TOUCH ME NOT

TitleTOUCH ME NOT
BrandPARINAAM FOUNDATION
Product / ServiceNOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANISATION THAT PROVIDES HOLISTIC SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN.
CategoryB06. Use of Events
EntrantMcCANN INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation McCANN INDIA Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
PRASOON JOSHI MCCANN WORLDGROUP Chief Creative Officer
ASHISH CHAKRAVARTY MCCANN WORLDGROUP National Creative Director
PUNEET KAPOOR MCCANN WORLDGROUP Executive Creative Director
DILEEP ASHOKA MCCANN WORLDGROUP Account Director
RATHISH P SUBRAMANIAM MCCANN WORLDGROUP Creative Director
VAISHALI RAO MCCANN WORLDGROUP Copywriter

Why is this work relevant for Media?

Safe Touch and Unsafe Touch is a standard lesson taught to children across the country to build awareness about sexual abuse. But in most of the cases, children are just passive listeners because of which, this lesson may not effectively get through to them. Touch Me Not is the first natural and interactive educational tool for sexual abuse awareness, which engages the children. And through compelling visual demonstration, it effectively shows Safe Touch and Unsafe Touch. Through Touch Me Not, the lesson becomes an experience the child will never forget.

Background

Sexual abuse crimes against children have been on a steady rise in India. Educating children is the only way we can empower them to be aware and protect themselves against such crimes. But, while we know what we want to teach, how we do it, is still a question. Because in the innocent minds of children, it is hard to differentiate between acts of love and acts of abuse. Another obstacle we face is, how do we grab the children’s attention and hold it long enough to teach them about this complex topic? Our goal was to kill both birds with one stone. Find a simple and yet effective tool that interests the children during the lesson, while also not leaving a hint of a doubt about what is sexual abuse.

Describe the creative idea/insights (30% of vote)

Touch Me Not is the first natural and interactive educational tool created to teach children the lesson of Safe Touch and Unsafe Touch. We created topiaries of a small boy and a small girl, made from a combination of real and life-like replicas of the touch-me-not plants. Most of the body that represent Safe Touch were created from replicas of the touch-me-not plant. But the body parts that represent Unsafe Touch - the chest, part between the legs and the bottom, were made from real touch-me-not plants, whose leaves closed down immediately when touched. The children interacted with these topiaries by running their hands over them. And when they saw the leaves on 'Unsafe' body parts close down, they were able to translate better that this is Unsafe Touch.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Our primary target audience was children between the ages of 5 and 11, who are most vulnerable to sexual abuse and do not yet have the tools to prevent or protect themselves from these crimes. The children were given a brief introduction to the topic before allowing them to interact with the sculptures. The goal was to first talk about Safe Touch and Unsafe Touch, and then let the children experience first-hand a demonstration of this lesson. Our secondary target audience was teachers, parents and other stakeholders of children’s safety. Through this unconventional educational tool, our goal was to spark a larger conversation about sexual abuse awareness and exploring the right ways to educate our children about it.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We introduced these topiaries as part of sexual abuse awareness workshops in government schools across the city of Bengaluru. These schools were mostly in the low-income communities, where such crimes have a higher presence while awareness is comparatively low. The workshops were held during the first 3 months of the new school year as the children’s timetables were fairly light in this time period. We also introduced the topiaries to children in beaches and parks. We have partnered with various NGOs and educational institutions to take Touch Me Not across the country, and also working on including this into the standard curriculum.

List the results (30% of vote)

When the children saw the leaves immediately closing, it created a greater impact of showing that this form of physical contact should not be allowed. The stark visual demonstration also ensured that they remember this lesson well into the future. Learning this lesson from the topiaries close to their age created a strong bond and trust, because of which they were more receptive to listening. This unconventional method of teaching brought attention to the problem of sexual abuse crimes. It also opened up conversations about integrating these lessons at early stages of child development.