Through Our Eyes: Participatory Video in West Africa

Published in Forced Migration Review (FMR), this 2-page article explores the use of locally made, participatory video designed to raise awareness of, and to help prevent, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Undertaken as part of an outreach project launched in 2005 by the American Refugee Committee (ARC) in collaboration with Communication for Change (C4C), this participatory media initiative was piloted in Guinea and Liberia in order to share compelling stories and vital information through video. ARC was motivated by the challenge to raise awareness of the health and psychosocial impacts of conflict-related sexual violence among the some 70,000 refugees and 314,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have returned since the end of Liberia's 14-year-long civil war. As reported here, it is estimated that 40% of all Liberian women have experienced SGBV including rape, gang rape, sexual, slavery and physical assault. In a survey conducted among Liberian refugee women in camps in Sierra Leone, 74% said they had suffered sexual abuse prior to displacement and 55% during displacement. Reported cases are usually dealt with by local leaders, and response services are seldom available.

ARC has been implementing SGBV prevention and response programmes in Liberia since 2004. In 2005, the "Through Our Eyes" project was initiated in partnership with C4C to complement ARC’s multi-sectoral strategy. Under the project, participatory video activities spark a dynamic process of engagement and dialogue on issues of local concern, including highly sensitive topics such as forced marriage, domestic abuse, and rape. As described in the article, "From conception though production and public screening, the process is driven by individual community members. Themes and topics are relevant to local audiences and presented in culturally appropriate ways. People are always keen to see their own community members on screen. Video helps amplify voices for change from within the community and fosters peer-to-peer outreach."

Project activities began with a 2-week, C4C-implemented training workshop at Lainé refugee camp, Guinea, for ARC field staff and members of camp committees responsible for referring SGBV cases to ARC. Participants learned how to use the equipment, engage community members in project goals, carry out interviews, and develop team skills in programme planning and filming as well as discussion facilitation. At the end of this training, they made short dramas on rape and community response to domestic abuse, as well as a documentary on early/forced marriage in which a refugee tells her own story. (ARC stresses that, while for many survivors of SGBV, the act of speaking can be a deeply empowering step in the gradual process of healing, no one should ever be pressured into sharing her or his story; several options were developed for survivors who wished to speak out but remain anonymous.)

Following the training workshop, the Liberia-based ARC staff returned home to share their experiences and skills in participatory communication for change with community peers who had been trained in SGBV prevention and response. This new team soon produced their first video: a profile of a local man, a former alcoholic who used to abuse his wife but who had overcome his addiction and become a responsible husband and father. Since March 2006 the Liberia team has produced more than 20 videos on such issues as rape, forced marriage, teenage prostitution, unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and equal rights for women and girls. These tapes are shared with community audiences through video screening/discussion sessions ("playbacks"), usually attended by 30 to 100 people. Over 40 playbacks were carried out between August 2006 and November 2007, and activities are ongoing.

ARC has found that this process has fostered much-needed dialogue around SGBV, enabled the sharing of information, and encouraged individuals to access available services. Community peers and field staff open the playback sessions by describing ARC's SGBV prevention and response programme. After the screenings, audience members are encouraged to discuss the issues raised in the videos. Some share personal stories or offer ideas on how to tackle related problems in their communities. Many have sought assistance from ARC's SGBV programme for issues related to the scenarios shown in the video productions.

In assessing this strategy, organisers say that community video has enabled SGBV survivors involved in the production process to tell their own stories, diminish stigma associated with their experience, and help others. Participants also benefit from learning new technical, interpersonal, and team skills. The participatory process strengthens a sense of community as teams reflect together on the kinds of violence that have affected their friends and loved ones. One organiser explained that, if videotaped and shown to other people, viewers will really see that the issue of SGBV is a reality in their locale - and that they are not alone if they have suffered ("the same thing happened to me"). Foreign videotapes would not have the same impact, they say; seeing a Liberian talking on the videotape and sharing her own life story really touches people, according to ARC. In short, viewers reportedly deeply identify with what they are shown.

In addition to helping raise awareness, heal survivors by inviting them to share their stories, prompt dialogue, and encourage action to heal and/or prevent/address SGBV, the authors stress that participatory video:

• strengthens a sense of community;
• is easily incorporated into existing GBV prevention and response activities;
• is accessible to all, regardless of educational level;
• motivates field staff; and
• has wide-ranging applications.

Editor's note: The issue in which this article appears, FMR 27, is titled "Sexual Violence: Weapon of War, Impediment to Peace". Produced in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), it builds on momentum generated by the June 2006 International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond, which was jointly convened by UNFPA, the European Commission, and the Government of Belgium. Practice-oriented submissions from 40 specialists from a wide range of humanitarian agencies highlight key issues and challenges, best practices, innovative programmes and recommendations. Click here to access the entire issue, which is also complemented by a Forced Migration Online guide to GBV resources. If you would like to request a hard copy, or multiple copies for distribution, please contact the FMR Editors, Marion Couldrey and Tim Morris, at fmr@qeh.ox.ac.uk (Please provide a full postal address and indication of how many copies and in which language - Arabic, English, French, or Spanish - you are requesting.) An 11-minute video on the project is available by clicking here.

Editor's addendum (January 2008): Participatory video training for the Through Our Eyes project was initiated in South Sudan in mid-2007. Over the course of 2008, activities in Liberia will be ongoing, and project activities will be initiated in Pakistan, Rwanda, and Thailand.