No question, the last two years of lockdowns and restrictions have been a pain. More painful for some than for others…
In 2020, with domestic abuse on the rise due to pandemic imposed isolation, the Signal for Help campaign was launched. A joint project created by the Canadian Women’s Foundation and a Toronto advertising agency, the campaign centered around a simple hand gesture. A subtle, quiet signal a woman could make while on a video call where she couldn’t speak freely. A gesture that meant HELP!
Social media spread the word—and the hand gesture, with a TikTok video posted by a Canadian user going viral. A video which may have saved the life of a North Carolina teen.
Social media is blamed, and rightfully so, for spreading misinformation, but every once in a while they get it right.
I remember someone sharing that signal a while back. It’s so awesome that it was able to save someone.
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That someone recognized the sign and did something about it…incredible!
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It really is.
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This is an excellent idea. I looked at the purple graphic and saw the American Sign Language hand shapes for B and N, which confused me until I watched the videos. I’m curious to know how this gesture was chosen.
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If you click on the purple image, you get the article which talks about how they came up with that sign. I only scanned that section briefly, but yes, American Sign Language was one of the sources they used.
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I get it now.
Lang said the foundation and the agency needed to develop a signal that could be made by a person while holding a phone — and a one-handed gesture was the solution.
“It came to us from the idea of tucking your thumb as a metaphor for being trapped,” he wrote.
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I didn’t get the power or potential of the signal until I saw the woman in the video using behind her partner’s back. Amazing!
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