Thank you

It is with great pleasure that Living Well and 1in6 come together to announce the results of our Poster/Visual Media Competition. We would like to commend all of the artists who contributed entries and all those who participated in supporting the competition.

For us, it is the whole collection of posters that make this a winning competition. The entries have generated much discussion and helped expand our thinking in relation to the variety of ways to name and address this year’s competition theme of ‘Sexual abuse is something I experienced… It’s not who I am.’ In sometimes direct and sometimes subtle ways the collection of posters highlight the subject of men’s unwanted experiences of sexual abuse and complex questions of personal identity.

The competition panel, in making our decision, wish to acknowledge and honor the People’s Choice award and to thank everyone in supporting greater community awareness of the problem of sexual abuse of males. As a testimony to the quality and closeness of the competition, the panel decided to award two runner up prizes.

Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the poster.

1st Prize Lucy (UK) Awarded $1000

“Having worked on projects to raise issues about sexual abuse in the past I know how difficult it is to get people to listen. I wanted my poster to generate awareness about the issue but also be positive that there is a way forward. I think anything that can help get the message out there and let people know they are not alone is a very worthwhile cause.” — Lucy

Runner Up Prizes: Amy (Australia) & Eden (Australia) Awarded $250 each

“In creating this poster I aimed to achieve a soft and ephemeral visualization to address the sensitive issue of abuse. I wanted to recognize the isolation and loneliness that is experienced by many sufferers of abuse and selected a black and white format as the consequence of abuse often strips the colour from the world of the victims. The image of a single man with his back to the darkness, facing the light illustrates the hope and possibilities for the future.” — Amy

“I chose to base my design on a photo of a young man who seems quite happy with life. The photo has natural, positive light and an overall cheerful feel to it. My model is also symbolic of someone who is following a positive path despite his painful past, specifically education as he sits on a bench at his uni.” — Eden.

People’s Choice: Ted (USA) Awarded $250

“I know many male survivors of sexual abuse internalize their experience because all men are taught from a very early age that ‘real men’ would never let that happen to them. When a man does experience sexual abuse, he often feels inadequate, shameful and emasculated. Our socialization also leads men to avoid services (such as counseling and therapy) that could be help us recognize and process the abuse as an experience rather than allowing it to define our identity. It is my hope that these posters will, in some way, help male survivors realize they are not alone.” — Ted