The film opens on a man cradling his newborn daughter. He loves her but he worries. In voiceover, he envisions the struggles that women face at every juncture of with their lives because of men. But the scenes he imagines aren’t of his daughter’s future life—they are reflections from his own past of mistreating women

White Ribbon is the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end gender-based violence and promote healthier masculinity. White Ribbon’s campaigns have always sought to help men examine the forces that drive them to behave in negative ways. But we needed to find a new

way in—a conversation they hadn’t heard before.

Displays of harmful gender norms and stereotypes are so ingrained within our culture, we wondered whether a personal experience, such as having a daughter, could help men become more aware of the issues women face in society.

After commissioning a national survey, White Ribbon found that 66% of men said that having a daughter did in fact make them more concerned. We used this insight—The First Daughter Effect—to form our creative premise: For some men, having a daughter can change everything, but women and girls can’t wait that long.

“I Knew All Along”

We open on a father in a nursery, holding his newborn daughter. He beams with affection for her, but he also worries. We hear him in voiceover.

VO: My little girl.

We begin our flash forward. We see the girl who is now a toddler, happily playing with a little boy, running through the house, dashing outside.

VO: From the moment we met,

everything changed.  

I never felt so much love…

We continue advancing forward in time. We see the same girl, now around 12-years-old, in school. She attempts to walk down the hallway, but a young boy blocks her path.

VO: … and so much fear. 

We see the same girl, now a teenager, walking alone at night, trailed by a group of boys in a car who heckle and offer her a ride.

We see her in the school library, self-consciously covering her bare shoulder after a group of boys make comments from a distance.

VO: Fear for you to grow up.

To meet certain people.

To hold your own.

I didn’t know what could happen to you.

We see the same girl, now a young woman, at a work party, pushed into a corner by a male colleague. He utters “I didn’t get your name” as he presses against her, uncomfortably close. She’s scared.

VO: But… looking back at my life,

and the things I’ve done…

We cut to a series of portraits of the father as a boy, a teenager, and then a young man.

We realize he’s the one who obstructed the girl in school, the one who heckled the girl as he offered her a ride, the one who cornered the woman at the work party against her wishes.

What we thought was a flash forward into the life of the newborn girl has been instead a flashback into her father’s life. We cut back to the father in the nursery, holding his newborn daughter.

VO: I did know.

I knew all along.

He stares into camera, heavy in the realization that he has embodied the toxic behaviour that he now wishes to protect his daughter from.

SUPER: For some men, everything changes when they have a daughter.

Women and girls can’t wait that long.

SUPER: Join our mission to foster healthier masculinities.

LOGO: White Ribbon

SUPER: IKnewAllAlong.ca