#SadZnam 2024

Some things should never stay hidden.

A campaign that took the conversation about gender-based violence out of the private sphere and into the streets of Sarajevo.

Campaign
16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
Country
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Period
25 November to 10 December 2024
Scope
Creative campaign
A woman in black stands beneath a line of washing strung across a street corner beside a traffic light, two men walking past on the right.

One red flag changes the picture.

The campaign took a household act into public places. Laundry on a line, baskets and white garments appeared on street corners, tram tracks, bridges and squares across Sarajevo: what is usually kept inside, hung out where everyone passes. Airing the dirty laundry, on purpose. Red pieces of clothing stood for red flags, the early warning signs of violence.

  • A woman in a long grey coat holds out a white sheet in front of the Sebilj fountain, white garments hanging on a line behind her and pigeons at her feet.
    01 / 05Sebilj, Baščaršija
  • A woman stands at a street crossing holding a teal laundry basket, in front of a group of pedestrians with umbrellas, a red traffic light behind them.
    02 / 05At the crossing
  • A woman stands behind a bridge railing over which white linen hangs, a teal basket at her feet, with city buildings and hills behind.
    03 / 05At the bridge railing
  • A woman in an olive coat stands between tram tracks holding a teal basket of white linen, red banners on lamp posts along the street behind her.
    04 / 05On the tram tracks
  • A woman in a long grey coat stands on the steps by the Sebilj fountain holding a bundle of dark cloth, a bare tree and the square behind her.
    05 / 05The steps at Sebilj

Photograph 1 of 5

What is left unsaid.

Gender-based violence is surrounded by silence, and its early signs are often dismissed as minor. During the 2024 16 Days of Activism, #SadZnam set out to change that: to help people recognise red flags in relationships, to name the different forms of violence, and to show where support can be found.

Developed by SO.. in line with the strategic priorities of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 25 November to 10 December 2024.

Prevention

Recognise the early red flags in relationships before they escalate.

Education

Name the forms of violence, emotional, psychological, physical and economic, and set healthy boundaries.

Empowerment and support

Show that help exists: legal aid, counselling and support networks.

Airing it in public.

The saying goes that dirty laundry should not be aired in public. The campaign turned it around. Baskets, clotheslines and white garments went into the streets of Sarajevo, and what people are told to keep private was made visible on purpose.

The basket

Airing out the dirty laundry: breaking the silence around violence.

The line

What is kept inside, hung up where everyone can see it.

The red cloth

Red flags: the early warning signs, shown as red pieces of clothing.

The public place

Recognisable places, so the message is one of collective responsibility.

A private subject. A public conversation.

The photographs were made in the open: on street corners, tram tracks, bridges and squares, among passers-by. Six sessions between 17 November and 4 December.

  1. 17 NovMarijin DvorA clothesline and a basket on a Sunday, with little foot traffic.
  2. 18 NovNear the National TheatreOn the tram tracks, in gloomy weather.
  3. 19 NovSebilj, BaščaršijaEarly morning, at one of the city's best-known landmarks.
  4. 21 NovArt Gallery of Bosnia and HerzegovinaVisitors came and went through the session.
  5. 26 NovMarkale and the Academy of Fine ArtsEveryday places: a market and a school of art.
  6. 4 DecTitova StreetPassers-by reacted as it happened.
The same corner, three moments
A woman in a long grey coat holds a white sheet up in front of her face at the Sebilj, pigeons around her.
Sebilj
A woman in a long grey coat on the steps by the Sebilj, a bundle of dark cloth in her arms.
Sebilj
A woman stands between tram tracks in the early light, a teal basket in her arms, the street behind her.
Tram tracks

The conversation has many voices.

Alongside the photographs, a series of conversational videos: ambassadors and experts speaking plainly about gender-based violence. Participants came from theatre, music, sport, media, art, education, psychotherapy and the women's rights sector. Nine videos were published, one of them in two parts.

  • Recognising red flags
  • Setting and respecting healthy boundaries
  • Understanding the different forms of violence
  • Why men's participation matters
  • Raising collective awareness

Seventeen posts, two formats.

17 posts published between 25 November and 10 December 2024.

Eight photographs and nine videos, each submitted to the Embassy for approval, supported with paid promotion.

Campaign artwork in black and white: a woman with a basket among people under umbrellas, the #SadZnam lettering at the right.Campaign artwork: a woman in a long grey coat holds out white sheets at the Sebilj, the #SadZnam lettering above her.Campaign artwork: a woman in black with a basket on a wet street, passers-by behind her, the #SadZnam lettering above.
Campaign artwork: a woman behind a bridge railing laying out white linen, the #SadZnam lettering above.Campaign artwork in black and white: a woman on steps among pigeons, the #SadZnam lettering across the picture.Campaign artwork in black and white: white sheets on a line above pigeons at the Sebilj, the #SadZnam lettering above.

Location footage.

A woman in a beige coat lays white linen and a dark garment over a bridge railing in Sarajevo, a basket at her feet. No sound.

A woman in black stands at a street corner beside a traffic light, a line of washing behind her, while cars pass. A yellow tram then crosses and fills the frame. Soundtrack: street ambience.

At the Sebilj fountain in Baščaršija, a woman in a long grey coat shakes out and holds up white sheets, white garments on a line behind her and pigeons at her feet. No sound.

In black and white, white garments hang on a line across a square while pigeons scatter and fly through the frame. No sound.

Seen from behind at the Sebilj, a woman in a grey coat raises a white sheet in front of the line of washing, pigeons around her feet. No sound.

Off the screen.

SO.. conceived and organised a #SadZnam quiz at Europe House and produced all of its materials. The campaign moved beyond the feed and into a room, in person.

A short film of the #SadZnam quiz at Europe House: people seated in rows facing a screen, a presenter at the front beside a slide reading #SadZnam Quiz Time, and members of the audience with notebooks and tablets. Soundtrack: music.

A crowded room at Europe House, people seated facing a screen.
People in the audience, applauding.
A fan of books with red covers lying on a wooden table beside red flowers.
Books, cards and a black bag printed with #Women of BiH on a green cloth.
A stack of books, one with a red patterned cover, on a white surface.
A canvas tote bag with a printed emblem held up against a red cloth.
A clipboard held in a hand under coloured light.

The silence was challenged.

Views

1,098,719

Facebook 345.8K. Instagram 752,919, 66.3% of them driven by ads.

Reported reach

541,004

Facebook and Instagram, as reported. Not a count of different people across platforms.

Interactions

18,504

Likes, comments, shares and saves. Facebook 5.5K, Instagram 13K.

New followers

527

Facebook 255, Instagram 272.

Paid impressions

1,097,618

Across paid ads, with a paid reach of 414,902.

Figures as reported by SO.. in the #SadZnam campaign report for 25 November to 10 December 2024, from Meta's Facebook and Instagram reporting. Views, reach, impressions and interactions are different measures and are not added together. They describe visibility and engagement, not changes in attitudes or in violence.

Knowing is where change begins.

#SadZnam

SO.. planned and produced #SadZnam and ran its paid promotion, for the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At a glance

#SadZnam (“Now I Know”), the 2024 16 Days of Activism campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina, built by SO.. for the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: laundry, red flags and public spaces in Sarajevo, and 17 posts published between 25 November and 10 December 2024.

Client
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Year
2024
Views
1,098,719
Reported reach
541,004
Interactions
18,504

Challenge

Gender-based violence is surrounded by silence, and early warning signs are often dismissed as minor. The campaign had to make them recognisable without sensationalism, in a window of sixteen days.

Approach

The familiar act of airing laundry became a metaphor for speaking openly: people with baskets and clotheslines in recognisable public spaces in Sarajevo, with red pieces of clothing standing for red flags, alongside conversational videos with ambassadors and experts.

Outcome

1,098,719 views and 541,004 reported reach, with 18,504 interactions and 527 new followers, as reported for 25 November to 10 December 2024.

Next case
UNFPA: Not Inactive
A public information campaign, in the participants' own words