Domestic violence is a burning issue in Kazakhstan, affecting one in six women and resulting in a rising death rate, that topped 900 in recent years. In current patriarchal society subject of domestic violence is not widely discussed in mass media because they are pressed by the government, since these sort of articles and publication cause hate towards government which doesn't solve the problem of domestic violence on legal level.

Our campaign helped NGO without mass media help which is controlled by the government, to raise the buzz and draw attention of society towards the problem.

Kazakhstan is a Central Asian country that still largely adheres to traditional gender roles inherited after the breakup of the Soviet Union. These traditional values uphold a heavy patriarchal framework that influences various aspects of life in Kazakhstan, from politics to the workplace and domestic spheres.

Domestic violence is a burning issue in Kazakhstan, affecting one in six women and resulting in a rising death rate, that topped 900 in recent years. The issue is rarely discussed by government officials, so activists and NGOs are trying to demonstrate publicly the scale of the problem.

According to UN data every sixth woman in Kazakhstan is a victim of domestic violence.

Schitayetsya.kz - the NGO project that raises awareness of domestic violence in Kazakhstan and tracks data on these kinds of cases for the public, journalists, and activists by analyzing, quantifying, calculating, and comparing statistical data across the country for domestic violence cases.

NGO project is gathering the data from police departments, government bureau of statistics and UN.

Brief:

Attract public attention to statistical data of domestic violence in Kazakhstan.

Objective:

Raise awareness among people about domestic violence.

Media regulations/restrictions:

Major part of mass media is regulated by the government which limits discussions about domestic violence because of the imperfections of the law. Law doesn't provide punishment or criminal responsibility for abuse or domestic violence.

Civil liberties issues:

Last year, a criminal case was opened against the largest non-government fund and its bank accounts were blocked. Taking these cases into account, even private media rarely and very carefully raise the issue of domestic violence. Our campaign was initially picked up by the public, who started sharing our visual data, which lead to mass media later writing about us.

Despite the fact that we have data, ordinary people don't understand the problem and scale behind the numbers. We created a new creative approach to the data “Now You See” to allow everyone to understand the magnitude and nature of the problem, showing changes and dynamics for every number.

We targeted activists of KazFem movement which helped making the buzz which lead to raising awareness among ordinary people and influencers. When influencers started talking about the problem, mass media also got involved into the process.

Data gathering:

NGO project is gathering the data from police departments, government bureau of statistics and UN.

Targeting:

First stage: We targeted activists of KazFem movement which helped making the buzz which lead to raising awareness among ordinary people and influencers.

Second stage: When influencers started talking about the problem, mass media also got involved into the process.

Approach:

We created a new creative approach to the data “Now You See” to allow everyone to understand the magnitude and nature of the problem, showing changes and dynamics for every number.

Implementation:

We took data about certain types of domestic violence and illustrated them using visuals of this very cases of domestic violence.

Timeline:

Plasement:

1. Digital: Instagram, Facebook, SMM and web-sites of magazines (Harper's Bazaar, The Village, Esquire) - Wednesday 08 March 2023 - Saturday 09 March 2024

2. Live event: Women's rights rally - Wednesday 08 March 2023 - Saturday 09 March 2024

3. Print: Elle magazine - Thursday 18 January 2024 - Sunday 18 February 2024

Scale:

reach from shares: 2,697,600

reach from influencers: 816,500

reach from mass media: 1,686,200

reach total: 5 670 000

Value added to brand:

reach from shares: 2,697,600

reach from influencers: 816,500

reach from mass media: 1,686,200

reach total: 5 670 000

Reach/cultural impact:

Reach total: 5 670 000 (total country population 20 mln people)

People started talking more about domestic violence problem.

Brand perception:

Very small project became widely known among people in the country, influencers and mass media.

Behaviour change:

Almost no one shared previous data. People started sharing the data after it got new visual approach and even started using it as rally banners.

Legislation change/regulations:

In April 2024, President of Kazakhstan signed amendments to toughen penalties for domestic violence and criminalize it

How will this work drive progress for individuals, organisations or wider society:

Campaign drew attention to the project and now activist and journalists can use our images for their material to easily explain what hides behind previously dry data.

How do you plan to scale this idea?

We plan to keep visualizing and supporting the project to keep people's attention on the problem.

What's next for this idea?

We plan to make project public so that every designer can visualize any other data in our visual style to make their contribution to fight domestic violence.