Violence shapes the lives, experiences, and dreams of countless adults and children each year. In the case of people of color, lesbian/gay/bisexual/ transgender individuals, and youth, this violence can be compounded by experiences of racism; homo/transphobia; and ageism and insensitivity to youth culture. Sadly, few opportunities exist for survivors to tell their stories in their own words. Silence Speaks fills this gap by connecting survivors and witness of abuse with their creativity and making their voices the centerpiece of violence prevention and social justice efforts.

Our goal with Silence Speaks digital storytelling workshops is to provide survivors, witnesses, and prevention advocates diverse in age, race/ethnicity, religion, class, ability, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation with the support, skills, and equipment they need to create original multimedia pieces of courage and healing. We define violence broadly - stories created in our workshops have addressed intimate partner and family abuse; hate violence and racism; and the violence of poverty, political persecution, and war. More about our rationale . . .

Beyond the workshops, we assist our storytellers and community partners in identifying ways to share these stories, as a method of deepening public understanding about the complexities of violence, promoting survivor advocacy, and mobilizing people to take action in support of violence prevention. More about how Silence Speaks stories are being used to raise awareness and support the prevention of violence . . .

Our workshops are held in close collaboration with groups in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. We teach at the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley and can also travel to conduct workshops in multimedia labs across the U.S. and abroad. If you would like to explore the possibility of attending or hosting a workshop in your area, please contact us.

We would like to thank one of our original storytellers, Amisha Patel, for generously allowing us to use the project name “silence speaks,” which comes from a poem she wrote and worked with for her digital story.