Voices to End FGM/C Cohort #8 Online Digital Storytelling Screening
2024-03-27 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Please join Sahiyo, Asian Women’s Shelter, and Silence Speaks for an online screening premiere of new work from Voices to End FGM/C! We’ll share nine videos, offer an overview of our participatory storytelling methodology, and facilitate a Q&A session with some of the storytellers whose work will be showcased.

Date: Wednesday March 27, 10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern, U.S. time.

Register now to reserve your spot!

Voices to End FGM/C Cohort #9 – Hybrid Digital Storytelling Workshop
2024-05-28 - 2024-06-22
We’re hosting our second hybrid-format Voices to End FGM/C Digital Storytelling Workshop this June 2024! Survivors and advocates will share their stories and learn to craft them as short videos. This participatory media process will be guided by facilitators from Sahiyo, Silence Speaks, and Asian Women’s Shelter.

Online Workshop Dates: May 28 and June 4, 4-6 pm PT / 7-9 pm ET
In-person Workshop Dates: June 22-23 in Washington, D.C. 9 am – 5 pm ET (travel days: June 21 and 24, 2024)

Who Can Apply: Individuals living in the U.S. who have experienced FGM/C, as well as family members, friends, advocates, and others living in the U.S. who would like to share a story about the impact of FGM/C in their lives. Note: we are not able to accommodate overseas applicants in this session.

Apply online today! Application Deadline: April 15, 2024. TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE for those in need of financial support to attend the workshop!
To learn more about the Voices workshop experience, watch our behind the scenes videos.

Voices to End FGM/C 2024 Cohort Video Screening
2024-12-10 16:00 - 17:30 UTC
Date: December 10, 2024
Time: 4-5:30 PM PT/7-8:30 PM ET
Registration link: https://bit.ly/RegisterVoices24Screening
On Tuesday, December 10th at 4-5:30 PM P.T./7-8:30 PM E.T., Sahiyo – in partnership with Asian Women’s Shelter and Silence Speaks – will host a screening of the newest set of Voices to End FGM/C digital stories, created by survivors of and advocates working to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). In addition to viewing these 10 new poignant stories, attendees will hear from some of the storytellers themselves about their experiences in the storytelling workshop and their work to end FGM/C.
“It’s like we created our own community as we held space for one another while bearing witness to each other’s stories as they were told. I also appreciated and valued the accommodations made to ensure that all participants had the best possible experience. It’s things like this that made the workshop a special and meaningful space to be a part of. ”
– Musu Bakoto Sawo, Voices ‘24 Workshop Participant
The Voices to End FGM/C program is a digital storytelling project created by Silence Speaks and Sahiyo that aims to mobilize a critical mass of survivors and activists from across the globe. Voices to END FGM/C brings people together to share and heal from their experiences of FGM/C, to connect and grow as leaders in their own communities, and to create short videos calling for an end to this harmful practice.
If you are interested in hosting a screening showcasing digital stories from Voices to End FGM/C with your own organization, with classmates, or with co-workers, check our new Voices to End FGM/C Screening Guide! This is an in-depth resource with discussion questions, FAQs, and event planning templates.
For any questions related to this guide or our Voices program, please email aries@sahiyo.org.

CWS69: Storytelling as a Tool for Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting (FGM/C) Survivor-Centered Care
2025-03-18 | New York, Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN), 2nd Floor, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, 10017 , United States
Sahiyo, AWS, and Silence Speaks are hosting a parallel event titled “Storytelling as a Tool for Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting (FGM/C) Survivor-Centered Care” for the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69). The session will feature stories from the Voices to End FGM/C program with a panel discussion, including individuals behind the stories, reflecting on their personal narratives and insights into how these stories have been utilized to drive systemic change and enhance culturally competent care.

Date: Tue, 18 March, 2025
Time: 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm ET
In-Person Event

Location: Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN), 2nd Floor, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017

Registration: https://bit.ly/SahiyoCSW69

Digital Storytelling's Role in Healing and Advocacy Against Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting (FGM/C)
2025-10-31 14:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York)
Date: October 31 at 2:45 PM EST
This 90-minute panel will explore how participatory digital storytelling can foster survivor-centered healing, build organizational capacity, and drive systemic change in the context of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and broader gender-based violence (GBV). Drawing from a three-year collaborative project between Sahiyo, Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS), and Silence Speaks, panelists will share insights on using culturally grounded, trauma-informed methods to support FGM/C survivors and building the capacity of GBV organizations to provide trauma-informed support.
Panelists will highlight how survivor-created media has been used as a tool for professional development, cross-sector training, and outreach across healthcare, crisis response, and community-based organizations. The session will feature multimedia digital stories from the Voices initiative and reflections from the project partners, including some of the survivors and advocates who created a digital story. Emphasis will be placed on strategies for using digital storytelling to deepen community trust, bridge the gap between FGM/C and mainstream GBV services, and co-create sustainable systems of support.
By the end of the session, attendees will:

Understand the role of survivor-led storytelling in healing and public education.
Learn how digital stories can be used as powerful training tools for culturally responsive, trauma-informed care.

Massachusetts Women of Color Network 9th Annual Conference: Survival Is a Group Project
2026-05-15 09:30 - 10:30 (America/New_York)
Date: Friday, May 15 2026
Time: 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Stories That Sustain Us: Collective Care and Ending FGM/C
Survival is not something done alone. For women and girls impacted by gender-based violence, including female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), survival is sustained through community, collective care, and the courage to speak truth together.
This 90-minute panel will bring together alumni from Sahiyo’s Voices to End FGM/C digital storytelling project to explore how storytelling becomes a practice of collective survival. Rooted in participatory, trauma-informed methods, Voices supports survivors in crafting short digital stories that reclaim narrative power, disrupt stigma, and strengthen community response to violence.
Through moderated dialogue and the screening of short digital stories, panelists will reflect on:

How storytelling shifts isolation into solidarity
What it means to survive in community rather than alone
How narrative power challenges silence, shame, and harmful cultural norms
The role of collective care in healing

This session centers women of color not as subjects of policy, but as knowledge producers, movement leaders and experts, and architects of survival. Panelists will share how participating in the storytelling process reshaped their understanding of healing, advocacy, and community responsibility.
Participants will engage in guided reflection and dialogue about how storytelling can be integrated into organizing, advocacy, and community spaces to strengthen collective survival strategies

Voices 2026: Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Stories
2026-07-28 00:00 - 23:59 (America/New_York)
Sahiyo, Silence Speaks, HOPE MA, and Saheli would like to announce a special workshop for immigrant and refugee survivors of gender-based violence and their allies.
When:
Virtual orientation sessions will take place on:

July 28, 2026
August 4, 2026

6:00 to 8:00 PM Eastern Time

The in-person workshop sessions will take place on:

August 8 and August 9, 2026

9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
The event location is near the Boston University campus, and the precise address will be shared exclusively with confirmed attendees.

Participants must be able to attend all workshop sessions in order to be confirmed.
This workshop will bring together individuals from diverse immigrant and refugee communities to share stories of resilience, healing, and collective strength. Through storytelling, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and explore how stigma, isolation, and gaps in culturally responsive support systems have impacted their lives and communities.
The workshop will foster solidarity across immigrant and refugee communities and uplift stories that highlight the importance of community care, allyship, and collective advocacy against gender-based violence.
Who:
The workshop is open to people in the United States who are part of immigrant and/or refugee communities and want to share their stories of surviving gender-based violence.
What:
Participants will learn how to create a short digital story using voice narration, photographs, artwork, and video clips. Through a collaborative and trauma-informed process guided by facilitators from Sahiyo and Silence Speaks, participants will share true stories drawn from their lived experiences and perspectives.
No previous storytelling or media production experience is required. To learn about the process, watch, The Making of Sahiyo Voices
Following the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to share their stories publicly as part of Sahiyo’s ongoing education and advocacy work to end FGM/C and address gender-based violence in immigrant communities.
How to Apply
If you are interested in participating, please complete the application form by June 30th, 2026.
