]. Gender inequality and power imbalances manifesting as, for example, lack of access to education, trustworthy information, and leadership opportunities, continue to underpin GBV across the region.
Focusing on these issues, we are now working in collaboration with the Kazakhstan-based organization Rodnik, contextualizing and implementing “Girl-talk-Girl Kazaksthan.”
17% of women in Kazakhstan (ages 18–75) have experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence, 21% report psychological abuse; what is more, domestic violence is the leading cause of divorce.
Through Girl-talk-Girl Kazakhstan, we aim to undermine root causes of GBV, building the leadership capacities and employable skills of young women participants as they learn about digital technologies while creating and sharing their own stories. We will also continue to build awareness around GBV and equality as young women in Kazakhstan experience the power of their voices and build intercultural relationships by joining peers in the U.S., Chile, Ukraine, and Russia, who have previously participated in Girl-talk-Girl, in an online international conference during which they will share their stories. Young women in Kazakhstan will also share their stories on Footage’s international platform — now the largest digital storytelling platform connecting young women and focusing on gender-based violence globally.
Girl-talk-Girl workshops will commence in Almaty, Kazakhstan in February 2020, with young women’s stories being completed and added to the growing platform in Summer 2020.
Young women in Kazakhstan will also share their stories on Footage’s international platform — now the largest digital storytelling platform connecting young women and focusing on gender-based violence globally.
Girl-talk-Girl has proven to be sustainable, maintaining positive long-term outcomes and building lasting bilateral relationships through innovative methods and Footage’s decade of public diplomacy and empowerment programming. Through Girl-talk-Girl, more and more young women are standing up for human rights and against the global pandemic of violence violating women’s rights around the world.
[2] UN Women
Girl-talk-Girl Kazakhstan is a project sponsored and supported by the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Kazakhstan.
Please, get involved or learn more: Contact Girl-talk-Girl Program Director and Footage Executive Director Dr. Kristen Ali Eglinton. Join our mailing list for updates on Girl-talk-Girl Kazakhstan and our other programs here.
About Footage: Founded by five women PhD colleagues at Cambridge University, Footage designs novel, evidence-based programs that use local technology and expressive multimedia tools to improve well-being by bringing the underrepresented voices and experiences of young people into conversations on the world’s most challenging issues. Visit www.footageproject.org.
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