CASE STUDY: AWARE Singapore battles violence against women with social media and art

Background

One in 10 women in Singapore is likely to encounter physical violence from a man in her lifetime, while six in 10 victims may suffer repeated violence.

The Charities Aid Foundation, which measures the willingness of people to help strangers across 135 countries and economies, ranked Singapore as second-to-last in its latest index.

Aim

AWARE Singapore wanted to provoke thought and discussion about less obvious forms of violence against women, such as slapping, intimidation, yelling and manipulating. Ultimately, the campaign seeks to get more Singaporeans to make a pledge to end all gender violence.

Execution

As part of the ‘We Can! End All Violence Against Women’ global social movement, AWARE Singapore rolled out a ‘We Can! Singapore’ campaign with the tagline ‘Change starts with me’ for 16 days of activism, starting on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The association published a video ‘Would You Step In?’ on YouTube, as well as across multiple mainstream and alternative media channels, in order to deliver a key message that everyone has a part to play in ending violence against women by helping strangers in need in public places.

A Facebook app ‘Blk 2511’ featuring 21 stories of violence took users to Singaporeans’ homes where most violence against women happens.

AWARE Singapore also held its We Can! Arts Fest on 8 December, bringing together activists, artists and survivors for music, theatre, film and spoken word performances to break the silence of violence.

Results

So far, 714 Singaporeans have made a pledge to speak up against violence when they witness it.

The YouTube video, posted on 2 December, has received more than 113,980 views so far.

More than 300 people attended the WeCan Arts Fest.

The campaign drove more than 2,000 interactions across multiple social media platforms and channels.

CREDITS

Client Association of Women For Action and Research (AWARE) Singapore
Agency Xpointo Media
Campaign manager Chris Sylvester Basil
Web design and development Edward John Lingam, Heera Tamang, Kimmy De Leon
Technology director Chiu Jun Liang
Video production Blk A Pictures
Producer Amin Zainotdini