Every year, we at The Pixel Project come across a wide variety of innovative and powerful campaigns tackling Violence Against Women (VAW) by our fellow activists and non-profits from around the globe, and 2025 is no exception. Some of the campaigns work to educate and empower underserved communities, while others provide a platform for survivors to speak out and hold abusers accountable.
We acknowledge that anti-VAW campaigners put themselves in perilous situations to advocate for the safety of others and we are immeasurably grateful for their bravery. From women marching the streets to women combating harassment online, each and every action, large or small, counts.
So today, in honour of all VAW activists, non-profits and grassroots groups who toil in thankless situations to bring about positive change to the lives of women and girls facing violence, we present 16 of the most striking campaigns/programmes we have come across in 2025.
What these campaigns have in common are:
- The built-in “water-cooler” factor that gets the community buzzing about the campaign and, by extension, the issue of VAW.
- A good sense of what works in and for the culture and community where the activist/non-profit/grassroots group is trying to galvanise change.
We hope that these campaigns and initiatives inspire you to take action and get on board the cause to end VAW.
It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.
Note: Information for all campaigns is sourced via online research and is based on one or more news sources and articles. The main articles/reports from which the details of these campaigns have been sourced can be directly accessed via the hyperlinked titles. Please do click through to learn more about these striking campaigns.
Introduction by Regina Yau. Researched, curated, and written by Regina Yau. Additional research by Jenna Miles.
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Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #1: UN Women’s InkVisible Campaign Uses Henna Tattoos to Combat Domestic Violence – Pakistan
In March 2025, UN Women launched its InkVisible campaign, which uses beautiful cultural henna “ink” designs applied on the “visible” marks of domestic violence to raise awareness about women’s safety and empowerment in Pakistan as well as inform women about the national helpline number for domestic violence victims. Films by the campaign were shown at selected in-person events throughout Pakistan and were also made accessible through social media channels. Additionally, posters were displayed in strategic locations in major Pakistani cities where there is high female traffic. One of the most striking outcomes of the campaign was that it inspired women parliamentarians in Pakistan’s National Assembly to wear henna as wounds and bruise marks to further the message. The parliamentarians also reposted the campaign via social media, using it to increase the momentum of their efforts to get lawmakers to join them in strengthening laws against domestic abuse. The campaign is a collaboration between the creative agency IMPACT BBDO, production house Déjà vu Films, and UN Women.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #2: Mexico City’s ‘Violet Glasses’ Initiative Monitors Violence Against Women through the Largest Security Network in Latin America – Mexico
In April 2025, Mexico City began implementing the ‘Violet Glasses’ initiative, which uses gender-focused security monitoring in its surveillance system to detect and prevent violence against women. The programme operates via the city’s Command, Control, Computing, Communications and Citizen Contact hub, which oversees more than 80,000 security cameras, the largest network of its kind in Latin America. A crucial component of the initiative is the *765 SOS Mujeres hotline staffed solely by women. Calls are typically answered in less than five seconds and undergo instant triage to determine the risk of femicide. In cases of imminent danger, the hotline works together with the Women’s Secretariat, the Attorney General’s Office, the Citizen Security Secretariat and the Citizen Council to ensure the victim receives legal accompaniment and assistance in filing charges with the Public Ministry.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #3: Senegal’s ‘Schools For Husbands’ Initiative Trains Male Allies – Senegal
A United Nations-backed initiative dubbed a ‘school for husbands’ works on helping male community members learn about “positive masculinity” in relation to health and social issues that affect women and girls, including girls’ rights, equality, and the harmful effects of female genital mutilation. It also trains men to promote these concepts to other men and boys within their communities. Thanks to this initiative, a growing number of men who once enforced patriarchal norms in their communities now promote gender equality instead. According to Senegal’s Ministry of Gender, this positive shift in perspectives and attitudes towards women and girls has led to a reduction in the number of forced marriages and greater acceptance of family planning. As of 2025, more than 300 men have been trained through this programme and there are now at least 20 schools for husbands throughout the country.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #4: Cyprus’ Elpis App Reaches 50 Women with Domestic Violence Panic Button – Cyprus
In Cyprus, the Elpis mobile application enables domestic violence victims to “silently” call police for help and protection. Fifty women in Cyprus now have access to Elpis, which alerts police with the press of a button when they are in immediate danger of domestic violence. Since the app launched on 14 July 2025, the panic button has been activated twice. Police responded within six minutes in both cases and successfully prevented the violence from escalating. Elpis is part of the Cyprus government’s comprehensive efforts to strengthen specialised police units handling domestic violence cases nationwide.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #5: ‘Saltanat Light’ Campaign Uses AI to Combat Domestic Violence – Kazakhstan
In 2024, the murder trial of former Kazakh government minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev, who killed his wife Saltanat Nukenova, resulted in the passing of ‘Saltanat’s Law’, which makes domestic violence a criminal offence in Kazakhstan. To keep attention on the issue of domestic violence in the country, the GForce Grey agency launched ‘Saltanat Light’. This campaign uses customised programming, including AI filters and a restored neon sign from an iconic women’s clothing store, to broadcast domestic violence statistics: each time a case is reported, the sign blinks, as do over 100 public digital screens across the country. The blinking screens lead to a Telegram bot developed with the UN to assist women in understanding and using Saltanat’s Law. The campaign was a roaring success: as of May 2025, it reached 22.3 million people and generated over 522,000 reactions online. More importantly, the public engagement generated by the campaign resulted in a 400% increase in cases initiated under Saltanat’s Law.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #6: The ‘Suspended Circus Acrobatics’ Project Spotlights a Path to Healing for Victims of Gender-based Violence – Brazil
In 2020, aerial performer Juliana Berti Abduch, a survivor of gender-based violence, created the ‘Suspended Circus Acrobatics’ project to help other survivors heal from the violence they had experienced. This unique project features a series of circus performance pieces designed to raise awareness about violence against women. During recent performance pieces, a series of statistics were blasted from a nearby amplifier, including the fact that a woman was raped every six minutes in Brazil in 2024. According to Berti Abduch, female artists who have survived gender-based violence arrive fearful and traumatised but ultimately find that participating in the project becomes a part of their healing journey. She said: “From the moment they start the classes, they begin to overcome their limitations. This helps a lot in life in general. I’m certain that the project helped make the women feel much more secure.”
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #7: Amsterdam Night Life Fights Violence Against Women – The Netherlands
In August 2025, a dual-initiative night life campaign launched in Amsterdam to raise awareness about violence against women and girls. In one initiative, various clubs and bars were illuminated in orange – the colour chosen by the UN as a symbol for a future without VAW – along with messages from a column by author and activist Nienke ‘s Gravemade. The second initiative was the launch of a ‘Claim the Night’ campaign that uses messaging on billboards and signs to draw attention to the issue of VAW. The message “We claim the night, let women come home safely” first appeared in selected additional Dutch cities and was later posted along highways, in train stations, and online. Both initiatives were a response to the femicide of a 17-year-old girl from Abcoude as she biked home from a night out with friends in Amsterdam.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #8: Roman Mural Outlining the Chain of Violence Against Women Restored for International Women’s Day – Italy
Led by artist-activists Marina Biagini and Elisa Caracciolo, community members in Rome’s San Lorenzo district restored the Murale contro il Femminicidio (Mural Against Femicide) on International Women’s Day 2025. This mural has been a living memorial to women murdered in Italy since 2012 and marks the femicide of hundreds of women at the hands of men. The white silhouettes of over two hundred women were painted against a terracotta-hued background to commemorate the murders of 128 women in 2012 and 130 women in 2013. Biagini said: “We were looking for a way to represent the incredible number of women who were killed […] the number of lives that are broken. When you are in front of the wall, you can see how [big] the problem is.”
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #9: The ‘Asking For It’ Campaign Encourages Passers-by to Tear Down Victim Blaming Posters – Canada
During Stop Street Harassment Week 2025, L’Oréal Paris Canada, Right To Be, and McCann Montreal collaborated to launch the ‘Asking For It’ campaign to make street harassment impossible to ignore. The Asking For It team installed posters in high-traffic areas across Canada that featured victim-blaming rhetoric and encouraged passers-by to rip down the posters in anger. When they did, new posters were revealed underneath to encourage them to obtain training in how to stand up to street harassment, using a QR code that led them to training sessions on the campaign website.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #10: The ‘Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict’ Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum – United Kingdom
‘Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict’ is a groundbreaking exhibition aimed at shining a spotlight on one of the most common and little reported-on crimes in war: wartime sexual violence. This is the first exhibition of its type in the UK. Six years in the making, this exhibition was brought to fruition through the curation of the Imperial War Museum’s tremendous archive via the input of experts as well as several charities that specialise in advocating for survivors. Inside the exhibition, artefacts abound, telling the story of sexual violence throughout the ages, including that of the Comfort Women of World War II. When asked why this exhibition took such a long time to happen, Sara Bowcutt, the managing director at Women for Women International, who collaborated on it, said: “I guess the reasons are connected to why there’s still so much taboo and silence around sexual violence and conflict […] People find it uncomfortable to talk about it. People find it difficult to find the words to talk about it. Reporting of it is still not at a level we would like it to be.”
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #11: China’s Feminist Movement Breaks into the Mainstream through Comedy – China
Even as women reach new educational heights and advance their careers in the workplace, China’s feminist movement has long faced strong resistance from the ruling Chinese Communist Party. However, feminist female performers and artists have found a new platform that is helping bring feminist issues to the attention of the general public: comedy. The growing role of women in China’s stand-up scene, along with the recent success of hilarious female-oriented films, reflect one way feminism is breaking into the Chinese mainstream. Feng Yuan, the founding director of Beijing Equality, a women’s rights and gender equality non-government organisation, noted that comedy not only helps feminist performers evade censors, but is also a “handy tool to speak out your anger.”
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #12: Singapore Trains Food Court Staff to Spot Diners Who May Be Abused – Singapore
In July 2025, 77 food court managers from Koufu – one of Singapore’s largest food court operators – underwent training from the country’s Ministry of Social and Family Development to learn how to spot and report diners who might be experiencing domestic violence. During the training session, managers were taught about different types of abuse and how to approach diners who might need help. They learned that if they saw signs of potential abuse, such as bruises or a customer behaving unusually, they could approach the diner to offer to connect them to help. Additionally, Koufu is also printing the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline number on all the mugs used in its 67 Koufu and Happy Hawkers outlets throughout the island nation.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #13: Star-studded Public Service Announcement Video Calls Out Domestic Violence During a Major Football Match – Australia
In a video campaign that aims to call out abusers and increase the involvement of men in the national conversation about domestic violence, actors Hugh Jackman and Eric Bana, cricketer Usman Khawaja, comedian Hamish Blake, and other male Australian celebrities spoke up about stopping domestic violence. The video was aired during the Collingwood-Hawthorn Australian Football League game and also featured the captains of both teams. The campaign was the brainchild of Federal Circuit and Family Court chief justice Will Alstergren, who called for increased support for both victims and perpetrators. Altergren said: “Something must be done to prevent this behaviour before it occurs, and men need to be part of that conversation and the solution. Men who hold leadership positions, especially in an area that sees some of the worst of gendered violence, should feel compelled to be part of the push for change. For Australians, sport is the perfect arena in which to start these conversations.”
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #14:Pilot Digital Campaign on Gender-based Violence Reaches Thousands in Mozambique – Mozambique
In June 2025, the Attorney General’s Office and the Police of Mozambique, in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), jointly launched a pilot digital initiative consisting of recorded audio messages about gender-based violence which are accessible free-of-charge and around-the-clock from any mobile phone through the dedicated phone line, 94321. The messages were drawn from real-life inspired scenarios with the aim of raising awareness and encouraging people to seek help for gender-based violence. The messages were also made available in Portuguese and four local languages – Changana, Maconde, Macua and Ndao – with the aim of ensuring a wide reach across the diverse communities of the country. Since its launch, more than 5 000 people in Mozambique have engaged with the platform. The platform will be available until June 2026.
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #15: Prison Workshops That Change the Conversation About Violence Against Women – Northern Ireland
White Ribbon Northern Ireland’s chief executive Tahnee McCorry has been running workshops on ending male violence against women and girls across Hydebank Wood, Magilligan and Maghaberry prisons. Through these workshops, hundreds of convicted criminals have been learning about the issue. The workshop sessions include case study scenario work, learning safe ways to intervene in situations involving violence against women, and practicing techniques on how to appropriately handle disclosures by a victim. One prisoner at Hydebank said the workshops had changed his views on violence against women and girls: “There’s a lot of things that you wouldn’t even realise [are violence], like jokes […] It all builds up, it leads to bigger things, crimes and things you wouldn’t really think about. I have a daughter and I would like the communities to be safer for her too.”
Striking Anti-VAW Campaign #16: The Unburied Casket Campaign Protests Against Femicide – South Africa
In April 2025, the organisation Women For Change launched The Unburied Casket campaign as a powerful act of mourning and protest. This casket was designed to symbolise the 5,578 women murdered in South Africa between 2023 and 2024, a massive 33.8% increase in femicide within a single year. To represent this unacceptable spike in femicides, the casket was made 33.8% larger than a standard coffin. It was covered in hand-crafted Zulu beads with a purple bead representing each victim. The casket was carried through the streets of Pretoria in a hearse and placed at the foothills of the Union Buildings. Inside it was a formal memorandum addressed to the South African government and 150,000 petition signatures demanding the crisis be declared a national disaster. Under public pressure, the memorandum was eventually signed by a government representative.
The picture used is a Creative Commons image:
- Photo by Viktoria Slowikowska from Pexels.