Willow Teen Dating Violence Awareness Campaign
For Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, Gen Z becomes Generation Zero—with a mission to end dating violence for good.
CREDITS:
Client: Willow Center
Agency: Truth Collective
Writer: Alyssa Davis
Video: Optic Sky Production
Photography: John Myers
DETAIL:
If we really want to end domestic violence, we need to stop the cycle before it begins.
This starts with educating teens on the realities their peers face—1 in 3 teens will experience dating violence this year—and 4 out of 5 parents don’t believe teen dating violence is an issue. Next, we needed to empower them to do something about it.
Research shows Gen Z is the generation that is getting it done. When it comes to social issues, they have an impeccable filter for which ones matter most to them and will go above and beyond to get involved. From this insight, Generation Zero was born—a movement to end dating violence for good. Because if any generation is going to make 1 in 3, zero, it’s Gen Z.
Social video: Annais
Social video: Yasir
Social video: Delayne
Social video: Michelle
Social video: Taylor
Social video: Maddie
To make sure teens have the right tools to help them in this movement, we created an evidence-based, dating-violence text simulation. For three days using their regular text-messaging app, teens engage in a relationship with a bot “partner.” The relationship starts of seemingly normal, but the line between the excitement of a new relationship and abuse slowly blurs, turning into a dynamic of power, control and manipulation. At the end of the experience, teens are given ways to support a friend in an abusive relationship and ways to seek support themselves.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, there is support. If you are in the Rochester area, Willow can help.
24-Hour Hotline
(585) 222-SAFE (7233)
willowcenterny.org