Release the burden that isn't yours to carry.

Ballhaus West | agency for campaigns GmbH Imran Ayata Christian Fries Ignacio Mendez Franziska Küster

On average, two children in every German school class have experienced sexual abuse and will suffer from this experience for the rest of their lives.  It’s high time we give this taboo subject the attention it deserves and to offer those affected a protected space in which to come to terms with it. The challenge: How can the time span which can lie between the abuse in childhood and the personal coming to terms with and coping with it in adulthood, be explained? And how can we address the issue emotionally without portraying specific events, portraying those affected as victims and risking retraumatization?  By recalling the school days with the school satchel which represents the burden of suffering in adulthood. With the striking image of the school bag, the campaign encourages those affected to confide in the Independent Commission for the Reappraisal of Child Sexual Abuse, to tell their own story and to let go of the burden they have been carrying.