Most victims aren't aware of their privacy rights. And so personal

information of more than 150.000 victims every year, is up for grabs.

Not only for the media, but even for the perpetrator.

We created a new symbol for victims to better protect their privacy: 'The White Bar',

counterpart to the famous black bar for perpetrators. The white bar resembles the privacy rights of victims and started a movement, where the public and the media took a stand for victims.

That resulted into a petition that urged the Dutch government to discuss the privacy of victims.

Making The White Bar a simple but highly effective symbol for victims to get the privacy they need

A not-for-profit organization, Slachtofferhulp Nederland does everything in their power to devictimize victims. Legal assistance and advice during a criminal lawsuit is among their core services. Experience has taught them the importance of privacy for the recovery process. When perpetrators have the victim’s address or news media continue to rake up victims’ names and/or photos, their recovery process is severely obstructed. In anonymity, you recover faster and better -- it ensures that the powerless feeling of being a victim is only temporal. This is the strategic message: you recover faster anonymously.

We introduced The White Bar in the media on the European Day for Victims of Crime.

By using this day as a kick-off for our campaign ‘The White Bar’ was discussed in every news item

in the Netherlands and made the people receptive to the privacy rights of victims.

Throughout the week, with DOOH and films on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube we promoted a petition to better protect the privacy of victims. In every video, Facebook post and Instagram story,

We called to sign the petition urging the Dutch government to take action. With the help of

an Instagram filter people could take a stand for victims that spread the message even further.

With a very limited media budget, our campaign managed to make a total of 29.596.028 impressions during the campaign period. Effectiveness research conducted directly afterwards showed that our campaign succeeded in raising the general public’s (i.e. potential future victims) awareness of the importance of protecting their privacy rights during a criminal lawsuit. Most importantly, our campaign managed to put the issue firmly under the Dutch government’s attention.