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A Penny For Your Thoughts/Tatiana

A Penny For Your Thoughts/Tatiana

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Sexual exploitation awareness campaign

In Europe, sexual exploitation is on the rise, victims are difficult to identify, there are too few organizations working on the ground to combat exploitation, and European legislation is vague and/or contradictory from one country to another. As a result, traffickers slip through the net and use methods to coerce their victims that are unknown to the general public and therefore to potential users of these services. A striking poster appeared for a month on the walls of six European cities, including Brussels. A provocative silhouette, a first name, and a phone number were its only elements. Behind the Belgian number, Tatiana, a victim of sexual exploitation, tells her story and invites everyone to leave a comment, “a thought.” This campaign was rolled out simultaneously in six European cities: Brussels, Paris, Bucharest, Sofia, Dublin, and Lisbon. The creator of this unusual awareness campaign about sexual exploitation is Marian van der Zwaan, a Dutch artist committed to fighting discrimination against women and immigrants. Through research and interviews with victims and those working on the ground, Marian van der Zwaan exposes the social problems of our time. Her work has received support from Amnesty International, the United Nations, and various governments.
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We believe it is essential to remind the public, whether they are clients of paid sex or not, that behind the apparent consent of prostitutes often lies a history of sexual slavery. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to detect the signs of human trafficking among sex workers, especially for clients who are unaware of the existence of this unacceptable practice.

The objective of the “TATIANA / A penny for your thoughts” campaign was to inform and raise public awareness of the reality often experienced by people in prostitution, a great many of whom are victims of human trafficking. Simultaneously, it aimed to change attitudes regarding the role of the client of prostitution, not necessarily to prosecute them as is already the case in Sweden or France, but to hold them accountable for their active role in a system of human exploitation.

The campaign’s closing conference also aimed to raise awareness among politicians about improving or adapting existing legislation on human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The date chosen for the campaign’s closing conference was symbolic: October 18th is the European Day Against Trafficking in Human Beings.

THE GOAL OF THIS CAMPAIGN:

To reach the widest possible audience, and given the available financial resources, we opted for a three-stage campaign:

  • Two very large posters (3m x 2m) displayed in one of the capital’s busiest locations – Place Flagey –
  • 39 bus shelter posters in the STIB’s northern network
  • With the distribution of 70,000 Boomerang postcards through the Guidooh network in Brussels and throughout the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the campaign’s territorial impact was maximized.
  • An advertisement on the website 2emeMain.be, which offers “massage” services
  • The creation of a Tinder profile

While the display in Place Flagey attracted the attention of many people of all ages who frequent this multicultural area, the campaign’s impact was undoubtedly amplified by its presence in the metro stations of the STIB’s Northern Network. This allowed it to reach an audience more easily excluded from communication channels and public spaces for debate and civic participation.

The campaign culminated in an international conference held on October 18, 2017, at L’Amazone, which brought together nearly one hundred people. It was introduced by Viviane Teitelbaum, President of the CFFB, and moderated by Manuel Abramowicz, professor at the Haute Ecole Libre de Bruxelles.

Marian van der Zwaan presented the campaign evaluation in video format, followed by commentary from several project participants: Sylvie Bianchi from the Samilia Foundation, the project leader, and representatives from the Ruhama association in Dublin and the Scelles Foundation in Paris.

Next, the documentary film “Dead End” was presented by its director, Elise Schubs.

“Dead End” offers an unvarnished and uncompromising look at the reality of these women who sell their bodies to make ends meet or who are trapped in forced prostitution rings. This film is the result of a year spent immersed in the prostitution scene of the Sévelin district in Lausanne. Elise Schubs chooses to view this district as a veritable stage on which the lives of human beings unfold. Far from clichés and prejudices, intimate testimonies freely recount the hidden side of the reality: the impact of selling one’s body, survival, secrecy, destruction, and hope. A human perspective on the cold face of prostitution.

An interesting discussion with the audience followed. Several sex workers, including a victim of human trafficking, shared their experiences firsthand, which helped to shift perceptions regarding the preconceived notions held by the predominantly female audience about sex workers of foreign origin.

DEVELOPING AWARENESS / CRITICAL ATTITUDE

A provocative silhouette, a first name, and a phone number were the sole indications featured on the poster. When calling the number, you were met with a voice message. Tatiana, a victim of sexual exploitation, recounted her story and invited everyone to leave “a thought” as a comment.

The objective of this campaign was to raise awareness among everyone—whether or not they are clients of paid sex—that the apparent consent of people in prostitution often conceals a history of sexual slavery.

To effectively challenge the general public, the element of surprise had to be complete. Hence the poster’s intriguing nature: provocative, yet never pornographic.

Because our commitment to authenticity and coherence was inherent to the project, the voice recorded belonged to a former victim of human trafficking, and the recorded narrative was that of her own journey.

We were highly committed to fostering a critical attitude among the general public, which is why the option to leave a recorded message on the voicemail box was included.

 

QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT

  • 1685 Calls: The audience listened to the message in its entirety.
    1071 Missed Calls: The audience listened to the message, but not to the end.
    191 Voicemails
    180 Text Messages

In total, 2756 people dialed the number

  • The campaign was covered by 15 national media outlets.
    Posts on our Facebook page about the campaign have garnered 6,134 views.
    70,000 Guidooh cards were distributed in Brussels and Wallonia.

The results of the campaign were compiled on a website penny.mzwaan.pt which was viewed 484 times, as well as on a video, shown during the themed morning.

 

MEDIA AWARENESS

The campaign garnered significant media attention and extensive coverage. During each interview, we were particularly careful to ensure that the message conveyed avoided voyeurism or the controversy surrounding free/forced prostitution, focusing instead on human trafficking as a societal issue. This was done to shift public attitudes and, consequently, to influence the enforcement of existing laws and regulations.

We also developed a communication strategy that leveraged diverse media channels, prioritizing the use of new communication technologies :

  • Public display
  • Website
  • Voicemail accessible via phone
  • Guidooh card distribution
  • Social networks
  • Online social platform Tinder
  • Video posted on YouTube

More information on the results here.

COLLABORATIONS / PARTNERSHIPS

  • Six European cities: the collaboration between the various associations was fruitful. Each partner received the appropriate materials for displaying the posters: a different name, silhouette, and phone number for each city. The display methods varied according to the financial and human resources of each partner association. As the Samilia Foundation was the only one to receive public funding, the scale of the poster campaign in Brussels was not comparable to that in the other cities, particularly Bucharest and Sofia. This resulted in significant variations in the campaign’s impact depending on the city where it was implemented.
  • STIB/JC Decaux: the partnership initiated with STIB and JC Decaux was crucial to the campaign’s impact in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, and in Brussels in particular. The massive display of 39 “Tatiana” silhouettes in stations in the northern sector of the Brussels metro allowed the campaign to be seen not only by thousands of users but also to be picked up by the main media outlets of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (RTL, RTBF, La Libre, BX1, La Capitale, Paris-Match, Metro, etc.).
  • Ixelles Municipality / ULB: We were looking for a location frequented by a diverse and multicultural public where it would be possible to install the large “Tatiana” poster. Place Flagey quickly emerged as the obvious choice. We therefore initiated a partnership with the Ixelles Municipality (owner of the La Cambre building located on Place Flagey) and with ULB (the building’s tenant). CFFB: The Council of Francophone Women of Belgium partnered in organizing the campaign’s closing conference by providing the large hall at L’Amazone and distributing invitations to its network of members. Furthermore, the president of the
  • CFFB delivered the opening address at the Conference. Several CFFB member associations subsequently invited Samilia to present the campaign at events raising awareness of democratic issues: SOLIDARIS and Le Monde selon les Femmes.
  • BPS: the Brussels Observatory for Prevention and Security participated in organizing the Conference by presenting the mission of Brussels Prevention and Security as well as a summary of the General Security and Prevention Plan for Human Trafficking. This presentation was given by Ms. Aline Distexhe, analyst. Collaboration with Brussels Prevention and Security is important for improving the application of existing regulations concerning the fight against human trafficking for sexual exploitation.