[dt-space height=”30″][ultimate_modal modal_title=”Case Study: GENDERDOC-M in Moldova” btn_bg_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_hover_color=”#efefef” btn_text=”Case Study: GENDERDOC-M in Moldova” overlay_bg_opacity=”80″ img_size=”80″ btn_txt_color=”#dd9933″ button_text_font_style=”font-style:italic;,font-weight:bold;” button_text_font_size=”desktop:18px;” button_text_line_height=”desktop:18px;”]GENDERDOC-M Information Centre is the only NGO in Moldova that works in the field of defending and promoting LGBT rights. We had organised public campaigning activities in past years, but with no specific external support and with little visibility and of relative quality. As a matter of fact, surveys showed that negative views towards LGBT people had actually increased in recent years. In 2016 we were considering launching a new action under the slogan “no hate”, but we sensed we had to get one level deeper and address the roots causes of homophobia and not just talk about its expression, i.e. hate. We knew we had to be more effective in developing message that would directly address these roots.

In order to understand what caused such intolerance, we teamed up with the PR agency “Fabrica de imagine”. The first step was to conduct a qualitative study using the method of guided interview, by which we identified attitudes towards LGBT people. After analyzing the results of these studies, we found out that the main underlying factor in perceptions of LGBT people was fear. With many forms of expression such as fear of contagion, fear of being “recruited”, fear for the traditional societal roles. And since fear is actually something that LGBT and cis heterosexual people have in common, we realised that this aspect is something that could actually help us connect to each other. The realisation that we all know fear, and that we all want to break free from it, provided this common ground.

So we decided that the campaign would be based on the positive message of liberation from fear.

Related videos: https://youtu.be/muNENxbYlXA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze6ziQy9MUY

One of the first decisions we made during the campaign concept elaboration was to apply the principle of “hidden approach”. Homophobia is so strong in the country that if we had been transparent on the objective from the outset, people would have closed off to it. So we needed to take a “foot in the door” approach by which we get people to walk part of the way before we tell them the destination. So our plan was to have people show positive interest in the campaign before we would reveal what it was all about.

So we decided to develop a two-phased approach. Firstly, we developed the “No Fear” slogan without mentioning that it focused on LGBT people and got people curious about it, as well as engaging in the process of liberation from fear by talking about their own fears. We launched two types of teaser videos with the simple questions “What is your biggest fear?” and “What would you do on the day when you got rid of it?” with the same people answering both questions. Videos with the second question were launched a week after the first teasers had appeared. The initial campaign materials, like its Facebook page and YouTube page, were unbranded, with no mention of the organisation behind it.

Only later did we “come out” as the campaign had already gathered a lot of interest, including from the media. Actually a lot of people thought it was a campaign lead by a political party, so imagine their surprise!

Read more about the Moldova Campaign: https://derechoshumanosydiversidad.org/project/fight-the-fear-in-moldova/[/ultimate_modal]