As a man, I may ...

According to police crime statistics (PKS), around 60 per cent of all men were victims of criminal offences in 2022. However, the number of unreported cases of other victims is much higher. The inhibitions to seek help after an offence are too great. With the 'Violence against men' campaign, the three students Julia Scheunemann, Ellen Technau and Veronika Wisniewski want to break down prejudices and tackle stereotypical behaviour. To this end, they have developed a cross-media campaign with various media, including posters, flyers, an Instagram account and a website, as part of their Digital Media Production degree programme at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences under the supervision of Prof. Nicole Slink. "The cliché of the strong man who is not allowed to show weakness is still anchored in the minds of society. We want to bring the topic closer to the viewer through personal testimonials from affected people," says Veronika Wisniewski.

The black and white posters can currently be seen throughout Bremerhaven - in bus shelters, on advertising pillars and on large billboards. They stand out: The portraits of men of different ages look directly at the viewer. One half of the face is illuminated, one is in shadow, the faces of all those portrayed are serious. Next to them are white letters on a black background: "As a man, I am allowed*" is how one quote begins. The students have placed the continuation of the sentence "on no account show weakness" very translucent underneath. However, the quote does not end like this, but with "*get me help".

The three students are delighted that the posters can now be seen in the city after a lengthy coordination process. "It's Men's Mental Health Awareness Month at the moment, which of course fits very well," says Veronika Wisniewski. Her fellow student Julia Scheunemann adds: "You can see our posters all over Bremerhaven. We've been working on them for so long, and to see the fruits of this labour all over the city now makes us proud." The project partners, Bremerhaven's police force and the Bremen branch of the White Ring, have integrated the three posters into the gewaltanmaennern.de website created as part of the project. "Victims who access the website via the QR code on the posters can find counselling and help there," concludes Ellen Technau.
(Translated with DeepL)