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As a collection, these digital stories recount hardships and celebrate achievements related to personal reflections on memory, identity, the importance of leadership, and the search for safety, acceptance, and dignity. HIV stigma and disclosure are explored in depth, as are the challenges of achieving gender equality, men’s changing roles in their communities, and the impact of HIV on children who become orphans. Storytellers talk about suffering through and surviving difficulties, making the decision to test and learn one’s status, learning to live healthy lives with HIV, transforming HIV education, ending gender-based violence, and promoting equality for women and children.
Sonke’s purpose in sharing these stories is to make real people's voices and images the centrepiece of local campaigns to promote new visions of gender equality, masculinity, and community health in Southern Africa. They are being shared in a variety of settings, as tools for encouraging reflection and opening hearts and minds about how gender norms and broad life experiences inform health status, relationships, and the spread of HIV. The stories are broadcast on cable television, aired on community radio, and used as concrete training tools to build the skills of service providers, community members, and Traditional Leaders for addressing a multitude of issues. We hope that viewers of the stories online come away with a deeper awareness of the challenges presented by HIV and AIDS and violence, as well as a picture of what committed men and women in South Africa are doing to inspire individuals, communities, organisations, and policymakers towards action.
These stories are emotionally powerful. If you are considering screening them as part of your work to support gender justice/HIV and AIDS prevention/human rights promotion, we strongly recommend that you download and make use of the relevant accompanying guide(s):
Responding to Violence and HIV/AIDS: Digital Stories from Southern Africa
This guide presents English-language stories by women and men from urban areas in South Africa, as well as stories by women and men from Botswana, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe.
Inspiring Action: Digital Stories of HIV, Gender, and Hope from Rural South Africa
This guide presents English, Xhosa, and Venda stories by youth and adults (men and women) from rural KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo. Note: all non-English languages stories are subtitled in English.
"We All Have Rights": Stories of Gender and Health by South African Youth
This guide presents English and Xhosa (subtitled in English) stories by young people from rural Kwa-Zulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
Stories of Courage and Leadership: South African Traditional Leaders Speak Out to Engage Men in Creating Healthy Communities
This guide presents English, Zulu, and Xhosa stories by Traditional Leaders and advisors (a Traditional Council member and a municipal government employee) from rural Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Note: all non-English language stories are subtitled in English.
when you screen stories
While each of the above discussion guides includes detailed information about how to plan, prepare for, and facilitate story screenings, we would like to emphasize the following points:
Please be aware that viewers may react strongly to some stories, especially if they have survived or witnessed violence themselves, are living with HIV/AIDS, or have family members/close friends who have been directly affected by violence or HIV stigma. We believe it is essential to alert people prior to any screening of stories about the content of what they will be watching.
Additionally, be prepared to manage and contain emotions that could arise in a group after watching stories, by remaining present and aware, offering individual support in the moment, and, if necessary, making follow-up referrals. If you’re not comfortable with these roles, we urge you to collaborate on story screenings with individuals/groups who are more skilled in facilitation, crisis counseling and trauma recovery, and group process management.
terms of use
The spirit of this project is one of partnership and support. The storytellers generously contributed their time and shared aspects of their most personal life experiences in order to participate in Sonke’s work. We invite you to screen the stories broadly, as long as you are not doing so for commercial purposes. We also ask that you refrain from duplicating and/or selling the stories in any format, and that you acknowledge Sonke Gender Justice Network and Silence Speaks as producers of the stories in any print, web-based, or other outreach/education materials that you create to promote your event(s).
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