When J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam was approached to work on a campaign for India’s burgeoning ‘Free a Girl Movement‘, they realized that an ad campaign wasn’t enough. That’s when JWT’s global creative team created the School for Justice, where the victims of child prostitution in India are taught law, enabling them to prosecute the criminals responsible.
“When we found out that hardly any of the criminals responsible for these crimes are punished – in 2015 there were 1.2 million girls in forced prostitution vs. 55 legal cases that led to convictions – we quickly realised that a ‘normal’ ad campaign wasn’t going to cut it,” explained Bas Korsten, Executive Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam. “We needed to go beyond the brief and think of a radical and more fundamental approach.
“The School for Justice is a very real solution to a problem – as well as a communication idea to raise awareness. We are truly proud and honoured to have built this concept from the ground up,” Korsten added.
Working with one of India’s respected law school’s, the program aims to provides an education to girls from all school levels by offering the support, tuition and mentoring that they need to reach university level.
Sabnam, student at the School for Justice said “I was 9 years old when I was sold to work as a prostitute. I was tortured severely. The perpetrators are not punished and walk around free. That’s why I’m still not free”
“No one listened to me, I want to be the voice of the girls in the brothels,” Yasmin, another student added.
Once they complete those studies, the girls will spend five years studying Law to get to their Bachelor of Law – to ultimately lobby the government to become Public Prosecutors with the power and determination to challenge India’s legal system from within.
On April 6, this vision became a reality. The School for Justice opened in India today with a press conference in Mumbai, featuring the Free a Girl Movement, legal expert Meenakshi Arora, ambassadors Mallika Sherawat and Abhay Mokashi, and Free a Girl Movement CEO Francis Gracias plus spokespeople Tapoti Bhowmick and Pinaki Sinha.
The girls from the inaugural class of 2017 were introduced.
The campaign films were directed by Juliette Stevens at New Amsterdam Film Company. The website has been created by This Page. The music is composed and produced by MassiveMusic.
