Around the world, 1 in 4 women have experienced online abuse, and in New Zealand, it's nearly a third.
This
International Women's Day, Amnesty International New Zealand and
Colenso BBDO have created The Sound of Unity - an initiative that
encourages people to speak up and call a stop to online abuse.
The
silencing effect of online harassment and abuse is stark. Of all the
women surveyed* who reported experiencing online abuse, 76% of them
changed the way they use online platforms. That's why Amnesty
International launched She's Brave: to support women and encourage
social media owners to take action.
The Sound of Unity is an audio and visual icon made to help silence
online abuse. It can be used as an alert tone that's heard every time
you receive a notification as well as a symbol of our fight to end
online abuse. With your help, the Sound of Unity will quickly become the
'audio badge' for She's Brave.
Says Meg de Ronde, campaigns
director, Amnesty International New Zealand: "When we join together,
we're powerful. The Sound of Unity is a way for people around the world
to show solidarity, to speak up in the face of abuse instead of looking
the other way, and to encourage social media platforms to tackle this
injustice. On International Women's Day, you can join us and amplify the
voices of women who are being silenced."
The sound itself comes
from the ancient Solfeggio scale. These tones produce specific
frequencies that have been discovered to impact our mood and emotions.
The frequency of the alert tone, 'Re' (417HZ), is said to undo negative
situations and facilitate change.
To support the She's Brave movement, New Zealanders are being encouraged to download the $2.39 alert tone
here,
and post an animated GIF on social feeds - to call a stop to any
abusive behavior that's occurring - an alternative dislike button.
Says
Nat Knight, creative director, Colenso BBDO: "In the words of Nikola
Tesla "If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms
of energy, frequency and vibration." We wondered if he was onto
something, could the power of an ancient sound frequency be directed at a
growing modern problem - to stop people being negative, abusive, toxic,
haters online. If an ancient sound can help to silence online abusive
behaviour then that's something I want to be part of."
The
campaign is supported by several leading figures in New Zealand,
including Melanie Bracewell, TJ and Greer Perenara, and Tiki Tane - and
will be seen across social, radio and TV.