+1,37 Millions
of people
reached
Virtual Reality Headsets
Virtual reality contributed to the decriminalization of abortion in cases of rape in Ecuador
+53.400
views
...
15 legislators
participated of an
immersive experience
PROBLEM
For many years, the reproductive and sexual rights movement has been working to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape. In 2019, pregnancy as a result of rape reached epidemic levels in Ecuador. Finally in that same year, the Legislative Assembly of Ecuador began working on a legal reform.
IDEA
For the first time, we used Virtual Reality to advocate for abortion decriminalization in cases of rape in Ecuador. We developed an alliance with a communications agency, LA INCRE, to launch a communication campaign to promote public debate and through an immersive experience, bring closer the reality lived by victims of pregnancy as a result of rape to decision makers. We created a virtual reality experience with testimonies interpreted by adult actresses who shared real stories of how, as girls, they became pregnant as a result of rape, asking the viewers to seek an effective solution based on human rights. At the end of the virtual reality experiment, we appealed to viewers by asking: Is it fair they go to jail for accessing an abortion?“This campaign is about the reality of women victims of rape and their need for legal access to abortion. It was created to appeal to decision makers. The reality is that in the workday routine, in this case, legislators don’t have much time to connect to the victim's testimonies. We asked ourselves, what is the best medium to reach decision makers using an emotional lens so they can truly see what was happening. We have always been fans of technology and we came up with this idea of using virtual reality to make visible the testimonials of women survivors of sexual violence”. Marcelo Echeverría, Creative Director at La INCRE. Sebastián Palacios, one of the 15 legislators who participated in the immersive experience, concluded the following: “Being for a second in the feet of these girls, these women, it revolted me, it moved me, it made me think of the responsible decision we, as legislators, must take.” Two months after the VR Headsets campaign, the Legislative Assembly of Ecuador finally voted for the decriminalization of abortion in cases of rape. For the first time in the country's history, 65 legislators voted in favor for change, 59 voted against and there were 6 absentee votes In April 2021, abortion in cases of rape was decriminalized in Ecuador.
Video produced for the campaign, using the technology of virtual reality. Spanish Audio.
Promotional video to invite legislators to “put on the glasses”. English Subtitles.
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