Australian DSS want to stop it at the start

The Australian Government has launched the fifth phase of its domestic violence prevention campaign, Stop it at the Start, to reveal and teach adults about the new hidden trends of disrespect in young people’s online and offline world, so they can help them navigate it. 

Created by BMF in collaboration with the Department of Social Services’, the integrated national behaviour change campaign will roll out across TV, cinema, online, social, and digital.

As part of the campaign, the Department of Social Services has launched the Algorithm of Disrespect, an interactive educational tool which simulates the average young Australian’s online experiences and interactions. The virtual experience highlights examples of the influences and influencers, and the array of content and conversations which often surrounds social media feeds and algorithms, revealing the hidden trends of disrespect our kids are being served on a daily basis.

The tool has been designed to help educate parents on the new, hidden forms of disrespect, revealing how quickly and easily content can snowball into an avalanche of disrespectful content, conversations, and ultimately, attitudes, just by engaging with one piece of content.

Directing people to the Algorithm of Disrespect, the launch films follow the journey of one young person, representative of all young Australians, as they try to navigate a world of disrespect alone. Depicted through a dramatised online world, its influence and its allure, the films show how it’s all too easy for kids to find themselves astray when navigating the hidden trends of disrespect.

Initially launched in April 2016, Stop it at the Start is a long-term multi phase campaign which is aimed at influencers of young people and aims to address the seed of violence, disrespectful behaviour, in order to stop the next generation of violence before it begins. 

Jessica Sutanto, Planning Director at BMF, said: “While domestic violence requires holistic, systemic change, both immediate intervention through policy and law changes and through upstream prevention, every phase of ‘Stop it at the Start’ has been a step toward driving long term change.

“From getting people to recognise how the seeds of disrespect can grow into violence, to highlighting our role in perpetuating that, to encouraging intervention in an instance of disrespect, to moving to prevention by showing the benefits of having conversations about respect, phase five is now about showing parents and influencers of children how to uncover hidden conversations about disrespect before they cause harm.”

Kiah Nicholas, Associate Creative Director and Innovation Lead added: “Social algorithms, designed to prioritise polarising content, can automatically serve disrespectful content to young Australians, every day. Which, over the course of their teenage years, may influence their views and behaviour. While adults can’t censor this content, it is their responsibility to better understand it, so they can help our kids navigate disrespect before it leads to violence.”