Using animation to address violence against women and girls

A secret team of animators are taking to social media to address violence against women and girls in Iran, as part of a project lead by a Goldsmiths academic.

Dr Atlas Torbati is part of a team running the Women’s Research Hub programme which has been live during the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence which concludes on Human Rights Day which falls on 10 December.

Here, Dr Torbati, Senior Lecturer in Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies, shares insights into the global project for which she was Co-Investigator.

Empowering change

The United to End Violence Against Women and Girls campaign, launched to combat violence against women and girls (VAWG) in Iran, employed culturally sensitive animations on social media to spark intergenerational conversations and drive societal change in addressing VAWG.

The Women's Research Hub Instagram account hosts the animations with significant engagement levels. 

The animations were created by a team in Iran dubbed the “resilient anonymous creators” whose identities must remain secret for security reasons. 

Initially focused on Iran, the campaign's reach expanded with the inclusion of English subtitles, enabling engagement with international audiences. Collaborations with UK-based NGOs further amplified its impact. 

Evidence-based foundations

The campaign was informed by a survey of 453 Iranian women, which examined their experiences and perspectives on combating violence against women and girls (VAWG). As Co-I my my primary responsibilities included analysing the data and crafting scripts for the animated content. 

Additionally, I collaborated closely with the animation team to align visual storytelling with the project’s goals and cultural nuances and contributed to the dissemination strategy to maximise the campaign’s impact.

The results highlighted the urgent need for education, awareness, and legal reforms to challenge entrenched societal norms and empower communities. As one participant remarked: "Awareness and education, especially in families and communities, are essential to dismantling the norms that perpetuate violence.”

A significant finding of the study was the dual challenge posed by structural inequalities and deeply ingrained societal, cultural, and religious norms. Yet, the participants conveyed hope for change: "In a patriarchal society with regressive rulers and outdated views rooted in discrimination and gender inequality, combating violence against women is very challenging, but not impossible” (139).

Many respondents emphasised that fostering awareness among both women and men, coupled with legal reforms, could serve as a catalyst for change: "Unfortunately, many of us still don’t fully understand what violence is and limit it to physical abuse. I believe the solution lies in raising awareness” (241). 

For many, education was understood as a holistic process extending beyond formal schooling to include family, community, and institutional contexts. Participants expressed a strong desire to be recognised as credible voices in the fight against VAWG, emphasising their active role in dismantling barriers that have historically silenced them: "The root cause of this violence lies in how society raises individuals from a young age to believe in male dominance and the sacredness of ‘honour,’ supported by laws that reinforce these ideas. This system denies people’s agency and human dignity… We can only move past this by raising awareness, challenging outdated traditions, and fostering a new generation that rejects ideas like ‘honour’ and male dominance” (286).

These insights directly informed the creation of the animated campaign, which seeks to amplify these voices and promote transformative change.

Building the campaign

To prepare for the campaign, we established a multidisciplinary team that included academic experts from City, University of London, the University of Bristol, Goldsmiths, University of London, University for the Creative Arts, London and Leeds Beckett University, a skilled animation team based in Iran, two NGOs as advisory groups, and a social media advisor as well as networking with online influencers and women’s rights groups activists with large number of followers.

Collaboration and cultural sensitivity

Although most academics involved in the project are of Iranian descent, many have lived in the UK for an extended period. This dual perspective allowed us to create a campaign that resonates with both Iranian audiences and the wider diaspora.

The project also collaborated with two advisory groups to ensure cultural sensitivity:

• Bahar Afra, an NGO in Iran that works with women from diverse ethnic backgrounds and provides specific programs and support groups for victims of gender based violence.
• IKWRO, a London-based NGO supporting women victims of gender based violence from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

Additionally, we partnered with an animation group in Iran to ensure the visuals were culturally appropriate. While this collaboration was immensely fruitful, it was also challenging due to structural barriers. For security reasons, unfortunately, we are unable to name the tireless brilliant animation team.

Campaign outputs and impact

The project produced four powerful animations addressing: 

• Coercive control
• Economic abuse
• Technology-facilitated abuse
• Active bystander interventions 

The animations were widely distributed on Instagram, a platform with significant reach in Iran. Partnerships with influencers and activists further expanded their visibility.

A transformative legacy

By the campaign's conclusion, the initiative had achieved remarkable success in raising awareness about VAWG. It fostered meaningful dialogue within Iranian communities and among the diaspora, inspiring a collective commitment to change. The project's impact extends beyond its animations, serving as a model of resilience and innovation in addressing systemic issues. It highlights the potential of culturally informed approaches and collaboration to create lasting social change. As the campaign concludes, its legacy continues through online platforms, ensuring the resources remain accessible and its message endures.