Stay Human (Women’s and Children’s Rights in Ukraine)

Country

Ukraine

Campaign Description

A comprehensive campaign against domestic violence and for rights of women and children. Used various information tools and platforms, both online and offline, to raise awareness of the issues of domestic violence and human rights and to suggest ways of addressing the issue, changing public perception of the problem, and giving victims tools to report violence.

Campaign Objectives

To raise awareness of the issues of domestic violence and human rights and to suggest ways of addressing the issue, changing public perception of the problem, and giving victims tools to report violence.

Campaign Target Audience

Ukrainian citizens: overall to raise awareness, women to report domestic violence; Ukrainian media – to report on the issue in an appropriate way; law enforcement – to raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence as a serious crime.

Campaign Tools and Activities (Online & Offline)

Dedicated website
Social media (Facebook)
Press-releases and press conferences
Trainings
Printed materials (leaflets, wallet cards with helpline numbers and human rights info)
Rubber bracelets
Ads in subway and on streets
Flash-mobs in city square
Main Activities:
- Press events for media to raise awareness
- Trainings for officials, journalists and law enforcement on issue of domestic violence
- Flash-mobs to raise awareness of issue on city square
- Ad campaign on billboards and in subway to raise awareness of domestic violence
- Handing out magenta rubber bracelets with campaign logo and slogans (“Remain human”, “I'm against violence!”)
- Printing and handing out wallet cards that women can carry secretly – they contain basic human rights info about domestic violence and hotline number to report violence), handed out in train stations, etc.

Campaign Outcomes

A greater awareness among the public that domestic violence is wrong and should be combatted, that it is a huge issue in Ukraine affecting a significant share of women and children (100 thousand cases reported by law enforcement annually, 23% end in fatalities).
An increased number of media reports on the issue.
A gradual shift in how domestic violence is viewed (from ‘it's normal’ to ‘it's not normal, should be talked about and addressed’)

Successes

A shift in cultural norms and understanding of the issue of domestic violence.

Failures

Still no reliable official mechanisms to combat and report domestic violence in state law enforcement – you could say this was a failure of the project, but since it mostly addressed the communication component, you could say that wasn't really the project's goal.