- The 'Voices' project, awarded in the last edition of the Social Value Awards, focuses on art therapy to promote the personal transformation of those affected
- The initiative will end with a theatrical performance by the participants in the program, aimed at raising public awareness of the reality of this group
The initiative advocates attending to and giving a voice to victims of gender-based violence through the tools and methodology offered by the performing arts, so that they can shed light on their personal stories and initiate a process of transformation at both a personal and social level.
In line with Fundación Cepsa's monitoring of the award-winning projects, the head of the entity in the Canary Islands, Belén Machado, held a meeting with the president of ARSM Anchieta, Verónica Polegre; the coordinator of the winning project, Sonia Trujillo, and the theater teacher and head of the workshops, Mariana Curbelo, to learn the details of the actions carried out since the beginning of the year.
Belén Machado emphasized "the importance of supporting victims of gender-based violence, especially considering the difficulties they face in normalizing their lives". She also stressed the need for society in general to become aware of this social scourge, the eradication of which requires the collaboration of all. In this sense, she pointed out that projects such as 'Voices' play a fundamental role in making the reality of this group known, based on the experience of those affected.
For her part, Verónica Polegre thanked Fundación Cepsa for having obtained a Social Value Award, since "it has made it possible to continue with an art therapy project started last year, aimed at women victims of violence, which has shown good results in terms of working, among other aspects, on resilience". At the same time, she emphasized its transformative effect on the victims themselves and the creation of support groups among them.
The 'Voices' project has so far focused on eleven women victims of gender-based violence, aged between 30 and 70 years, some of whom are inmates of the Tenerife II penitentiary center and the rest have been referred by the Social Services of the City Council of La Laguna.
The first phase of the project has focused on the development of weekly therapeutic workshops, in which those affected have been able to transfer their experience and which include techniques such as meditation, body language exercises, vocal and breathing exercises, as well as theatrical dynamics. All of this has led to the creation of a space for them to unburden, talk about their lives and become aware of reality. In addition, the generation of support networks among the participants has improved their self-esteem.
At this moment, 'Voices' is facing its last phase, with the creation of the characters of a play that will be represented by each of the groups, and in which the affected women will contribute their experiences, establishing an interaction between them through their voices, and giving visibility to the different cases of gender-based violence.
On the other hand, the performances, which will take place in December within Tenerife II and in another location yet to be defined, will gather the visions of all the participants, and will serve to raise awareness in society in general about the situation these women are going through, with the aim of contributing to prevent this type of behavior from continuing.
With this project, both Fundación Cepsa and ARSM Anchieta join forces to contribute to society's first-hand knowledge of a reality that affects not only the victims of gender-based violence themselves, but also their families, and that translates into emotional, cognitive, behavioral and social relationship deficits.
