"Catcalling" is coming to the big screen: From November 23, 2023, Dortmund cinemas will be showing a spot by Fachhochschule Dortmund students against sexism in public spaces as a supporting film. The campaign will draw attention to the issue for three weeks. It is part of the campaigns surrounding the International Day against Violence against Women on November 25.
Sexism is widespread: 78 percent of all women worldwide have already experienced harassment in public spaces. This ranges from "catcalling", i.e. unwanted whistling, shouting, honking, commenting, to other sexually suggestive behavior - often in the middle of everyday life, on the street.
This is where the campaign comes in, for which the City of Dortmund's Equal Opportunities Office is cooperating with the Faculty of Design at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. It aims to raise awareness of sexism and encourage men in particular to reflect on and change their behavior. "Sexism results from gender inequality. It is not about positive attention, but often about power. Catcalling can be very stressful for those affected and cause feelings of insecurity and worthlessness or even avoidance strategies and changes in behavior," says Maresa Feldmann, the city's Equal Opportunities Officer.
Multimedia implementation
Professor Sandra Hacker, head of the "Film" Master's study program at Fachhochschule Dortmund, sees the cooperation as a great benefit: "The joint project enabled our students to actively participate in the design and implementation of the campaign and use their creative skills for an important socio-political cause. What is also special about the cooperation is that the campaign is published directly and in multimedia form and can therefore mean a self-efficacy experience for the students. We hope that the campaign will make a positive contribution to respect and against sexism in the public sphere."
Eva Lindemann, coordinator of the project at the Equal Opportunities Office, confirms: "The cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences was a complete success with an impressive result. It is important for us to reach many people from different walks of life."
Movie trailers and posters
The campaign consists of a cinema trailer, which will run as a supporting film in all Dortmund cinemas for three weeks from November 23, expressive posters with the inscription "Ich heiße nicht Puppe!" (My name is not a doll!), which can be seen as city light posters at 45 locations in Dortmund city center, as well as sequences on the digital info screens in Dortmund's underground and suburban train stations.
The movie trailer presents catcalling in an everyday scene. Powerful staging encourages viewers to put themselves in the shoes of those affected. The goals: To inspire empathy and raise awareness of how certain behaviors can affect the well-being and safety of others.
The campaign team is delighted to have secured presenter Frank Buschmann for the commercial. "In his role as one of Germany's most outstanding sports commentators, 'Buschi' draws attention to the commercial and lends intensity and expressiveness to the scene depicted. This makes it urgently clear and appeals to men how repulsive sexist behavior is," says Phil Janßen, director and creator of the concept.
Active against sexist behavior
The posters and digital screens pick up on the scene from the movie trailer. The striking images are intended to encourage people to actively stand up against sexist behavior and create a respectful environment for everyone. The campaign is accompanied by the social media channels of the City of Dortmund, Fachhochschule Dortmund and Frank Buschmann, among others. The ad can also be seen on the City of Dortmund's YouTube channel(Opens in a new tab) .
Maresa Feldmann, Equal Opportunities Officer for the City of Dortmund: "With this campaign, we want to raise awareness of the challenges that girls and women in particular face on a daily basis. Sexism is a form of discrimination that should not be tolerated and it is crucial that we work together as a society to create a respectful and equal environment."
Help against sexism
Women who are affected by sexism and are looking for advice can contact the Dortmund Women's Advice Center on (0231) 521008 or the nationwide help hotline "Violence against women" on 116016.