Words Can Be Weapons

The Center for Psychological Research, Shenyang, China, is a government body that is concerned about the rise of juvenile crime in the northern region. Their research shows a strong link between juvenile crime and childhood verbal abuse. They wanted parents and teachers of Shenyang to understand that this kind of abuse can cause significant psychiatric problems, sometimes even leading to violent crime.

We got six juveniles from the Shenyang Detention Center to narrate their stories. Artists then transformed the abusive words that had scarred the delinquents most during their childhood into the very weapons that they used to commit crimes in later years. Along with showing the words and weapons in an exhibition, the Center’s website told the stories through vivid motion graphics and emotional videos of six specific cases. And the site also connected those in need with the Center’s psychologists.

326 calls were made to the helpline in the first two weeks, along with creating 3,112,315 impressions on the Center’s Weibo topic page. Over 30 websites(including government official sites) and 9 TV stations carried reports of this important campaign.