Shoestring budget anti-violence campaign gains international prominence

Australian non-profit’s anti-violence campaign goes viral in Cambodia and is one of just five in the world to be shortlisted for international award.

Founded and led by an Australian, and with an Australian registration and board, This Life Cambodia (TLC) has spent the last ten years quietly transforming the lives of hundreds of Cambodian communities, a powerful example of the positive impact Australians can have in the developing world.

TLC’s shoestring budget End Violence Together campaign cost just $4,000 and went viral, reaching 4 million Cambodians. It has already won the Best Social Media Campaign Of The Year award at the Not For Profit Technology Awards in Australia and been shortlisted for two Social Media Marketing Awards. Now it is one of just 5 NGOs up for a global Grassroots Justice Prize which will be decided by public vote.

More than 200 organisations went through a lengthy application, judging and assessment process for the Grassroots Justice Prize, and TLC was one of 7 to be chosen as a finalist. The Grassroots Justice Prize recognizes organisations doing life-saving work to protect and promote the legal rights of vulnerable people and is given out every two years. Three awards of $10,000 have already been granted, but the fourth and final award is to be chosen by global public vote.

“Being nominated for the Grassroots Justice Prize is a huge honour and will help us to win more funding for our work protecting women and children from violence.” said Billy Gorter, the Australian founder and executive director of This Life Cambodia.

“It’s a recognition not just of our work but also of the Cambodian people’s passion and desire for change. We’re now hoping Australians will also vote for us in this global prize, showing that they support organisations like ourselves which are trying to create a positive impact in the developing world, one which places the well-being of families and children first,” he said.

TLC’s successful and respected work in Cambodia follows a period where some Australian efforts to do good in the developing world have been questioned. Some well-meaning Australian donors and volunteers have been found to contribute to a culture where many children who have parents are sent to so-called orphanages, a debate which has led to debate in the Australian Parliament. TLC has never run any orphanages or residential care institutions, and has always worked at the heart of communities to strengthen families and help them overcome challenges such as poverty, violence or crime.

The End Violence Together social media campaign ran for 16 days in November and December 2018 and went viral, with a reach of almost 4 million on Facebook alone, and with a flagship video viewed more than 1 million times. It led to more than 13,000 Cambodians seeking help and information at a specially created website featuring easy read versions of the law against domestic violence, an audio version of the law, a downloadable digital helmet and links to places to get help.

The campaign was spearheaded by an attention grabbing video and backed by several Cambodian celebrities. It had to be creative to reach people, as social attitudes about domestic violence are widespread and entrenched. Over 20% of Cambodian women experience domestic violence, but just 24% seek help, 40% saying they don’t seek help because they consider such violence “normal”. Worse, just 8% of Cambodians know that the 2005 law on domestic violence protects women and children from violence.

The campaign led to greatly increased awareness of the law and TLC received messages publicly and privately from victims of violence saying they’d been inspired to take action. Its campaign materials were so effective that other NGOs and government bodies requested to use them in events/campaigns of their own, and the film was shared globally.

One Justice Prize judge said, “among the outstanding aspects of this organization: well-framed research to lay the groundwork for practical work and creative outreach utilizing internet, and audio versions to empower the illiterate and PR with celebrities.”