#ShiftThePower

Beyond the Screen

Short film produced with four survivors of online child sexual abuse

Project

Every second, one case of online childhood sexual abuse is reported. In 2023, one cyber tipline received over 36 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation from around the world. 

We partnered with the Brave Movement to co-produce a film with four survivors of online childhood sexual violence, calling on governments and tech leaders to demand a safer online world for children.

Watch Beyond the Screen: Hidden Voices of Online Abuse below.

Process

We ran workshops with a number of survivors across four different continents to listen to their stories and reflect on the changes they wanted to see from governments and tech leaders to safeguard future generations.

We used these workshops to help shape the creative framing of the film, and come up with a collective call-to-action. We collaboratively storyboarded animation sequences to bring to life past experiences, and brought the group together to help design an impact campaign. 

Through this story development and creative co-production process, there was a clear message from survivors – online childhood sexual abuse does not exist in a vacuum. There are real and long-lasting effects that are felt both online and offline.

Impact

The film was launched in the summer of 2024 with cinema screenings across three continents, with survivors, government officials, tech leaders, regulators and campaigners in attendance.

It was screened at the Google offices in London to industry representatives from Google, TikTok, Vodafone, the Tech Coalition and others. 

It will also be screened to world leaders at the first ever Global Ministerial conference on ending violence against children in Bogota, Colombia in November 2024.