Ending violence against women and girls animation campaign
In March 2026, Nexus NI launched a new animation campaign to raise awareness of violence against women and girls and encourage collective action to prevent it.
Created as part of our ongoing work to challenge harmful attitudes and behaviours, the campaign highlights the different forms violence against women and girls can take and the impact it has on individuals, families, and communities across Northern Ireland.
The animation uses clear, accessible storytelling to show that violence against women and girls is not inevitable. Prevention requires cultural change, education, accountability, and a collective commitment to challenge the attitudes and behaviours that enable abuse.
The campaign was designed to support public awareness, education, community engagement, and professional training, helping start conversations about gender-based violence and the role everyone can play in ending it.
Watch the animation
Campaign teaser clips
Alongside the main animation, we released three short teaser videos across our social media channels. Each clip introduced a key theme from the campaign and gradually built the story that appears in the full animation.
🦋 Teaser 1: The blue butterfly
The first teaser introduced the blue butterfly, who represents a young girl growing up in our communities.
As the world around her is shaped by harmful attitudes and behaviours, she begins to fade. The film introduces the central message of the campaign: violence against women and girls is rooted in the environments we create and the attitudes we allow to grow.
Watch Teaser 1 HERE.
🚫 Teaser 2: Harm grows quietly
The second teaser explores how harm often develops gradually rather than suddenly.
As harmful weeds grow around the blue butterfly, it reflects how misogyny, harmful comments, and abusive behaviours can become normalised when they are dismissed, excused, or left unchallenged. What we ignore and what we stay silent about can shape what takes root in our communities.
Watch Teaser 2 HERE.
🫂 Teaser 3: The power of bystanders
The final teaser introduces the white butterfly, representing the power of bystanders and collective action.
Using the metaphor of a garden, the film shows how small actions – challenging harmful comments, supporting someone who feels uncomfortable, or interrupting abusive behaviour – can help create safer communities. It reinforces that everyone has a role to play in ending violence against women and girls.
Watch Teaser 3 HERE.
A shared commitment to change
The campaign was welcomed by the First Minister and deputy First Minister, who recognised the importance of raising awareness, challenging harmful attitudes, and supporting the wider work to end violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland.
As Joanne Barnes, CEO of Nexus NI, said:
“Ending violence against women and girls requires all of us to recognise the scale of the issue and to take responsibility for changing it. We hope [this animation] becomes a valuable resource for education, prevention, and real cultural change.”
Learn more
If your organisation, school, community group, or workplace wants to build a better understanding of violence against women and girls, explore our Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) training programmes.
Our training helps individuals and organisations recognise abuse, challenge harmful attitudes, and take practical action to create safer communities.
