Victims of gender-based violence told their stories through video presentations at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women last month.

The digital storytelling seminar, sponsored by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), highlighted mini documentaries as a way to inform communities about gender violence.

Many ADRA projects around the world provide women with opportunities to become self-sufficient, and sponsoring digital storytelling is another step in that direction, an ADRA spokesperson said.

"By supporting communication methods that allow [women] to speak candidly about their personal challenges and aspirations, we are giving them a voice that will ultimately contribute toward transforming their own communities for the better," said Hearly Mayr, ADRA's director for public awareness.

These short productions express the many and varied experiences and challenges that women around the world face on a day-to-day basis," said John Torres, senior public relations manager for ADRA.

The videos tell the stories of women in abusive relationships, and use photos and footage the women shoot and edit on their own.

The digital storytelling projects were organized by the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California, United States. Center representative Amy Hill presented the digital stories at ADRA's request during the U.N. convention.

Hill, director for Silence Speaks/Special Projects at the Center for Digital Storytelling, played videos made by women in South Africa, Uganda and the United States.

The U.N. commission, held last month in New York City, was originally created in 1946. The CSW evaluates progress toward gender equality, identifies challenges that remain, establishes global standards and creates policies for the advancement of women.

For more information, visit adra.org.