JWT Is Training Former Underage Sex Workers in India for Careers in Law

In recent years, underage sex trafficking has run rampant in India, with as many as 1.2 million children—some as young as 7—forced to serve as prostitutes. Yet, only a handful of cases leading to convictions are ever brought to trial. (That number was 55 in 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are available.) J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam believes education will help solve the problem, but raising public awareness is just one element of an initiative the agency rolled out this week with social rights organization Free a Girl Movement. Dubbed "School for Justice," the program seeks to make a real-world impact by educating some of the young women who previously worked in brothels, providing them with training geared toward a career in law. Nineteen former underage sex workers between the ages of 19 and 26 began their studies this week. JWT hopes that one day they may become prosecutors, or even judges, empowered to combat the criminals who once exploited and abused them. [kickout id="1"] "The client came to us with a brief for an awareness campaign for child prostitution in India, aimed at Indian men," JWT Amsterdam executive creative director Bas Korsten tells Adweek. "After a few concept rounds, the creative team came up with the idea for School for Justice. We presented it, and Free a Girl liked it, although they were aware of the huge implications this approach would have. In close collaboration with them, we worked out the educational program, looked for a physical space, selected the first class of girls, and built the campaign around it." Harnessing star power to spread the word, the agency got Bollywood actress and activist Malika Sherawat involved. She discusses School for Justice in the clip below: [kickout id="2"] Korsten concedes that educating 19 young women might sound like a small start, given the overwhelming scope of the problem. "But it has been challenging to find the first girls with the right education," he says, "as even though they will receive extra tuition and mentoring, they'll still have to take exactly the same exams as any other law student in India." [kickout id="3"] Korsten stresses that the School for Justice is a long-term commitment. "The program is already busy providing tutoring for next year's class to get them up to the necessary level," he says. "Also, what we are doing is new and pretty radical, so the girls who have signed up are real survivors. It takes a lot of courage, since signing up for this school is not without danger. There have been serious threats, which is also the reason why we're not disclosing the location of the school. But we believe the first class will inspire many others." Depending on their education level and other factors, the students should complete the program and earn their degrees in five or six years. (Owing to issues of security, the project's law school partner also remains undisclosed.) School for Justice continues a trend in social campaigns, with agencies seeking to move beyond communications and offer tangible solutions. In fact, this is the third such effort of late from JWT, following recent work on U.S. prosthetics and Venezuelan trade. Cynics might dismiss these projects as award-show fodder, or even efforts to rehabilitate JWT's image in the wake of a high-profile discrimination lawsuit against the agency, its ex-CEO and parent company WPP. Korsten takes umbrage at any such suggestion. "This is not a gesture," he says, "or an advertising campaign for our office. This idea was conceived on a real brief by a real client." In fact, "there are plans for opening a School for Justice in Brazil together with Free a Girl. This is not a 'launch and abandon' kind of project." Ultimately, he says, it's about brave women striving to overcome incredible odds and, perhaps, make India a better place, so that other young people won't have their childhoods destroyed. "They are determined to succeed in their ambition to become lawyers, with the power to prosecute the criminals who once owned them," Korsten says. "These are real girls who have been through highly traumatizing experiences and had lives that we could hardly imagine. And yet, they have found the strength to stand up proud in front of the national press of India and tell the world that they aren't focusing on the past, but the future." CREDITS Client: Free a Girl Movement Founder: Evelien Hölsken International Campaign Manager: Nicole Franken International Campaign and Programme Coordinator: Tripta Biekram Campaign Producer: Manon Langelaar CEO and Spokesperson: Francis Gracias Agency: J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam Executive Creative Directors: Bas Korsten, Marcel Hartog Creative Directors: Friso Ludenhoff (concept), Maarten Vrouwes (concept) Creative Art: Maarten Vrouwes, Guney Soykan Creative Copy: Friso Ludenhoff Business Director: Erik-Jan Koense PR Director: Jessica Hartley Connection Strategist: Angelique Schreuders Senior Concept Producer: Catherine van Acker Concept Producer: Linda Jansen Producer: Sanne Kragten Screen Producer: Lotte de Rooij Producer Digital: Reinier Slothouber, Sandra Balke Visual Designer: Robert Harrison, Ronald Mica Production Company: New Amsterdam Film Company (Juliette Stevens) Editor: MRTN editing (Timo Vonk) Sound: Studio Alfred Klaassen Music: MassiveMusic Grading En Online: Captcha!

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JWT Is Training Former Underage Sex Workers in India for Careers in Law

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