APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
The U.S. Child Sex Slavery Social Action Campaign is a new effort to use digital media, social networks, and compelling human stories to expose the prevalence of child sex slavery in the U.S. and educate the public on the changes needed to address this issue in a meaningful way.
3 Generations will identify, film, edit, and share five to six compelling human stories and one long-form film that represent key aspects of the U.S. sex slavery issue, including survivors, parents, policy advocates, direct service advocates, and law enforcement officials. Filmed content is a more compelling medium for raising awareness and compelling action from the broader public.
These stories will be released one-by-one with individual launch campaigns as part of a multi-year advocacy campaign through the 3 Generations website and its social networks. Each successive story will build a growing audience for subsequent releases, culminating with the release of a long-form film in 2012 (distribution plan to be determined based on partner and donor relationships). All stories will be available through www.3generations.org, and individual stories will be shared with partner organizations working in the issue space that will benefit from video content as a way of engaging supporters and attracting funding. 3 Generations will also develop a 'Take Action' page for the campaign to direct individuals to ways they can help end child sex slavery in the U.S. through policy change, law enforcement, recognition and intervention, rehabilitation, and prevention, with direct links to legislative tools, agencies, and organizations they can engage and support.
We will monitor the campaign's effectiveness through four key metrics: video/film content views; 'actions taken' through the 3 Generations website; sharing statistics (each video is wrapped with Twitter and Facebook sharing buttons embedded in the video); and partner reuse of 3 Generations content.
IMPLEMENTATION, TIMELINE, AND DELIVERABLES
Campaign Timeline
Year One (2010) - research on landscape of actors in the issue space; research on landscape of key change strategies being pursued; outreach to potential partner organizations; identification of initial three to five interview subjects; filming of initial campaign stories; launch of multi-year campaign;
Year Two (2011) - filming additional one to two interview subjects; creation of campaign 'trailer'; staggered release of individual stories every two to four months; outreach to partner organizations to promote story reuse; filming of long-form film;
Year Three (2012) - editing of long-form film; outreach to partner organizations to promote story reuse; promoting individual story campaigns; PR focus for overarching campaign to drive traffic and action; promotion and release of long-form film
Year Four (2013) - summarizing lessons learned about which interview subjects and stories resonated with viewers and inspired action; communicating campaign's impact to donors, supporters, partners and the general public
Imperfect estimates suggest 100,000 to 300,000 children in the U.S. are part of the commercial sex industry in the U.S.1 Girls and boys between the ages of 12 and 14 on average and as young as five years old are being victimized and forced to perform sexual acts for the economic gain of their sex traffickers/pimps. Too often considered a 'developing world problem,' few Americans know - or ever discuss - the disturbing reality that child sex slavery exists in every state and every city in America. These children are not simply statistics. They are not prostitutes. They are not criminals. They are not adults who choose on any level to act as sex workers. They are children. And they are victims who desperately need our help to free them from enslavement.
3 Generations will draw attention to this issue by filming and editing the most compelling stories, and developing a campaign around these stories that raises public awareness and encourages focused action. 3 Generations will film survivor stories and thematic videos from advocates and law enforcement officials to build an awareness campaign through its website, 3generations.org; through its social media networks on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube; and through partnerships with organizations doing the most effective direct service or advocacy work, who will be able to reuse the content to highlight their own work.
1http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/restes/CSEC_Files/Exec_Sum_020220.pdf
Seeking partners/resources
Offering resources: 3 Generations offers use of select excerpts from Tricked and use of all ancillary videos to CGI Partners.
Seeking partners/resources: 3 Generations is actively looking for corporate sponsors for national and international screenings, as well as funding, to continue filming victims of sex trafficking, specifically young men.
