The Nordic and Baltic countries as well as Belarus face many of the same issues when it comes to gender equality, sexism and gendered violence, and no matter where one lives, gendered violence is, undeniably, a common social phenomenon. According to the UN database, every fourth woman living in Lithuania has experienced gendered violence sometime during her life. The transnational nature of the problem engenders the need to tackle these issues together by sharing knowledge and experiences. The exhibition will facilitate reflection, discussion and dialogue on a prevailing and problematic culture of gender inequality and gendered harassment. It also aims to provide a space where the frightening reality of many women can be voiced and made audible, because listening and understanding is the first step towards action and change.
“Also, in the Nordic countries women are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and intimate partner violence. Gender based violence take many forms and still today too many women experience violence from their partners, sexual violence, and harassment as well as online abuse. This is unacceptable, and that is why the Nordic Gender Equality Ministers have made mitigating violence against women a top priority. This includes promoting best practices regarding both prevention and protection of victims”, – says Helen Nilsson, director of Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania.
Portrayed in 35 short videos, which makes the core of the exhibition, the anonymous stories on gendered violence told by well-known Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Belarusian actresses uncover the marks that these experiences have left on women across borders. Among them are Lithuanian actresses Renata Kutinaitė, Teklė Baroti, Elena Ozarinskaitė, Eglė Špokaitė and Greta Dirmauskaitė. All stories have been collected in close cooperation with women’s centres in each country and are anonymous.
Voices of Violence have travelled through the Baltic capitals, also visited Belarus and Denmark, being a part of recognized film festivals, including Scanorama film festival. Simultaneously, an online exhibition is displayed on the homepage: www.dki.lv/voicesofviolence.
The exhibition will be opened by a discussion with Nordic and Lithuanian artists, activists and other experts, working with this important topic. Danish professor of intellectual history at Aarhus University Mikkel Thorup, who among other topics also works on democracy and power, terrorism and anti-feminism analysis, the Lithuanian artist and illustrator Eglė Narbutaitė, who is dedicated to empowering women and shedding light on the pressing issue of cyber violence against women through her thought-provoking creations, Lise Bjørne Linnert,a Norwegian conceptual artist, who focuses on political and social themes, including femicide and dr. Dalia Puidokiene, founder and head of the Klaipėda Social and Psychological Assistance Center, which provides assistance to victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking, as well as domestic violence, will participate at the opening discussion in Klaipeda on the 21st of June at 5 pm. Rugile Butkeviciute, the Program Manager and Lecturer of Women’s Issues Information Center, will be the moderator of the event. The opening event will be in English with Lithuanian translation.
The project is organized by the Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and the Embassy of Denmark in Lithuania in cooperation with the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Lithuania, MARTA center, Womans Issues Information Center, Feministeerium, Kvennaathvarf, Metafilm, Latvian Academy of Culture, WIFT Iceland, ProRent.
