VOF WEEK 3 (Lucy M)

Alot has been said about blogs. How they are easy to use. Allow one to reach wide and varied audiences. Allow for continuous discussion on issues that need people to talk about to find solutions. Allow discussions on controversial subjects. The list is endless.

What fascinates me the most is the video blogs. One does not need to be an experienced videographer to create them yet one can pass alot of information with even a five minute video. Video blogs allow for people to see for themselves the issue as it happened.

My imagination has drawn me to January 2008. At this time, Kenya was undergoing post election violence following disputed elections. There was a temporary breakdown of law and order that resulted in destruction of property, loss of lives and violence. An unaccounted number of women and girls at this time were subjected to sexual violence by hooligans and policemen who were supposed to keep the peace.

After calm had been restored it was reported by some human rights activists that the police had also taken part in sexual violence. The police denied these allegations because they knew that it would be difficult for women to come up and say that they were sexually assaulted by state security agents. As a human rights activist, I believe if I got several women with covered faces stating that they were indeed sexually molested by the police and transformed this videos into blogs it could provide a good opportunity for people to be aware that indeed the police took part in the sexual violence. It could be cheaper than airing on through a paid television space. It could also be safer as I could remain anonymous in the blog.

However, the problem comes in. Would my intended greater target audience be able to access my video blog. I am saying this because the internet is mainly concentrated in the urban centres. Also in areas where the internet is accessible most of it is slow and it could be difficult for users to access the video blog.

Well, because this is my only way of showing the world the injustice that happened to these women, I would think positively and concentrate on the urban population, policy makers and international audience. I would ensure that the discussion gets heated up everyday so that local and international pressure bears on the government to address the issue.