In April 2023, 15 women from Sibut, a town in the Central African Republic, were invited to participate in a PhotoVoice workshop. Each of these women had endured brutal attacks of armed groups, back in February 2003. These attacks constitute crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
Over the course of five days the women were guided through a participatory process that combined photography and storytelling. The purpose was to capture and understand changes that had taken place in their lives, related to the assistance programme initiated by the Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC in CAR, through the analysis of photos taken by the participants themselves, and additional group discussions.
This PhotoVoice workshop was part of a bigger process aimed at understanding the impact of the mechanisms for the benefit of victims of crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC conducted by Trust Fund for Victims' across various countries of intervention.
Trained in the art of photography, the 15 women captured their lives through their own lens. With each click of the camera, they revealed their stories of change. Furthermore, the pictures taken by the workshop participants serve as the foundation for a short video to express their collective story. The scenario of this video belongs to them.
In May 2007, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court initiated an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the context of a conflict in CAR since 1 July 2002, with the peak of violence taking place in 2002 and 2003. In line with the reparative mandate of the Rome Statute (the treat that establishes the ICC) the Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC launched a programme for the benefit of victims of the crimes under jurisdiction of the Court in CAR, in September 2020. The TFV CAR Programme offers an integrated package of medical and psychological care, as well as socio-economic support including education, vocational training and income generating activities. One of the priorities of this programme is to support vulnerable victims in particular survivors of sexual and gender-based crimes committed in the context under investigation by the ICC.