Our Impact

“It felt very powerful to be with women who have such similar stories. Their stories were mine– we shared a deep sense of connection.”

— Voices to End FGM/C workshop participant

Impact on Storytellers

What is it like for survivors and advocates to come together and explore their personal experiences of FGM/C? To evaluate the impact of participating in our Voices program, we ask each storyteller to complete a short survey after creating their story. 

• 90% have expressed their approval and appreciation of the workshop structure, facilitation, and community-building elements. 
• 93% have remained involved in advocacy to end FGM/C following this workshop. 

About the prospect of getting ready to attend a workshop, one participant said:

“I was kind of worried about what story I would tell, but the facilitators reassured us, and in the end, a small chip of my story, told in less than three minutes, is a whole big story. Amazing!”

To the question about what part of the Voices digital storytelling workshop they most enjoyed, one more participant shared that:

“The Story Circle was my favorite part about the workshop – being able to hear everyone’s story was empowering.” 

Another expressed enjoying the entire workshop:

“All the sessions were very clear, had an easy pace, and really helped to mitigate my apprehensions about creating a video. All the participants’ needs were considered very thoughtfully.”

To a question about how the workshop has changed them, two storytellers shared these reflections:

“The workshop was really helpful to me in understanding how to go about telling my story from the perspective of an advocate – it made me think a lot about what goals I wanted to achieve, through my storytelling.”

“I feel like I now have a community of women I can lean on, and I feel more open and able than before to talk about my FGM/C experience with peers.”

With the hopes of taking a deeper dive into how Voices has impacted storytellers, former Sahiyo intern Sandra Yu conducted a more in-depth qualitative study in 2020. Over the course of several months, Sandra interviewed 15 participants of the Voices to End FGM/C workshops. Her work highlighted several key findings which explore the long-term impact of this project and emphasize the need for our continued work.

Voices stories as counter-narratives

Many participants in the study explained that the workshop space and process of storytelling allowed them to become vulnerable. Where the act and experience of FGM/C may have taken their agency away, participants were able to reclaim this sense of agency through telling their stories with their own words, images, and video footage. The honesty of storytellers undermines what has been an enduring silencing of voices speaking out against FGM/C. As such, we see their stories as brave counter-narratives to the dominant culture in their respective communities.

Solidarity through storytelling

The theme of solidarity recurred within the stories and across all interviews. Connections among storytellers facilitated by the digital storytelling workshop space, and the sense of community built both through the story creation process and subsequent follow-up activities, has proved to be a beautiful alternative to the oppressive tradition of silence.

The courage to become an advocate

The magnitude of courage needed to be a public advocate against FGM/C cannot be understated. Survivors willing to speak out must often navigate conflict both within family and community. Some Voices participants entered the project having already worked as vocal and visible anti-FGM/C activists for years. Others are gradually growing into the idea of taking a public stand. Together, the stories offer a complex and nuanced view of FGM/C and present a rich dialogue between individuals and communities as the storytellers influence and encourage each other through their advocacy.

How the Stories are Being Shared

Since the early days of Voices, Sahiyo and Silence Speaks have committed to ensuring that these stories are seen by a broad audience, with the goals of enriching ongoing efforts to challenge communities that continue to sanction FGM/C and advocating for an end to the practice. We have sponsored more than 100+ in-person and online events where stories have been shared in professional and community-based contexts, bringing together viewers from the medical, mental health, law enforcement, criminal justice, and higher education sectors. We have supported Voices alumni in screening stories within their communities and brought stories into legislative hearings where state laws against FGM/C were being debated. We have distributed stories across multiple social media platforms, reaching more than 50,000 people around the world.

For more information about the impacts of Voices to End FGM/C, contact us at info@voicestoendfgmc.org