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Raising Voices

Early August 2006, Dipak Naker of Raising Voices, a Tides Center project operating in Uganda, wrote, "Last week there were two incidents of egregious violence against girls in school. One was beaten so badly (because she couldn't complete her homework) that she was paralyzed and needed surgery. In another school, five girls were beaten so badly by teachers (because they would not inform on their friends) that they were hospitalized and two are in a coma. There has been no apology nor public outcry. The school administration stands behind their teachers as 'professionals who know how to discipline students'."

In response, Raising Voices put together a coalition of organizations and Dipak reported, "We did make a lot of noise in the media. We went on the radio, called in all our favors and published articles in national press. The outcome was that the Minister of Education has just declared that corporal punishment is banned in all schools in Uganda.

"I am sure there were other factors at play also, but sometimes, a few people getting sufficiently angry about an injustice can make a difference...."

Raising Voices has been making a difference for years. Established as Tides Center project in 1999, their aim is to promote preventative approaches to violence against women and children. In 2000, a regional office was established in Kampala, Uganda. All project's programmatic activities are coordinated by Lori Michau and Dipak Naker, who have worked in East Africa since 1994.

In 2003 and 2004 respectively, they developed, field-tested and published Mobilising Communities to Prevent Domestic Violence: A Resource Guide for Organisations in East and Southern Africa and Rethinking Domestic violence: A Training Process for Community Activists. In 2005, they published Violence against Children: The Voices of Ugandan Children and Adults. This report, the first of its kind in Uganda, exposes the pervasive but silent issue of violence against children. In Uganda, the mainstream rhetoric around violence against children normalizes it and sees it as a natural and an acceptable part of raising a child. However, children expressed very different perspectives and shared moving stories about how the violence damages their physical and mental health, how the scars on their bodies go much deeper than the skin.

Raising Voices developed The Learning Center at the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention in Uganda, www.preventGBVAfrica.org, a regional online resource for gender-based violence prevention efforts, and coordinate the Gender-Based Violence Prevention Network with a current membership of over 120 organizations. In 2004, the Network launched an annual regional campaign and coordinates with 16 NGOs in eight different countries in the Horn, East, and Southern Africa the activities for "16 Days of Activism Against Violence." For their new campaign they will work with 24 organizations in 10 different countries on the theme of young women's vulnerability to violence and HIV/AIDS.

In 2005, Raising Voices provided on-site technical support to partners in Uganda, Tanzania, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka; their materials have been translated into at least 10 languages; and the tools and ideas in their publications are being used in over 40 countries worldwide.

For more information, including radio broadcasts and free publication downloads, see www.raisingvoices.org.

Photographs by Heidi Jo Brady