Background

In India the conviction rate for rape is just 1 out of 100 because the victim is blamed and she is asked to cleanse herself to get rid of the so-called sin lest the word spreads about her, and it becomes very difficult for her to live in the society. This leads to loss of crucial DNA. The brief was to raise awareness about the importance of saving DNA in a rape case .We needed to spread the message that it was very crucial that the girl keeps herself unclean to preserve DNA. The solution came in form of a T-Shirt. A T-Shirt that had evidence marks all over it. The project scale and scope was huge as it involved changing a deep-rooted and had apex bodies from law and order justice and media involved in the execution. The estimated budget of the on ground campaign was Rs. 500,000.

Describe the cultural / social / political climate in your region and the significance of your campaign within this context

In India when a girl gets raped, the society blames and shames her. In some cases, she’s made to blame herself as much as her rapist. She is made to immediately cleanse herself to get rid of the so-called sin lest the word spreads about her, and it becomes very difficult for her to live in the society. The task at hand, was not just doing justice but also bring a change in the society. Through this campaign on one hand we aimed at educating general masses about the importance of DNA and why its of vital importance in a rape case and roped in key influencers who used their reach to spread the message far and wide. On the other hand we talked to police, forensic labs and educated them about the proper collection method of DNA and the various dos and don’ts associated with it.

Describe the creative idea

The creative idea in this exercise was a Don’t Wash, Don’t Clean Tee Shirt that was powerful enough to put the rapist behind bars. In india, rapists get away after committing the crime because often there is no evidence that puts them at the rape scene. So we needed a weapon that would arrest this problem. To bring this idea to life we designed a Tee Shirt (Don’t Wash, Don’t Clean Tee Shirt), that had marks like blood, spit, semen etc , that are incriminating evidence in a rape case. Soon the movement caught momentum. Big names from the field of media, law and order and apex medical bodies supported the cause. Celebrities wore this Tee Shirt and advocated the importance of preserving the DNA in a rape case. From a niche topic the Tee Shirt bought the subject in spotlight and for once an entire nation rallied behind it.

Describe the strategy

In India almost 4 women get raped every hour and just 1 out of 100 cases leads to conviction due to lack of evidence. The most conclusive evidence in any rape case is the rapist’s DNA. But here in India the raped women is scorned at, she is asked to wash herself of the guilt. She is apparently shamed and blamed and is asked to cleanse herself of this sin, leading to crucial DNA getting compromised. That is why the need of the hour was to come up with an idea that would be about preserving the DNA of the rapist. Something that would put him back at the crime scene and prove him guilty of the crime.

Describe the execution

For execution we found our answer in form of a Tee Shirt. A Don’t Wash, Don’t Clean Tee Shirt. Since DNA is the most incriminating evidence in any rape case and it is found in blood, tear, semen, sweat, hair follicles we fabricated a Tee Shirt that looked like evidence on its own. It had blood and other marks of bodily fluids, tear marks, dirt and grime. Look wise it was very arresting and something that one had not seen before. Celebrities wore this Tee Shirt and advocated the importance of preserving the DNA in a rape case. The Tee Shirt was launched at an event in IIC DELHI. This event had big names from Law and Order, Police and Media as attendees. At the same time this movement launched digitally on FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.

Describe the results / impact

This increase in DNA casework can be attributed to an upward trend in press reporting of rape & sexual violence cases owing to public awareness and activism along with steps taken by the government to upgrade police and forensic infrastructure keeping women in mind. DNA Testing Doubles. Lab Backlogs Come Down by 50%: As per recent estimates, the number of DNA profiles developed from crime scene evidence has doubled over a year from 10,000 cases tested in 2017-18 to nearly 20,000 in 2019-20. During the same period, state labs across India managed to reduce DNA testing backlogs by 50% at an average.