Sexual Abuse Campaign for Save the Children

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The commission from Save the Children Sweden included stories from Zanzibar and Bangladesh. We met children who are survivors of abuse and police officers, medical staff, social workers and a judge who see the result of violence against children every day and who decided to do something about it.

The films were originally produced for Save the Children Sweden, but also adapted for use internationally through Save the Children International. The commission also included photographs.

The campaign ran in Sweden during winter 2013-2014.

Commission: On-location interviews on video and photographs, video edit and photo postproduction.
Client: Save the Children Sweden
Size: Five short films and 100-150 photograph delivery
Production: On-line and print.

Producer, camera, editing: Mats Lignell
Voice Over: Alexa Brown
Interviews and translation: Amina Kheri, Save the Children Zanzibar Office; Shanta Akhter and Mojib Ul-Hasan, Save the Children Bangladesh; Victoria Nordansjö, Save the Children Sweden
Child protection advisor: Åsa Olsson, Save the Children Sweden

Client: Save the Children Sweden
Production: Mats Lignell Communications

Meet Ali, 8 years old, and Aisha, six years old, who are survivors of sexual abuse. This film was part of Save the Children Sweden's campaign against sexual abuse that ran autumn 2013 to spring 2014. Filmed in Zanzibar with the Save the Children country team and a child protection adviser from the head office in Stockholm.

Akhi, 15 years old, was sold to a brothel in India, but is now living in a shelter in Bangladesh. She is one of many girls and boys who are survivors of sexual abuse in Bangladesh. This film was part of Save the Children Sweden's campaign against sexual abuse that ran autumn 2013 to spring 2014. Filmed in Bangladesh with the Save the Children country team and a small team from the head office in Stockholm.

Meet Rohan, 11 years old, who lives at the main railway station in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was separated from his family years ago and is trying to make a living as a porter at the station, avoiding drugs and coping with violence and abuse. This film was part of Save the Children Sweden's campaign against sexual abuse that ran autumn 2013 to spring 2014. Filmed in Bangladesh with the Save the Children country team and a small team from the head office in Stockholm.

Meet Salma, 13 years old, who is a survivor of sexual abuse. Also meet Sabra who is presiding over Zanzibar’s first child friendly court, a part of the protection system for children that is being built with the support of Save the Children. This film was part of Save the Children Sweden's campaign against sexual abuse that ran autumn 2013 to spring 2014.

Meet Shiba, 15 years old, who is part of a youth group that is working to change the harsh attitudes towards women and girls in Bangladesh. Changing the attitudes of young men is one of the best ways to improve the situation for girls. This film was part of Save the Children Sweden's campaign against sexual abuse that ran autumn 2013 to spring 2014. Filmed in Bangladesh with the Save the Children country team and a small team from the head office in Stockholm.

The commission included delivery of 100-150 photographs. Many of the photographs were delivered with captions telling the story of the person in brief, sometimes from interviews that did not make the final five films. Below are five examples from the delivery:

Fatma Abeid Ali has been a police officer for 20 years. Since the One Stop Centre in Chake-Chake on Pemba, the smaller of the two main islands of Zanzibar, started a year ago, she has been the police officer in charge of child cases coming through the centre.

– You have to explain things differently when you work with children. I sometimes have to spend hours with a child to calm him or her down at the centre. You have to take time to understand the child that is brought here. They are afraid and they are crying, so it takes time before you can ask the necessary questions.

The centre is a place where children who are victims of abuse can come and the police, medical staff, social welfare and counsellors are all present. This means the child can get better care quicker. Before the establishment of the centre the child needed to be taken from one institution to another and tell the story of abuse to several grown-ups.

- It is hard work here and I consider children who come here as one of my own. Sometimes I feel like crying. Cases are sometimes dropped because parents are giving in to pressure.

Fatma Abdalla Ali is the co-ordinator at the One Stop Centre in Chake-Chake, the main town on Pemba Island, Zanzibar. The centre was established in July 2012.

– Since the centre was established we work better together. But it has also made us realise how many challenges we face. Slowly we are getting better at dealing with child abuse.

Shrimati Bithi Rani Sharker, 23 years old, was on track to attend college, but her father’s untimely death stopped her. Her brother was left alone to support his 6 sisters and pay for their marriages, and he made quick arrangements to marry her to someone who didn’t demand a high dowry. Bithi moved to her husband’s village and studying was not an option. But she has been active in the parents’ group in the village, she is now the vice president, and she is working towards changing the situation for and perception of girls and women.

- Children in Bangladesh learn gender roles early. To be a man is to be strong and dominant and not show your feelings. You should be authoritative over women and children, Bithi explains.

The group has changed a lot in the village since it was founded two and a half years ago. The number of child marriages is down and the village is safer for girls.

- Attitudes are changing, now people are united and stop boys who behave badly. That did not happen before.

Mohammad Ali is an Imam and member of a group of religious leaders in Tanore District in north-western Bangladesh. The group has both Muslim and Hindu members, something that in itself is not common in Bangladesh. Since the beginning of the year they have talked about sexual abuse and how to prevent it in their communities. In the last year the group has prevented a number of child marriages in the villages they cover, and they say that girls now feel a lot safer. The group emphasises inclusion of everyone in the village, and works mainly through discussions with men and boys and by visiting families. They also use the mosques to distribute their messages; and at other mosques in the area imams are following their example. Solutions to problems often come from the villagers themselves. The leaders started cooperating regarding more neutral subjects, but have recently moved to more sensitive topics like sexual violence and abuse.

- We are pointing to good examples: Girls and women whose lives changed thanks to education. How they then could get a good job and help support their families.

The group of religious leaders is part of a programme that aims to reduce abuse in rural Bangladesh. The programme is run with the support of Save the Children.

Boys attending a play and teaching class held by Save the Children’s local partners at the back of Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. There are hundreds of boys and girls living in railway station area. The children are homeless and almost all the girls are involved in prostitution. Most of the children in the railway station are between seven and 13 years old, and the number of children living there is increasing.

Save the Children’s has supported work at the station for over eleven years. 550 boys and 160 girls have been given support in the last year. There is a drop-in centre close to the station where children can get a meal, and other centres where they can sleep and get medical attention. Four social workers from Save the Children’s local partner are at the station every day.