In Senegal, Online Videos Break Silence over Abuse

 

Online videos are important in Senegalese activist¹ Fatou Warkha's campaign to document and end violence against women.

The 30-year-old grew up in Pikine, one of the poorer neighborhoods near Dakar, Senegal's capital. Locally, cases of domestic² violence, rape³ and abuse were once as common as power outages and seasonal⁴ flooding.

Warkha tried, but failed, to raise public awareness⁵ of domestic violence through traditional forms of activism. But in 2018, she launched an online television channel. She hoped the privacy⁶ offered by the internet -- and its reach -- might get women to tell their stories after generations of silence.

Warkha told the Reuters news agency, "When I started making video reports, that was when it seemed like things started changing."

The television project has led to much-needed debate and helped bring about real change. Its videos of women or actors retelling true stories of suffering and abuse have been widely shared on social media. They have even appeared on local television stations.

The World Bank notes that as of 2017, about half of the population of Senegal was using the internet.

Some of the videos played a part in a successful campaign for the criminalization of rape, which was signed into law on January 10.

Warkha said the television channel now plans to produce reports explaining the new law and how rapists and abusers can be held responsible for their actions.

She added that women need to "know how to preserve the evidence so they can prove that a rape has happened. Other than that, more work needs to be done to raise awareness about the rights of women and children."

One of the series on the channel is called ‘16 voices, 16 victims.' In one video, a woman tells how, as a child, she watched her father beat her mother until she did not get up. Another report provides details about the murder of a young woman at a university.

One issue Warkha faces is finding money to finance⁷ her campaign. The channel sells its production services to cover the cost of making its own videos. Additional money comes from non-governmental organizations.

Slow internet speeds and power outages are an issue of concern. But these difficulties have not lessened⁸ Warkha's belief in the importance of technology for activism.

She said, "I often tell people that you can do great things with just a mobile phone."

Words in This Story

awareness – n. the quality or state of being aware; knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists

domestic – adj. relating to or involving someone's home or family

preserve – v. to keep something safe from harm or loss

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 privacy   

n.私人权利，个人自由，隐私权

参考例句：

• In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中，保密是不可能的。
• She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。

7 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。

8 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。