A hotline working 24/7 will be launched as part of the campaign.The number 0 801 109 801 will be available for persons who are victims or witnesses of domestic violence. The advertisiments will present, among others, the celebrated Polish journalists and actors who will be shown along with their children. The action was supported by a professional knowledge of psychologist Dorota Zawadzka who is famous for participation in "Supernanny" TV show broadcast by TVN TV station.
The meeting at the White Room of the Warsaw Police Headquarters was attended by, among others, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Grzegorz Schetyna, the Minister of National Education Katarzyna Hall, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Jarosław Duda, the head of the Polish Police general Andrzej Matejuk, as well as the "faces of the campaign": Teleexpress news presenter Beata Chmielowska-Olech, sports commentator and sports programmes host Maciej Kurzejewski and "superpsychologist" Dorota Zawadzka.
- We are here to confirm our commitment to the prevention of family violence, we will promote the campaign's hotline and we will fight with the anonymity of the family violence - said the Minister of Interior and Administration.
Minister Katarzyna Hall pointed to the government actions aimed at the creation of safe and friendly schools and to the importance of education system in the "chain of good will institutions" which help children from the families affected by violence.
Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Jarosław Duda reminded about the legislative changes prepared by his Ministry which are aimed at curbing aggression at home, including a total ban on using violence against children which is included in the currently prepared Act on the prevention of family violence.
General Police Inspector Andrzej Matejuk described the shocking scale of the problem. Within a year the Police officers carry out around 800 000 interventions at homes and investigate over 80 000 crimes related to the family violence. In a single year 30 000 children and minors fall victim to crimes. From among over 35 000 cirmes which are subject to penal proceedings, around 20 000 end up in indictment.The statistics are shocking, therefore:
- We do not have to persuade anyone here that such a campaign is needed, said General Matejuk.
However, despite grim statistics, many acts of domestic violence remain hidden within the walls of houses. People prefer to suffer in silence than to tell about the aggression that takes place in their families, said psychologist Dorota Zawadzka, knows from TVN TV show "Supernanny".
- The knowledge about bringing up children without violence is minimal in Poland. Therefore, such a campaign is needed. A lot depends on the information policy and the media. We should ask ourselves a question what is a difference between a spank and a "serious" blow or stealing one bread roll and a "serious theft". Both are the same infringement of moral principles and norms. I am not in favour of double morality. You can bring up a child not using violence. You can teach a child, make it aware what it can and what it cannot do without beating them.
The "I love. I don’t beat" campaign consists of TV and radio spots, advertisements in the press and billboards and posters at schools.The author and the organiser of the campaign is the National Competence Centre Foundation. The campaign has two objectives: showing how important it is to bring up children in the atmosphere of mutual understanding, partnership, love and warmth and sentisizing the society to react in the cases of domestic violence.
The authors and producers of the campaign believe that more good may be done when authority will not mean force and violence but mutual understanding and partnership, as well as showing positive examples. According to them, children, like "empty pages", very easily soak-up everthing that adults show through their own life. By imitating elders they learn how to behave in the relations with their peers and adults. When they see evil, hatred and brusqueness to others in the attitudes of adults, it is difficult for them to learn respect to other people. But when they experience respect and love, and the adults show that they are able to understand them, they will repay with the same and this will allow us to bring up happy children.
By showing famous, smiling parents and their happy children the National Centre Foundation wants to show other parents that it is possible to bring up children without violence. It is also important to make the campaign positive. The representatives of the organisation believe that a negative campaign would certainly bring about fast results but its objectives would soon be forgotten. Although we will have to wait longer for the results of the positive campaign, but they will be more durable and may permanently change the attitudes of many people.
The National Competence Centre managed to involve the General Headquarters of Police, the Ministry of Interior and Administration, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Ministry of National Education in the project. The campaign was included in the governement programme for reduction of crime and asocial behaviour entitled "Safer Together". It will allow for efficient reaction to each case of domestic violence reported by means of the 0801 109 801 hotline (the price of one call unit for the connection with the hotline is PLN 0.35 including VAT). During the campaign the hotline will operate 24 hours a day and afterwards during the working hours of the Foundation, i.e. 8.00 am - 7.00 pm.
Thanks to the cooperation with the Police, all cases requiring urgent intervention will be reported to one of the Voivodeship Police Headquarters and then to the local Police units throughout the country. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy will cooperate through such institutions as Poviat Family Assistance Centres, Social Assistance Centres or Regional Social Assistance Centres, with regard to the problems related to the reasons of domestic violence, such as poverty, alcoholism or homelessness. Within the framework of coopertion with the Ministry of National Education, the organisers will be able to obtain assistance from tutors and school teachers.
The "I love. I don’t beat" campaign was supported by TV and movie celebrities who, along with their children, appeared in the advertisements promoting the initiative. They included Beata Chmielowska – Olech, Anna Dereszowska, Tomasz Karolak, Rafał Królikowski, Maciej Kurzejewski, Magdalena Różczka, Maria Seweryn, while Piotr Adamczyk was the voice of the campaign. The project was also supported by an expert for bringing up children - Dorota Zawadzka. The script was written by Andrzej Saramonowicz and the director of advertising spots Adam Guziński. Marek Gajczak and Piotr Szczeański were responsible for the cameras, music was written by Łukasz Targosz and the photographs for billboards were taken by Piotr Wacowski and Daniel Rudzki. All those involved in the project resigned from their remuneration. Their work resulted in seven 15-second advertisements, each of them portraying one family (a parent - a child/children) during a joyful play.
The " I love. I don’t beat" campaign will be presented in the media in September and October in the following TV stations : Canal Plus, OTV, Polsat, Puls, TVN and TVP, as well as in the Polish Radio. The spots will also be broadcast in a network of Cinema City cinemas. All the media agreed to broadcast the spots without any pay. The posters on Stroër and Clear Channel billboards, advertisements in the press and posters in schools will also be presented free of charge.
There was a similar campaign on billboards in 2006. The author of the campaign was Ms Anna Mazepa-Sobiak, the mother of litte Mateusz.
The radio and TV spots may be downloaded from the website of the National Competence Centre www.kck.pl. All media may broadcast them free of charge.
The "I love. I don’t beat" campaign united the forces of the government administration, a non-governmental organisation, media and celebrities. Each child has the right to be happy... The National Competence Centre Foundation, the General Headquarters of Police, the Ministry of Interior and Administration, the largest TV stations and distinguished Polish artisits joined forces to make the society aware how important and valuable it is to bring up children without violence.
The " I love. I don’t beat" campaign is under the patronage of the Police Commander in Chief General Andrzej Matejuk and is an inherent part of the government programme of reduction of crime and asocial behaviour " Safer Together" , " Family violence" area which assumes, among others, commissioning non-governmental organisations with tasks in the field of training, advisory services, assistance to people affected by family violence, promotion of appropriate patterns of family life, education of people affected by violence with regard to legal procedures, closer cooperation of institutions and social organisations providing legal, psychological and social assistance for peoples affected by family violence and the increased efficiency of the Blue Card procedure.
The "I love. I don’t beat" campaign is planned to last for 2 months, i.e. September and October 2008.
The campaign is organised and financed by the National Competence Centre Foundation " KCK" established in 2007. The Foundation was established in order to create a competence and information centre with regard to the resolution of such social problems as disability, social exclusion, health, violence, development of social dialogue and uniting of partners for actions aimed at solving social problems.
At the end of the meeting, journalists asked many questions concerning « adult violence » and fights of football hooligans during a football match in Warsaw.
Deputy Prime Minister Grzegorz Schetyna ensured that the government will not lose its determination to eliminate violent crime from stadiums.
- We will not withdraw from tough enforcement of law, said the minister recalling the draft Act on safety of mass events, currently prepared by the Ministry of Interior and Administration.
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