Do You See Me Now?
We see a face, we see a body, we see a story and so we hear a voice.
Some of the stories you’ll read in ‘Do You See Me Now?’ were submitted through our brilliant partners. Learn more about their work and find out how you can support them below.
Bella Foundation is a women-led organisation established in Nigeria to promote and improve the health and development of children, youth, and women. Created in 2000, BEFCAMC's work focuses on the areas of HIV and AIDS, reproductive and sexual health, water sanitation and hygiene, child rights, gender equality, women empowerment, and peace and conflict resolution.
Imagine Her works with communities in Uganda to accelerate the power and potential of young women, girls, and youth, preparing them to be active leaders and social entrepreneurs who create sustainable solutions to problems within their communities.
Slam Out Loud builds creative confidence skills like communication, critical thinking, and empathy in school children from low-income households in India. Their Project Avaza programme supports teachers to implement arts-based education in their classrooms, drawing on gender equity and climate action themes.
Taskforce Nyx partners with at-risk Afghan women’s rights protesters and activists in the service of advocacy, emergency protection, and access to dignified third-country resettlement and asylum.
Almost one in three women across the globe experience gender-based violence (GBV) at least once in their lifetime.
For too many of these women, the shame and stigma associated with GBV also means silence and erasure. To preserve their agency, safety and dignity, women must lower their voices, bow their heads and bury the stories the world needs to hear.
This year for the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Evoca Foundation presents ‘Do You See Me Now?’, marking each of the 16 days with ‘portraits’ of women from all over the world who have experienced, witnessed and survived gender-based violence.
Through our international partners and collaborators, eight women and girls have shared anonymous accounts with us. They are from different backgrounds and have different ages, ethnicities, and nationalities, but each has a story to tell about their experience of GBV.
Evoca’s resident artist Shanley Mitchell has worked with artificial intelligence (AI) to create images that depict each woman and evoke her narrative. The figures in these images are characters who embody and represent the individual sharing her experience - whose imagined physicalities bring her story to life without disclosing her identity, and therefore without compromising her safety or privacy. In the AI-produced image, we see a representation of real people with whom we can empathise - whose pain we can sense and whose strength we can feel. In so doing, the portraits create a visceral experience for the viewer and simultaneously enshrine the subject’s security. The expression of these narratives in such images allows the viewer to connect with the individuals whose rights and freedoms have been violated. At the same time, these stories and people find refuge in a space that is at once safe and visible; protected but audible…
Enter the ‘Do You See Me Now?’ gallery to view the portraits and the stories that inspired them.
We’d like to thank the women and girls who shared their stories for their bravery and generosity. ‘Do You See Me Now?’ exists to pay tribute to their resilience. Every woman, no matter who they are or where they come from, has the right to live a life free from gender-based violence.
