Helpline 1712 and at the table make unusual behaviour between siblings discussable
Violence between siblings is the most common form of family violence. In fact, 1 in 3 children will experience some form of violence within the family, ranging from emotional or physical to sexual and financial abuse. Yet, this kind of domestic violence is often overlooked and even normalized as "just part of growing up." To address this issue, we at the table partnered with Helpline 1712, the service for questions about violence and child abuse, to launch a unique book titled *RAAR* (Weird).
It’s a book with a strange shape and strange content. A book that doesn’t fit in an ordinary bookshelf and doesn’t tell a typical story. But it does say something that should have been said long ago: when behavior between siblings feels weird, it’s important to talk about it. “Sibling violence—what we call this type of violence between brothers and sisters—often remains hidden and therefore unspoken. With this campaign, we aim to inform as many people as possible and bring this form of family violence out of the shadows,” says Pamela De Dobbeleer, content director at CAW Oost-Brabant.
The book features around ten illustrations by Henk Willems that clearly depict boundary-crossing situations between siblings. Each illustration sheds light on harmful behaviors that have lasting impacts on life. In addition to the book, which has been distributed across more than 500 libraries and student counseling centers in Flanders and Brussels, we also created similarly "weird" posters that were widely displayed in public spaces, along with animated versions on social media. Influencers and social ambassadors also played an essential role in helping to spark conversations about the issue and break the silence surrounding it. The book is also available online on the 1712 website.
Our goal with this project was simple: to make people aware, start conversations, and make sibling violence a topic that can no longer be ignored.