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Photos - Through Our Own Eyes

Through Our Own Eyes: Using Photovoice to Envision a City Without Sexual and Dating Violence.

Through Our Own Eyes: Using Photovoice to Envision a City Without Sexual and Dating Violence is a participatory approach to engaging youth in identifying the social norms and environmental conditions in their everyday lives that contribute to teen dating and sexual violence. The participants are given the training and tools to look for solutions and envision a world where those conditions and norms no longer exist.

The goals of the Photovoice project are:

To enable youth to record and reflect on conditions in their lives and communities, including strengths and challenges faced by teens.
To promote discussion and knowledge about teen sexual and dating violence through the use of photographs and accompanying text.
To reach policymakers with action plans for preventing sexual and dating violence.

Photovoice Workshops

The Youth Action Council (YAC) underwent five months of comprehensive training to learn participatory action research (PAR) methods so that they could examine the issue of sexual and dating violence with their peers. In May 2009, these youth leaders conducted a three-day workshop with 31 youth participants, to explore:

What is sexual and dating violence?
What causes sexual and dating violence?
How do we end sexual and dating violence?

With the help of a professional photographer, participants learned how to utilize digital cameras to represent the conditions in their communities that promote violence, as well as to capture their personal vision of a world free from sexual and dating violence. The youth worked in teams to capture their ideas in photographs and to develop descriptive essays, or vignettes, that help provide context and meaning for the viewer.

Photovoice participants represented youth-serving community-based organizations throughout the city:

Las Jovenes (of Voces Latinas)
Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition
South Bronx Job Corps
Satellite Academy

Analysis & Action

The YAC leaders worked together to analyze the findings from the peer workshops. They looked for major themes that emerged from the facilitated discussions and and then selected photographs and vignettes that best exemplified the findings.

With an emphasis on action, YAC leaders explored ways in which to implement the prevention strategies developed at the workshop. .

Exhibition & Dissemination

The final phase of the Photovoice project allows the YAC leaders and youth participants to share their findings, their photographs and their visions for a world free from sexual and dating violence.

Throughout Spring 2010, their work will be displayed in several photo exhibits, where youth, youth serving organizations, policymakers, and the public are invited to view. By sharing the fruits of their PAR training -- the photos, narratives and prevention action plans - the youth participants are disseminating the knowledge they gained and helping to advance their experience from research to action.

Click here to view upcoming Photovoice exhibit details.

[Enlarge] "Alone at Last" By Hector	[Enlarge] "A Look Back" By Anastasia, a facilitator	[Enlarge] "Defiantly Underage Drinking" By Kyrena, a facilitator
[Enlarge] "Deserted" By Anastasia	[Enlarge] "Drinking 101" By Hector	[Enlarge] "Escape" By Hector
[Enlarge] "Invincible" By Andrew C.	[Enlarge] "Lost Connection" By Cassidi	[Enlarge] "Roof Garden" By Enrique S.
[Enlarge] "SVP" By Jonathan G.	[Enlarge] "Trauma" By Nadia	[Enlarge] Untitled By Marilyn, a facilitator
[Enlarge] Untitled 2 By Harlyn	[Enlarge] Untitled 2 By Jody-Anne	[Enlarge] Untitled 2 By Luvana
[Enlarge] Untitled 2 By Olu	[Enlarge] Untitled 2 By Roberto	[Enlarge] Untitled 2 By Yesenia
[Enlarge] Untitled 3 By Harlyn	[Enlarge] Untitled 3 By Yesenia	[Enlarge] Untitled 4 By Yesenia
[Enlarge] Untitled By Cassidi	[Enlarge] Untitled By Cesar	[Enlarge] Untitled By Enrique G.
[Enlarge] Untitled By Harlyn	[Enlarge] Untitled By Jody-Anne	[Enlarge] Untitled By Laritza
[Enlarge] Untitled By Luvana	[Enlarge] Untitled By Mark or Aaisha	[Enlarge] Untitled By Nadia
[Enlarge] Untitled By Nadia or Jennifer	[Enlarge] Untitled By Olu	[Enlarge] Untitled By Roberto
[Enlarge] Untitled By Rocina or Cassidi	[Enlarge] Untitled By Roman	[Enlarge] Untitled By Roneisha
[Enlarge] Untitled By Yesenia	[Enlarge] Photo by Yesenia