Background

Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia) is part of the Down to Zero (DTZ) Alliance, a coalition of organizations working alongside the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to protect children and prevent sexual exploitation in twelve countries across Asia and Latin America.

Under this initiative, DTZ implements the Step Up the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation of Children (SUFASEC) program. SUFASEC empowers children and young people to advocate for their rights, helps communities build safer spaces for children, and supports governments in strengthening and enforcing child protection policies and laws.

One of its most innovative strategies is the co-creation of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials with children themselves to raise awareness about sexual exploitation of children. In July 2024, CRC Asia organized a Co-creation Workshop where children shaped the foundations of what would become The Brave Voice of Juliet – a video and comic series about online safety.

Unlike ordinary campaigns where adults design and children only review, this project placed children at the center. Children created the story, the message, and the advocacy.

The Creative Journey

From the workshop, children from CRC Asia’s member organization, Alliance for Child Rights Mindanao (ACRMI), chose one central message:

“Tanong Mo, Sagot Ko, Respetuhin Mo.” (Ask. Answer. Respect.)

This simple phrase champions the importance of consent – reminding everyone that “no means no.”

Over the following months, the children collaborated through video calls to decide the format, themes, audience, and even the languages of the outputs. They envisioned a story not only for social media but also for classrooms and communities, so they pushed for both a video series and a comic book in Filipino, English, Bisaya, and Chavacano—ensuring accessibility across diverse communities.

By September, CRC Asia began working with the Child Advisory Group (CAG) to refine their vision. 

Once the project brief and storyboard were finalized, CRC Asia opened the bidding for a service provider. A key requirement was that the provider had to comply with child safeguarding policies and be able to faithfully deliver the children’s vision.

From the start, the children were not mere “consultants”—they were co-authors and co-producers. Adults provided technical and safeguarding support but never overruled the children’s vision. Every detail, from the storyline to the facial hair of a character, was reviewed and approved by the young creators.

The story centers on Juliet, a high school girl who accepts a friend request from a school alumnus. What begins as a seemingly harmless friendship gradually turns into a potential grooming situation. Through Juliet’s journey, children learn to recognize red flags, seek help from trusted adults, and understand that cultural values like utang na loob (debt of gratitude) must never be exploited for abuse.

With the technical consultant on board, the first storyboard was created. AI-assisted animation tools were used responsibly to develop character studies and explore animation styles.

Each storyboard draft was shared with the children, who provided detailed feedback, including specifics such as a character’s facial hair. These consultations were conducted via video calls.

Once the first draft of the Filipino video was ready, CRC Asia conducted in-person pilot tests with children from ACRMI who were not involved in SUFASEC to assess whether a child with a limited background in SRHR issues would comprehend the video’s message. They were asked, ‘Is the video relevant?‘ Do you understand the themes? Is the method effective? Is the language accessible? Their feedback shaped subsequent revisions.

Through several rounds of consultation, the team finalized the video and comics.

The final video and comics were then launched in community events designed and hosted by the children themselves, where they stood proudly as creators, advocates, and leaders – influencing fellow children, parents, government stakeholders in child protection, and civil society organizations. 

Key Lessons on Meaningful Participation

The Brave Voice of Juliet offers powerful insights for future child rights advocacies:

• Meaningful participation empowers both children and adults. Children gained skills, confidence, and agency, while adults learned to listen, adapt, and trust.

• The process matters as much as the product. The journey of a child’s involvement must be valued as much as the final product. Participation becomes meaningful through the process. When children’s voices shape the process, the result is authentic and transformative.
• Co-creation goes beyond consultation. It is not about reviewing a finished product, but about building it together from the ground up. This approach makes the message more authentic, reflecting children’s lived realities, views, and priorities. It encourages innovation by valuing their perspectives and creative solutions. It also fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility in children, affirming that their voices matter and their insights are essential.
• Child-led creativity strengthens advocacy. Their IEC products can influence decisions and create change. Children often push boundaries and challenge assumptions, making IEC materials more engaging and relevant.
• Co-creation is a commitment. It is not a one-off method, but a promise to center children’s voices in every step of the work.

 

A Model for the Future

The Brave Voice of Juliet shows that when children’s voices lead the process, the outcomes are powerful, authentic, and transformative. It also demonstrates that meaningful participation honors both the process and outcome. If we only care about the IEC product, we risk tokenism. If we only care about the process, we might nurture children’s voices but fail to translate them into action. Both are important. 

It offers a model for future projects, one where children’s participation is not symbolic, but deeply meaningful, with advocacy created both for and with them.

Watch and share the outputs created by the children:

Filipino: https://youtu.be/g5KTn3czZYU?si=8e_XDycqPC6FZp9C
English: https://youtu.be/hkZkYbdA2uQ?si=Y4y2hIgCV0uAwpSa
Bisaya: https://youtu.be/s-VPhov0_j8?si=Tco38ncmDXyhcQnn
Chavacano: https://youtu.be/eN3PmkX2FBU?si=qDa7IPpnjb64T5La 

Download the comics here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1l40K_yij5ZaD1Wo54kxniuzMeZQkVh0E?usp=sharing