Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

The reality for women and girls

In Southwark – and across the rest of the country – women and girls face sexual harassment from men and boys on a daily basis. 71% of women of all ages in the UK have experienced some form of sexual harassment in a public space. This number then rises to 86% among 18-24-year-olds.

We need more men and boys to see life 'through a girl's eyes', because once they see what it means and feels like to experience sexual harassment every day, they can help stop it.

Life through her eyes 

Rather than focusing on those who experience it, we wanted the campaign video to remind boys and men of their responsibility to call out unacceptable behaviour and ultimately stop male violence against women and girls. We felt that the best way to do this was to swap gender roles and portray to boys and men what it actually feels like to be objectified and sexually harassed.

We developed a narrative that follows a teenage boy who is forced to navigate through the unwanted attention and sexual harassment from women and girls on his way to school. When writing the script, we collaborated with female talent from local universities to adapt language and nuances that would cut through to the target audience.

‘Through Her Eyes’ was launched on White Ribbon Day 2022, a national day to raise awareness of violence against women and girls.

The impact so far

Screenings of the film were held in all 18 secondary schools in Southwark. Campaigning for the film will continue in September 2023, working with Southwark Young Advisors to help embed the film within schools’ PSHE curriculum and youth groups’ work. The Metropolitan Police have also embedded the film in their work with schools.

The release was covered by multiple national press outlets, including The Mirror, Campaign Magazine, Evening Standard and PR Week. Sadiq Khan, The Mayor of London, and Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell and Peckham, also provided public endorsement for the campaign.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “We all need to work together as a society to tackle the epidemic of violence against women and girls. This excellent campaign by Southwark Council will help to get the message across to men and boys that words matter and there is a link between misogyny and violence. Every Londoner should watch this."

Since it's launch, the film has been viewed over 467,000 times and has been shortlisted in the Local Government Chronicle for campaign of the year.

The film won a 'Drum: Social Purpose' award. 

Designing films to influence behaviour

Sometimes, an organisation – often in the public sector, charity or social impact space – needs to communicate a message that doesn’t intend to drive a specific action but, instead, wants to shift behaviour or perspectives. In these instances, our filmmaking approach focuses on activating empathy by telling stories about lived experiences. This helps audiences feel the impact and importance of taking everyday actions, not just understand them on an intellectual level. 

By placing the viewer inside a story, film becomes an unrivalled tool for reflection. And, because audiences are more likely to recall physical feelings rather than neutral thoughts, these films are way more effective when it comes to altering long-term habits.