Witnesses to Hunger: Participation through Photovoice to Ensure the Right to Food

This article from the publication Health and Human Rights, Volume 11, No. 1, describes the Witnesses to Hunger programme, a participatory advocacy project that uses the "photovoice" technique to engage mothers to take photos and record their stories about poverty and hunger with the intent to inform social welfare policy in the United States (US). From the Abstract: "Witnesses to Hunger is grounded in the human rights framework that is supported by international conventions on the rights of women, the rights of the child, and economic, social, and cultural rights. The Witnesses to Hunger program works to increase civic participation of low-income women and to maintain a strategic public awareness campaign. After introducing the Witnesses to Hunger program, this article describes the past decade of unchanging food insecurity disparities, demonstrates the lack of participatory dialogue in health and welfare programs, and provides examples of how Witnesses to Hunger counters the conventional dialogue about welfare. Throughout, this paper demonstrates how the participatory approach of the Witnesses to Hunger program improves our understanding of basic human needs and the social determinants of health, and informs legislators on how to improve health and welfare policy."

Centred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, among low-income mothers of young children, Witnesses to Hunger seeks to advance social, economic, and cultural rights by increasing civic participation through a strategic public awareness campaign that is informed directly by these women. "...Their contributions to the dialogue are grounded in personal experiences of being poor in the United States and negotiating the patchwork of the current welfare system. Through their participation, women in the Witnesses to Hunger program are actively challenging the orthodoxies of the welfare system. They speak on behalf of their rights, the rights of their children, and the right of all people to health and to food. The Witnesses to Hunger program engages each mother to speak on her own behalf in order to draw attention to the negative effects of household food insecurity and poverty on the health and well-being of young children. Through the program, the mothers' voices are reaching local, state, and federal policy makers through testimonies and briefings, letters, and written reports. They also have begun to inform the general public through the Witnesses to Hunger website, local speaking engagements, press events, and media coverage of their work."

To promote dialogue, Witnesses to Hunger uses the methodology of "photovoice": "a participatory action research strategy that includes providing cameras to those participants who are usually the 'subjects' of policies and programs (or the subjects of research studies) to ensure that they can provide their own frames of reference around issues most meaningful to them in order to educate the public and to inform policy makers about those aspects of policies and programs that need to change in the view of the participant. The intention of photovoice methodology is to provide a way for those who are the recipients in public programs - people who are usually treated as passive or voiceless - to express their individual voices through photographs and accompanying narratives.... Through direct and indirect contact with legislators and policy makers, Witnesses to Hunger participants utilize their photographs and stories to inspire policy change. Such contacts take place through a travelling exhibit that actively engages policy makers in dialogue; through direct participation in informal testimonies, briefings, written reports, and press conferences; through video and photo postings; and by means of letters and emails sent directly to individual legislators. The goals are not simply to improve viewers’ and listeners’ understanding and compassion; but rather, to demand accountability from city, state, and government actors on issues related to the health and wellbeing of young children in poverty."

Specifically, in 2008, the project provided digital cameras to 42 women participants. Women were recruited for the programme through a flier sent out to caregivers who had requested outreach through another project at a local hospital in Philadelphia. Women who responded received a home visit and those who joined the programme participated in at least two individual interviews and one of four focus groups with other women in the project. Each participant received her own digital camera (to keep) and either US$25 or US$50 in cash, depending on the length of the interviews. The women received brief one-on-one training on how to use the digital camera and were asked to take photos of what they wanted the public and policy makers to see and to witness about their lives.

The women documented their experiences with hunger and poverty and their ideas for change. After two to three weeks, the authors visited each participant again for a semi-structured and video recorded interview that used the women’s digital photographs as a guide. Using the photovoice technique, these interviews included questions about 1) why the participants took the photos, 2) what they want the public to see, and 3) what they want others to do or to change. Through their digitally recorded individual interviews, the photographers constructed written narratives from their lived experiences in ways that incorporate these images. The Witnesses to Hunger project team developed these audio and visual documentaries into a travelling exhibit featuring still photography, audio recordings, written narratives, and video clips. The images and associated narratives are displayed on an interactive website. The site also has integrated links to pages on associated social networking sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.