Power to the People: An example of how one campaign challenges power dynamics

      

             Through the use of posters, the #NoMore campaign which was launched by the Lincolnshire County Council exemplifies how an organization aiming to affect social change can do so effectively by factoring the dynamics of power into its strategy. In the article, Finding Spaces for Change: A Power Analysis  the author John Gaventa says, “Transformative, fundamental change happens, I suggest, in those rare moments when social movements or social actors are able to work effectively across each of the dimensions simultaneously, i.e. when they are able to link the demands for opening previously closed spaces with people’s action in their own spaces; to span across local and global action, and to challenge visible, hidden and invisible power simultaneously” (Gaventa, 2006, p30). There have been many campaigns to fight sexual assault by raising awareness of the issue, circulating phone numbers of helplines, and even sharing narrative accounts of victims’ experiences, but #NoMoreCampaign veers from that path, leading to a response that other sexual violence campaigns fail to garner due to their shortsighted approaches and fear of innovation. When organizations stick to something that has proved effective in the past and never change they lose momentum. Only time will prove how effective the Lincolnshire’s #NoMoreCampaign is beyond media coverage and whether its impact has lasting effects. 

            The posters for the campaign, which include the hashtag #NoMore, tell its readers to “Ask for Angela” at the bar, where the bartenders will come to the person’s aid and find them a safe exit from their date (The Independent 2016). In this era of social media, a lot of organizations might rely on a digital campaign to get their message across. When an organization can catch attention through multiple mediums without losing focus or its message being diluted it shows it has a clear strategy.

            If an organization can find away to counter a social problem on different levels instead of a linear approach then it prevents itself from missing out on an opportunity to spark change. As much as organizations and the people within it strategize and makes plan to target a problem and control the outcome of their efforts, it’s impossible to predict what will happen. Even organizations with the best intentions can have failed campaigns.

            The Strategy Coordinator told The Independent that the aim of the #NoMore campaign is to encourage society to change its attitude about sexual violence and abuse, as well as raise awareness of the services available in Lincolnshire and empower the victims to report what happened to them (The Independent 2016).

            In this campaign, you can see the idea of visible power and invisible power (Gaventa 2016). The visible power is evident when bartenders and bar goers help each other out instead of being passive bystanders to potential sexual assaults. The invisible power is evident by the Lincolnshire County Council’s ability to affect a change in attitudes of bystanders and potential victims to take action to stop this violence from continuing. By speaking out, these bystanders and potential victims tap into their strength in turn executing power.

            The Lincolnshire County Council has found a way to turn the bars from closed spaces where people don’t feel accountable to help strangers into open spaces where the people within it can fight sexual violence. As a result of Lincolnshire County Councils strategy, perpetrators or those who condone sexual assault lose their power. It is also important to highlight that this campaign has the potential to affect change beyond the immediate community where it started. Just the fact that The Independent, a national newspaper in England, wrote an article about it proves that the campaign has wide reaching effects. In The Independent’s article, the writer pointed out that a woman saw the poster for the campaign in a bar and posted its image online, where it was retweeted 20,000 times on Twitter. The prominent visibility of the campaign could give other organizations an idea of how to engage people while inciting change. Evaluating power on different levels and spaces is a great starting point for organizations.

Gaventa J. (2006). Finding the Spaces for Change: A Power Analysis. IDS Bulletin, 37 (6), 23-33. Available from blackboard [Accessed 23 October 2016].

Fenton S. (2016). Code word campaign helps people escape bad dates by alerting bar staff discreetly. The Independent, 20 October. Available from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/code-word-campaign-bad-dates-alert-bar-staff-a7371171.html [Accessed 23 October 2016].