In a capstone course at the University of Tampa, Advertising Campaigns, my team and I created the Hug It Out campaign to spread awareness about Dating Violence to college students, primarily males ages 18-24 for a nonprofit client.
While both males and females can be abusers, we found 95 percent of reported cases of are caused by males, and 1 in 5 college females will experience some form of dating violence (ACADV). Through primary and secondary research, we found most cases of abuse against women are rooted in sexism, but sexism is unrecognizable as abuse because it’s common in our culture. We wanted to change the way college males relate to women and create social change.
Guys listen to other guys, and if they aren’t holding each other accountable for respecting women, it’s not “cool” to do so. We had to make males to WANT to take responsibility for ending dating violence and if they aren’t abusers, we wanted them to hold their friends accountable for their abusive behaviors.