About Us

Amplified Voices (AVo) is a women's rights organization focusing on advancing the rights of marginalized women, girls including Sex Workers and LBTI girls and young women.

AVo has a secretariat in Pretoria. AVo has active and transformational projects in Pretoria, Gauteng and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. AVo works to uplift the lives and amplify the voices of girls and young women living in City Slums. AVo's work focuses in informal settlements and City Slums where Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) has reached crisis levels.

AVo delivers innovative approaches to address gender and social inequalities and power imbalances. AVo addresses these structural barriers that perpetuate SGBV and place AGYW Sex Workers aged 15-24 years in more vulnerable situations to HIV acquisition and result in poor treatment outcomes for AGYW Sex Workers living with HIV.

AVo main purpose is to champion the rights of marginalized women and girls with a focus on Sex Workers as most at-risk populations. AVo achieves this by engaging women, girls and boys and men in addressing structural causes of violence and stigma which increase the risk of HIV infection for women and girls.

Beyond its work in South Africa, AVo has the capacity to offer subgrants to organisations across Africa. Working as part of a partnership, AVo supports organisations in countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe that work in the same thematic areas as the partnership, amplifying the voices of marginalised women, girls and sex workers across the region.

AVo integrates innovation to engage and empower girls and young women in their diversity including LBTQ adolescent girls, cisgender adolescent girls and young women, Young Sex Workers and girls who use drugs.

Vision

AVo wants to see empowered communities able to empower and uplift the lives of the less privileged and motivated to protect the legal rights of girls and young women in their diversity including LBTQ adolescent girls, cisgender adolescent girls and young women, Young Sex Workers and girls who use drugs.

Mission

Amplified Voices (AVo's) Mission is to champion the rights of marginalized women and girls with a focus on Sex Workers as most at-risk populations.

AVo achieves this by engaging women, girls and boys and men in addressing structural causes of violence and stigma which increase the risk of HIV infection for women and girls.

Objectives

1

To empower girls and young women in their diversity including LBTQ adolescent girls, cisgender adolescent girls and young women, Young Sex Workers and girls who use drugs with HIV and human rights information.

2

To reduce HIV and STI infections among girls and young women in their diversity including LBTQ adolescent girls, cisgender adolescent girls and young women, Young Sex Workers and girls who use drugs.

3

To engage community stakeholders, health facilities and leaders to recognize and promote the rights of girls and young women in their diversity including LBTQ adolescent girls, cisgender adolescent girls and young women, Young Sex Workers and girls who use drugs.

4

To address structural causes of sexual violence and stigma against empower girls and young women in their diversity including LBTQ adolescent girls, cisgender adolescent girls and young women, Young Sex Workers and girls who use drugs.

Principles

A

Amplified Voices understands violence and crime prevention as strategies and measures that seek to reduce the risk of violence and crime occurring and their potential harmful effects on individuals and societies, including fear of violence and crime, by intervening to influence their multiple causes. [Based on the definition of crime prevention by the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime, 2002]

B

Therefore, Amplified Voices recognises that violence and crime are complex issues that require multi-sectoral interventions at an individual, family, community and societal level to reduce risk and address the root causes.

C

Amplified Voices believes in non-violent interventions that reduce the prevalence of violence and crime in South Africa. Consequently, Amplified Voices rejects interventions and/or demands for actions that it may perpetuate violence, including vigilante justice, the promotion of weapons or violent behaviour.

Values

Community Participation and Involvement

Amplified Voices shall always respect and involve the community at every stage of programme design, implementation and monitoring. Projects will be generated from the community itself and not imposing on them to improve their living standard who are economically incapacitated.

Commitment and hard work

Amplified Voices staffs are committed and dedicated members with or without resources to serve the community with diligence and guide from God. We commit to work with the community to improve competence and positive development in their respective areas.

Transparency and Accountability

Amplified Voices believe and uphold the promotion and maintenance of working environment that display openness and at the same time accountability.

Integrity

Amplified Voices execute duties with utmost diligence, conscientiousness, expertise and honesty that are responsive and satisfy our community.

Interested in us?

Reach Out!

Amplified Voicesinfo@avo-sa.org