DARE TO BEAR
To coincide with National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we created Dare to Bear. A campaign that called upon the general public to ‘bear’ witness to the issue of child sexual abuse and raise funds in support of Operation Bobbi Bear; an organization located in South Africa that works on behalf of children who have been sexually abused.
Operation Bobbi Bear provides a simple and reassuring means for children who are the victims of sexual abuse to communicate in detail what happened to them. Using markers children can identify and alert caregivers to actions which could have resulted in the transmission of HIV. Timely interventions are critical and the bear has proven itself as an effective tool in overcoming the obstacles of language barriers and understandably timid victims. Using the bear as a metaphor, children can soften the trauma, avoiding the humiliating process of having to point to and speak about the specifics of their experience. In court proceedings, the Bear provides authorities with the necessary testimony to obtain justice for child victims that are usually seen and not heard.
The campaign aesthetic was to create something that was contemporary, but still organic and child-like. The logo mark of the bold bear with the bandaid covering its mouth, exemplifies the fact that the children affected don’t have a voice, but in this case the bear is. The spontaneous use of pops of color over muted images is reminiscent of a child’s naive crayon scribbles - while reinforcing the literal act of drawing on the bear.
