ENWS Message
“When Survivors Are Heard, Healing Begins and Justice Becomes Possible.”
Day 10 Article
“Breaking Silence, Building Power: The Transformative Strength of Survivor Voices”
Day 10 of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence highlights a powerful truth: silence protects perpetrators, but survivor voices protect lives. Around the world, one in three women experiences violence, yet less than 40% ever seek help. This gap is not the result of unwillingness; it is the result of fear, stigma, and the absence of safe, confidential support systems.
In Ethiopia, these barriers are further intensified by conflict, displacement, and harmful gender norms. According to the EDHS (2016), many women believe that partner violence can be justified; revealing how deeply violence is normalized and how urgently support systems must be strengthened.
This is where ENWS plays a critical role.
Across all regions of Ethiopia, ENWS and its member shelters provide essential, survivor-centered services, safe houses, psychosocial support, legal referrals, emergency assistance, and coordinated humanitarian response. These services help survivors restore their dignity, rebuild their confidence, and reclaim their voice.
Evidence from the World Health Organization shows that when survivors receive compassionate, confidential, and professional support, they are more likely to heal, seek justice, and break cycles of violence for future generations. A supported voice becomes a powerful force for change, both personally and socially.
ENWS’s work strengthens this change by:
- Improving the capacity of shelters and frontline workers
- Creating opportunities for experience-sharing among members
- Mobilizing resources for emergency and long-term support
- Leading national awareness efforts to challenge harmful norms
- Ensuring survivors in conflict-affected areas receive immediate protection
Through these actions, ENWS upholds the message at the heart of Day 10:
every survivor has the right to be heard, believed, and supported.
Today, ENWS reaffirms its commitment to building a VAWG-free Ethiopia by ensuring that survivors’ voices shape policies, strengthen systems, and inspire national accountability. When survivors speak out, and when communities listen, healing becomes possible, justice becomes achievable, and violence becomes less likely to be repeated.
Because when survivors are heard, systems must change. And ENWS is committed to leading that change.
