Resisting Violence, Creating Dignity:

Negotiating Violence Against Women and Girls through Community History-Making in Rio de Janeiro (2018-2022)

This interdisciplinary research project explores the formal and informal pathways that women in the Maré favelas of Rio de Janeiro find to resist gender-based violence and build dignity through community history-making.

Funded by the British Academy and Global Challenges Research Fund, it focuses on innovative, arts-based methods such as body-mapping, digital storytelling, and GIS story mapping alongside traditional research methods.

By foregrounding women’s agency and leadership, the project uncovers hidden histories of resistance, highlighting how individual, collective, and cultural practices contribute to combating Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

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Research Methods:

  • Focus Groups
  • In depth Interview
  • Community Mapping
  • Body-mapping
  • Digital storytelling
  • GIS story mapping

Key Objectives

Investigate the connections between resistance, agency, and dignity in the context of VAWG.
Identify formal, informal, and creative resistance practices.
Trace how dignity is forged among women through shared narratives and actions.
Explore how community history-making can empower gendered resistance.
Assess how these practices can help reduce and prevent VAWG by addressing its structural roots.

Key Findings

Creative, co-produced arts-based workshops were linked to improvements in participants’ mental wellbeing
Participants began with relatively low wellbeing levels, highlighting the need for targeted psychosocial support
A sense of belonging is central to understanding experiences of violence, isolation, and resilience among migrant women
Feelings of belonging are complex, shaped by both connection and experiences of exclusion and discrimination
Safe, collaborative spaces enabled women to share experiences openly and build trust
Participation supported the development of agency, allowing women to reclaim their stories and identities
Creative expression (e.g. theatre, storytelling, art) facilitated healing, emotional release, and self-reflection
Workshops strengthened peer relationships and collective solidarity, helping reduce isolation and build community

Creative Outputs

Museu da Pessoa

(digital storytelling and films) and online exhibition (Female Lives)

Observational drawing of focus groups

(artist – Mila de Choch)

Short documentary

the role of the arts on resistance

Audiovisual Exhibition
GIS mapping website

Publications

Go to Publications Archive
CLick here

Partners

London
  • King’s College London
  • People’s Palace Projects
  • Queen Mary University of London
Rio de Janeiro
  • Redes da Maré / Women’s House of Maré
  • Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Department of Social Service)

Funder

  • The British Academy and Global Challenges Research Fund