Who we are
About Speak One Voice
Speak One Voice is an initiative working with the Church, women, youth, families and communities to address violence against women and children and promote relationships grounded in love, justice, equality and dignity.
Our story
Breaking the silence about violence
Speak One Voice was founded by two women from the Anglican Church who recognised the devastating impact of gender-based violence on women, children, families and communities.
SOV was created from a conviction that the cycle of violence can be broken when individuals, families, churches and communities are equipped to understand the factors that perpetuate violence and empowered to become part of the solution.
We work to break the silence surrounding violence against women and children and create spaces for honest dialogue, reflection, learning and action.
Our vision is of harmonious, safe and healthy families and communities where women, men and children recognise one another as equally valuable.
Purpose
Our vision and mission
The work Speak One Voice does, and the society it is working toward.
Vision
A violence-free society where men, women and children live in harmony, respect and equality.
Mission
To transform families and communities through the engagement of the Church, women, youth and other individuals in the fight to end Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) in all its forms.
What we seek to achieve
- Build and empower faith leaders to champion the prevention and response to violence against women and children.
- Partner with religious communities to promote non-violence, peace, justice and unity.
- Advocate for changes to policies, regulations and cultural and traditional practices that contribute to violence.
- Support the transformation of families into safe spaces for women and children.
- Collaborate with like-minded organisations working to end violence against women and children.
Core values
The values that guide the work
Seven values sit at the centre of everything Speak One Voice does.
- Love
- Equality
- Justice
- Dignity
- Compassion
- Transformation
- Restoration
Principles
What we believe
The convictions the initiative rests on.
- Religion has a mandate to promote peace, love and justice and to speak for the voiceless.
- Religious organisations and their members have a responsibility to care for and support victims and survivors of violence.
- Faith, when properly interpreted and applied, can help transform individuals and communities.
- Women and communities can become powerful agents of positive change.
- Healthy families and communities require relationships built on respect, dignity, equality and safety.
Our focus
Who we work with
Speak One Voice works through the church, its leaders, and women as agents of change.
Faith communities and leaders
SOV believes that the mandate of all religious faiths is to provide a caring, safe space for everyone who walks through its doors, especially the vulnerable and the marginalised, and to walk side by side with the people in the building of healthy relationships. It further believes that the role of religious faith leaders is to take a strong stance, based on religious principles, to combat violence against women and to respond to the needs of victims and survivors, thus transforming the lives of individuals, families and communities.
Women as change agents
SOV believes that women play a key role in bringing about needed changes to prevent violence against women as well as to promote healing for victims and survivors. This is based on the belief that empowering women to be their own champions, and champions for others, with respect to gender equity is a critical factor in prevention. It sees the role of women as change agents who understand how religion, culture and society influence violence against women, and how to intervene and counter these influences in their families, the Church and their communities.
Where we work
Where we work
- Zambia
- Malawi
- Zimbabwe
- Botswana
Facilitators were also trained in Burundi in 2018.
Registered office
Plot 150, Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation, Mindolo, Kitwe, ZambiaGovernance
Board of DirectorsStep forward as a change agent
Speak One Voice activities are available wherever there are women willing to become agents of change in their churches and communities.