United Nations - IOM
The southern most Philippine island of Mindanao is one of the poorest regions in SE Asia. It's also a hub for human trafficking. The victims who are predominantly young women, are lured by promises of well paid jobs and a better life. Instead they find themselves trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labour.
IOM, the United Nations branch that deals with migration, wanted to create a campaign to raise awareness and guide potential victims towards verified job sites when they consider migrating overseas.
THE PROBLEM
The population of Mindanao were particularly vulnerable to migration scams.
The need to provide for their families and send home income is a constant pressure in these communities leading to victims accepting jobs overseas without understanding the risks.
Human trafficking is not openly discussed, so there's a lack of awareness. There's also no clear guidelines on how to spot a scam or what sites / recruiters are safe to use.
It was important to us that we created an empowering campaign rather than portraying victims. We wanted our audience to feel in control of their migration future and armed with the necessary knowledge.
CONCEPT
Citron Violet told the stories of "near misses" where migrants had spotteed a scam by knowing what to look for or listening to the warnings of friends, family and the community. These happy endings were told over 4 live action and 6 animated videos.
The campaign was aimed not just at potential victims but also their families and village elders. Everyone should be aware of how to spot a scam, how to protect themselves and how to migrate safely.
The videos were translated into 6 different languages to reach all the local dialects of the region. They were distributed in print, TV, online out of home and radio.
RESULTS
More than 3.6 million households saw the videos on Facebook alone and they made a real difference. Families got better at spotting the warning signs and identifying fake jobs.
93% of community members targeted showed an increase in knowledge on how to migrate safely and avoid employment scams.
KPIs were exceeded by 11,000% (number of prospective migrants who sought information on how to migrate safely via the government website). That's potentially thousands of lives saved.
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TESTIMONIAL
Each of the videos produced by Citron Violet helped to demonstrate the role that everyone can play in sparking the conversations that influence migration-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.
The response to the campaign content was very positive. Over 95% of community members reached through the campaign demonstrated positive shifts in knowledge, attitudes and/or practices on risks and drivers of human trafficking and over 19,000 people - against the initial target of 180 aspirant migrant workers from at-risk municipalities - sought out information on safe labour migration.
Lindsey Higgs, IOM Principal Consultant