Tokyo – AOI Pro. and its group company in Malaysia, Director Think Tank, are cooperating in the video production of Project Unsilence—a project in which the visualization of mixed emotions of sexual violence victims as they pen their experiences is created into artwork—that aims to improve the victim’s mental health as well as revise laws regarding sexual harassment in Malaysia.

Launched on March 8—which coincides with International Women’s Day—Project Unsilence was established by McCANN MILLENNIALS, an innovation project consisting of millennials from the Asian Pacific McCann Worldgroup, in conjunction with former McCann employee, Yuinny Soong.

AOI Pro. and Directors Think Tank applaud the goals of this project and have offered their cooperation in the form of producing a video of their activities.

Project Unsilence Website http://www.project-unsilence.com/

Film Production Staff

Executive Producer: Pat Singh (Directors Think Tank)
Producer: Gray Loi (Directors Think Tank)
Director: Naoto Mitake (Directors Think Tank / AOI Pro.)
Japan Producer: Taisuke Shirasawa (AOI Pro.)
Japan Production Manager: Shoji Takagi (AOI Pro.)

About Project Unsilence

Background

Malaysian policies that protect single women above the age of 17 from sexual abuse or preserve the rights of such victims are woefully insufficient. Therefore, victims tend to remain silent with only one in nine incidents being reported. Moreover, the number of rapes has increased 48% from 2000 to 2016.*

With the intent to rescue the victims in Malaysia and revise the country’s inadequate laws towards them, former McCann employee, Yuinny Soong, herself a victim of sexual abuse, called upon the cooperation of therapists, technologists and creators from Japan and Malaysia; in addition, sympathizers to her cause from her generation gathered together to form this project.

*Source: Royal Malaysia Police and Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development

Project Team

McCann Worldgroup Japan / Malaysia: Planning, Creative Direction
1→10: System Development, Visual Design
NeuroSky: Brainwave Measurement, Analyses
AOI Pro./Directors Think Tank: Video Production

The Two Roles of the Project

1. Enhancing Writing Therapy with Technology
Writing therapy encourages sexual abuse victims to put into writing the experiences of their victimization. Technology to visualize the victim’s emotion through measurement of brainwaves during writing therapy is being developed in order to assist therapists and counselors to understand the victim’s state of mind and improve the provision of appropriate treatment.

2. Delivering Victims’ Voices in the Form of Art to Call for Policy Reform
Artwork visualizing the victims’ traumas, which is a complex mixture of love, fear, pleasure and sorrow, along with the writings by the victims will be exhibited. This artwork, as a voice of the victims, shall be used as a medium to propose policy reform.

---