regina

Every year, we at The Pixel Project come across a wide variety of innovative and powerful campaigns tackling Violence Against Women (VAW) by our fellow activists and non-profits from around the globe, and 2024 is no exception. Some of the campaigns work to educate and empower underserved communities, while others provide a platform for survivors to speak out and hold abusers accountable.

We acknowledge that anti-VAW campaigners put themselves in perilous situations to advocate for the safety of others and we are immeasurably grateful for their bravery. From women marching the streets to women combating harassment online, each and every action, large or small, counts.

So today, in honour of all VAW activists, non-profits and grassroots groups who toil in thankless situations to bring about positive change to the lives of women and girls facing violence, we present 16 of the most striking campaigns/programmes we have come across in 2024.

What these campaigns have in common is:

  • The built-in “water-cooler” factor that gets the community buzzing about the campaign and, by extension, the issue of VAW.
  • A good sense of what works in and for the culture and community where the activist/non-profit/grassroots group is trying to galvanise change.

We hope that these campaigns and initiatives inspire you to take action and get on board the cause to end VAW.

It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.

Note: Information for all campaigns is sourced via online research and is based on one or more news sources and articles. The main articles/reports from which the details of these campaigns have been sourced can be directly accessed via the hyperlinked titles. Please do click through to learn more about these striking campaigns.

Introduction by Regina Yau. Researched, curated and written by Regina Yau. Additional research by Vani Bhardwaj.

Inspired to support The Pixel Project’s anti-violence against women work? Make a donation to us today OR buy a copy of our 1st poetry collection, UNDER HER EYE. All donations and net proceeds from book sales go towards supporting our campaigns, programmes, and initiatives. 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #1: Women’s Rights Activists Cover Rome’s Spanish Steps in Red Paint to Protest Femicide – Italy

120 women were killed in Italy in 2023, according to the national statistics bureau ISTAT, with over 50% of the homicides being committed by partners or former partners of the victims. In protest against these femicides, members of the feminist movement called “Bruciamo Tutto” (“Let’s Burn Everything”) poured cans of red paint down Rome’s famed Spanish Steps to symbolically represent the blood of female victims of violence. They also made prints of their hands with it. The activists were arrested and one of them told Reuters: “This is symbolically the blood of all the people who are killed. We will no longer accept this, it must stop now.”

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #2: Artist Collaborates with Rural Women to Recreate Domestic Violence Scenes in Art to Advocate for Victims  – China

Artist Qiu Shangxian was shocked when she heard the old saying in the Chinese northwestern province of Shaanxi, “Beaten wife, like kneaded dough” which means that the more a man hits his wife, the more obedient she becomes. In response to this normalisation of domestic violence in the Chinese countryside, Qiu highlighted domestic violence in rural China by integrating a traditional dough sculpture, called hua mo, into her folk art performance. Hua Mo is celebrated as “mother’s art” in Shaanxi because it is intended to express respect for the skill and nurturing done by mothers. She invited 7 local women to create hua mo that depicted scenes of domestic violence, inspired by either incidents that they had witnessed or heard about through the news. Additionally, she got 14 villagers – 7 men and 7 women – to enact these scenes via a street procession. She told the South China Morning Post: “I hope that through my work, victims can find the courage to speak out for themselves, and perpetrators can recognise the harm they have caused, leading to their reflection and awakening,”

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #3: Salsa as Therapy for Survivors of Sexual Violence – Colombia

For over a decade, the Cali, Colombia-based nonprofit, Mi Cuerpo Es Mi Historia (My Body is My Story) has helped approximately 700 girls who are survivors of sexual violence heal through a project that integrates salsa dancing and psychotherapy to enable them to process their trauma. Treatment begins with performance classes focused on dancing, singing or acting, followed by an exploration of topics of their choice via performance techniques. “Dancing can help to heal trauma,” project founder Martha Isabel Cordoba Arevalo told Al-Jazeera. “When survivors do not want to speak about what happened to them, or if they are not able to, movement gives them a different way of expression.” The success of Mi Cuerpo Es Mi Historia’s salsa programme bears out the results of a review of 41 studies published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology in 2019 which found that dance movement therapy reduced anxiety and depression, “consistently” improving related conditions.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #4: ‘Voice of Silence’ Project Uses Sign Language to Support Reporting Violence Against Women – Brazil

According to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, the lack of accessibility in reporting domestic violence makes it difficult for hearing-impaired and deaf women in particular to get help, leaving them vulnerable. In response to this, We, one of the largest independent advertising agencies in Brazil, created the ‘Voice of Silence’ – an initiative which ingeniously takes advantage of two facts: that television is the only communication channel in Brazil with 88% coverage and almost 100% penetration, and that all television shows are required by law to show an opening with a Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS) Interpreter warning about inappropriate content on the show. The agency realised that the age rating warning was literally the only space on TV where it is possible to communicate directly with hearing-impaired and deaf women. So they designed the “Voice of Silence” initiative to “hack” that space by embedding public service announcements aimed at hearing-impaired and deaf women to let them know that they can now report domestic violence in sign language at falamulher.ong.br.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #5: Women’s Aid’s ‘He’s Coming Home’ Campaign – United Kingdom

Women’s Aid, one of the UK’s biggest and longest-running domestic violence charities, highlighted the dark side of football (soccer) in June 2024 with their award-winning campaign ‘He’s Coming Home’ which raised awareness about the spike in domestic violence that happens every football season – surging by 38% when England loses and by 26% when England wins or draws. The campaign revolved around reimagined football scarves bearing popular chants and impactful slogans on display, such as ‘No More Years of Hurt’, ‘He’s Coming Home’ and ‘England Till I Die’. The scarves were given to key influencers and featured in ads and on social media to highlight the increase in domestic abuse reports during football season. The ads weave common misogynistic phrases into the scarves’ design, symbolising how domestic abuse is often overlooked despite being pervasive.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #6: Walloon and Brussels Campaign Highlights Insidious Forms of Domestic Violence – Belgium

On International Women’s Day 2024, Walloon and Brussels authorities launched an awareness campaign that highlights less obvious forms of domestic violence, including emotional abuse and coercive control. Unlike most domestic violence awareness campaigns that focus on encouraging women to seek help, this campaign targeted perpetrators and called on men to consider their own red flag behaviours. A total of 4 videos and 3 posters were deployed for this campaign. The videos dramatise everyday scenes that devolve into domestic violence in ways that prompts the viewer to rethink what they would consider signs of abuse. The accompanying posters provide the answer to that question: Yes, these actions all qualify as forms of domestic abuse. The public is also reminded that love does not justify demeaning one’s partner.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #7: Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) Beauty’s ‘Abuse Is Not Love’ Campaign Highlights How Men can Help End Violence Against Women – Worldwide

In August 2024, as part of their Abuse Is Not Love campaign, YSL Beauty collaborated with Dr Michael Kaufmann, co-founder of the White Ribbon campaign and Dr Gary Barker, CEO of research organisation Equimundo, to release a new white paper on how men and boys can be engaged to help end intimate partner violence. In their paper, Dr Kaufman and Dr Barker focus on research findings by Equimundo which showed that young men “are fully cognisant of online and in-person sexual harassment of girls […] but often don’t speak up because they are afraid of the consequences towards themselves from their peers”. Dr Kaufmann said: “Some men are able to intervene physically, but others may not have that confidence or ability. But then it’s about finding the words and keeping your eye on things. The key is that you’ve got to do something, you can’t just stand by. Whether it’s using humour to diffuse a situation or calling attention to it by asking a person of authority for help, these are important, actionable things men can do.”

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #8: All-Women Bike Rallies Ride Against Sexual Violence – India

It’s rare to see women bikers in India, but there are an increasing number of such rallies as these women step up to reclaim their space on the roads and raise awareness about rampant sexual violence in the country. After the brutal gang rape of a female Spanish motorcycle tourist in Jharkhand in early March 2024, which caused major outrage across India and raised the question of women’s safety yet again, these bike rallies gained momentum and prominence as women bikers in India increased their efforts to push the Indian government to prioritise safety for women bikers.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #9: Women’s Rugby Helps Efforts to End Gender-Based Violence in the Pacific Islands – Fiji

When the Fijian women’s rugby team won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, they accelerated the participation of women and girls in rugby throughout the region. One programme that has benefitted from this rise in participation is Get into Rugby PLUS. This 20-session programme focuses on achieving gender equality and addressing violence against women and girls. It is led by coaches who are trained in intense gender sensitisation, safeguarding and child protection. Aside from learning tag rugby in a safe, non-contact playing environment, participants also attend rugby activities that integrate lessons and discussions on gender equality, while incorporating core rugby values such as respect, integrity, solidarity, discipline and passion.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #10: French Street Artist Pays Tribute to Victim in Mass Rape Trial – France

In September 2024, the entirety of France was shocked by the case of Dominique Pelicot, who recruited 50 other men aged between 26 and 74 to rape his then wife Gisele. In tribute to the strength of Gisele Pelicot, who attended most of the court proceedings despite what she had suffered, a collage artist who goes by the name LaDame Quicolle (The Lady that Sticks) covered walls in the northern French city of Lille with almost life-sized portraits of Gisele. The art is part of her series of portraits of women who are victims of rape, child prostitution and domestic violence. In an interview with AFP, LaDame Quicolle explained that the aim of the portraits is to “break the silence” and “fill the No Girl’s Land, these places where not many women go at night”.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #11: Indigenous Women Use Taekwondo to Fight Back Against Violence Against Women – Bolivia

Warmi Power, a women-only martial arts studio, was launched by Laura Roca and Kimberly Nosa – both taekwondo black belts – in Bolivia’s second city El Alto in 2015. Nosa has been practicing the martial art for 18 years and Roca is a trained psychologist who took up the endeavour in the face of opposition from her father-in-law. By 2024, they had trained more than 35,000 women countrywide with most of the women in their El Alto classes being Indigenous and engaged in informal trade. In 2023, more than 51,000 women in Bolivia reported falling victim to domestic violence by husbands and male partners. Nosa told Al-Jazeera: “Violence is not solved with violence, but learning to defend ourselves can save our lives.”

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #12: Pan-African Training Fellowships for Women Journalists Covering Violence Against Women – Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo

The Africa Women Journalism Project (AWJP) has conducted research with the goal of launching a new journalism fellowship in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo in order to create a pan-African network of women journalists covering women’s issues, including violence against women and girls. The live survey was conducted in French and English on X (formerly Twitter) to gather data on gender coverage topics in the newsrooms of these three countries. Their goal is to use the collected data to create a curriculum to teach women journalism skills. In conjunction with this initiative, AWJP launched a new online space #AWJPWACommunity to build a community of women journalists throughout francophone West Africa that is unified through new peer-to-peer relationships and regional training.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #13: The #PomellatoForWomen Campaign – Worldwide

Pomellato is a jeweller led by CEO Sabina Belli with a workforce comprising 75% women. In 2017, Pomellato launched their #PomellatoForWomen campaign which creates videos to advocate for gender equality, sisterhood, and inclusivity. In 2024, the campaign featured Pomellato for Women Ambassador Jane Fonda, American actress Joey King, Italian volleyball champion and activist Paola Egonu and Iranian rock climber Nasim Eshqi. They gathered to discuss the state of freedom for women with Belli who pointed out that the loss of freedom for  women takes the form of “being suppressed, challenged, reduced, silenced, killed.” Additionally, Pomellato announced the continuation of their charity campaign in 2023 that benefits the survivors of domestic violence through the Kering Foundation’s partner FreeFrom, which builds routes to financial security and long-term safety for and with survivors.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #14: The First Male vs Female “Fighting” Match to Stop Domestic Violence – Kazakhstan

When Kazakh advertising agency GForce Grey noticed a study that showed only 11% of the signatories of 2023’s national petition to toughen penalties for domestic violence were men, they decided to take action to prompt men to speak out against domestic violence. To achieve this, they partnered with Ruh Fighting Championship to announce the first-ever men vs women “fights” in Kazakhstan, broadcast live in the ring. This move triggered a wave of righteous public indignation about male violence against women. “At the scheduled time, instead of broadcasting the fight, we aired a video montage featuring real footage of instances where men were seen physically assaulting women, highlighting that such incidents occur at a staggering rate of 100,000 annually in Kazakhstan, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” said Yevgeniy Kostylev, creative director of GForce Grey. “This unexpected move turned many of our critics into allies, prompting them to break their silence on the issue. Notably, 90% of those engaged in the campaign were men. In this way, we contributed to the passage of legislation criminalising domestic violence.” The campaign went on to win a Golden Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #15: Smart Doorbells For Domestic Violence Survivors – United Kingdom

In July 2024, Nottinghamshire Police announced that it was working with the non-profit organisation Tara’s Angels to offer smart doorbells equipped with Ring cameras to domestic abuse victims as part of improving their safety. The police force stated that it was providing the smart doorbells on a case-by-case basis. Tara’s Angels was set up in memory of Tara Newbold, who was beaten to death by her boyfriend in 2016 and they are appealing for donations in order to keep providing cameras for this joint initiative. Bev Turner, Ms Newbold’s aunt, told the BBC that the Turner family was working with police “to ensure the donations we receive reach the women at most risk of serious harm”.

 

Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #16: World Vision’s ‘1,000 Voices for 1,000 Girls’ Campaign – Worldwide

World Vision’s ‘1,000 Voices for 1,000 Girls’ campaign for 2024 was launched ahead of the International Day Of The Girl in October 2024 to raise the voices of 1000 women and girls worldwide who have been sexually assaulted. Led by six-time Paralympic Australian gold medallist Ellie Cole, the campaign also enlisted gender equality activist and former Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil; Gamillaroi and Torres Strait Islander woman and award-winning writer, director and actor Nakkiah Lui; leading entrepreneur Naomi Simson; television personality and mother Tayla Broad; and the first African- born AFLW player Akec Makur Chuot to narrate the courageous stories of women and children who have suffered from sexual violence. Additionally, the campaign spotlighted the stories of women from the poorest countries in the world where safety for women is almost non-existent.

 

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