The Situation
One in four married Filipinas has experienced violence. By June 2020, local authorities reported that cases had increased since quarantine began in March. The Philippines was in the world’s longest lockdown, and victims were trapped at home with their abusers. Health protocols had reduced access to shelters and alternative housing. Only 34 percent of women who experienced violence had ever sought help.
RTI International needed to raise awareness of gender-based violence and encourage reporting during a pandemic that made every traditional avenue of support harder to reach. The campaign had to find victims through the only channel still open to them: their phones. But many GBV victims don’t recognize their experience as violence, which meant education had to come before the call to report.
The Approach
Phase 1: Campaign Brand & Four-Audience Framework
Created FamiLigtas as the campaign identity, building its visual system around bold orange, yellow, green, and purple, colors chosen for their associations with warmth, social communication, peace, and humanitarian causes. Defined four distinct audience segments: victim-survivors (aware and unaware), responders who could offer first-line support, family members in the same household, and the general public.
Phase 2: Facebook Page as Educational Hub
Launched the FamiLigtas Facebook page as the campaign’s central platform. Content educated the public on what constitutes GBV, how to recognize it, and where to report. An FAQ guide addressed the most common questions about handling GBV situations. The page directed victim-survivors to GBV service providers and helplines including the LUNAS Collective.
Phase 3: Video Content Addressing GBV From Multiple Angles
Produced eight videos covering different dimensions of gender-based violence: safe homes, stereotypes around GBV, what happens inside a victim-survivor’s mind, and the role of bystanders. Each video was designed to educate, engage, or advocate, and posted on the FamiLigtas Facebook page to spark conversations that would encourage reporting.
The Results
- 8 videos Produced covering safe homes, stereotypes, and victim-survivor perspectives
- 4 audiences Reached through a segmented framework: survivors, responders, family, public
- FamiLigtas Campaign brand created with full visual identity, Facebook page, and FAQ guide
Campaign Highlights:
- Campaign naming (FamiLigtas) combined “family” and “ligtas” (safe) in a single, memorable Filipino word
- FAQ guide helped audiences recognize GBV and understand reporting options
- Content directed victim-survivors to LUNAS Collective and other GBV service providers
- Video content addressed the reality that many victims don’t recognize their experience as violence
- Multi-channel approach reached audiences through the only channel available during lockdown: their phones
The Takeaway
When the audience can’t leave home, the campaign has to reach them where they already are. FamiLigtas worked because it treated Facebook as a lifeline, not a marketing channel. For GBV victims stuck in lockdown, the page was the one place they could access education, recognition, and resources without anyone in the room knowing.
- Industry: Public Sector, Healthcare
- Service: Creative Services
- Solution: For Enterprise
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you run a GBV awareness campaign when victims are trapped at home with abusers?
Through mobile-accessible content on Facebook. During lockdown, phones were the only channel that victims could access privately. The FamiLigtas page and its eight videos delivered education and reporting resources through the platform victims were already using, without requiring them to leave home or make a phone call that could be overheard.
Why create a distinct campaign brand for a social issue campaign?
Because the issue needed its own identity separate from the organizations behind it. FamiLigtas gave the campaign a name that Filipino audiences could remember and share. The brand made the cause feel like a movement rather than a government program, which matters when you’re asking people to share sensitive content with others.
Why segment the audience into four groups for a GBV campaign?
Because each group needs different information. Victim-survivors need to recognize their experience and learn where to report. Responders need to know how to offer first-line support. Family members need to understand their role. The general public needs to know that GBV exists in their communities. One message cannot serve all four.
What role do videos play in a sensitive social issue campaign?
They create emotional understanding that text-based content cannot. A video about what goes on inside a victim-survivor’s mind reaches the audience on a personal level. For a topic where many people don’t recognize their own experience as violence, visual storytelling breaks through denial in ways that facts and statistics alone do not.
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