Designing storytelling for awareness, action, and advocacy

Content warning: The following information discusses child sexual abuse, exploitation, and abuse material, which may be distressing. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 000 (Australia) or local emergency services. Support is available via 1800RESPECT (1800 806 292) or by visiting 1800respect.org.au.

For organisations working in child protection, how they communicate shapes how people understand harm, how they respond to it, and whether they feel safe enough to speak up.

For over a decade, the Australian Childhood Foundation has worked to prevent child abuse, support survivors, and educate the community. Reaching these audiences requires more than information. It requires care, trust, and the ability to meet people where they are.

To support this, the Foundation partnered with Portable to develop a body of work spanning animation, documentary storytelling, and content strategy, each designed for a different moment, audience, and need.

Child abuse is both pervasive and difficult to talk about. Awareness is uneven, misconceptions are common, and many people, whether professionals or members of the public, are unsure how to respond.

At the same time, survivor voices are often absent from public narratives. Creating space for those stories requires more than a platform. It requires trust, safety, and a process that respects lived experience.

Over the last few years we have worked with the Foundation over a series of projects. We’re sharing four projects with you here:

1. On Us animation series: educating professionals and organisations on recognising and responding to risk
2. Online Exploitation animation series: raising awareness across broad audiences
3. Emma’s Story documentary series: creating safe, respectful opportunities for survivors to share their experiences
4. Our Collective Experience documentary series: advocating for survivors and the steps the broader community can take to support them

No single format could achieve all of this and each goal demanded a different approach.

Portable worked alongside the Australian Childhood Foundation to design a suite of films and animations, each tailored to a specific audience and behavioural outcome.

Rather than applying a single format, the work was shaped around intent.

For awareness and education

Animated explainers with the Online Exploitation series translated complex and sensitive issues, such as online exploitation and organisational responsibility, into clear, accessible content. These pieces helped organisations and professionals understand risk, recognise warning signs, and take appropriate action.

For engagement and behaviour change

Campaign content for the On Us initiative focused on reaching organisations where children may be present, from banks to hotels, encouraging them to recognise their role in safeguarding and commit to action. Choosing animation meant the storytelling could be specific with the nuance and sensitivity required.

For lived experience and advocacy

Documentary-led storytelling, including Emma’s Story and Our Collective Experience, created space for survivors to share their experiences in their own words.

These pieces were handled with care and collaboration working closely with participants to ensure they felt safe, represented, and in control of their stories.

In the case of Emma’s Story, the impact extended beyond the film itself. It became part of a broader effort to invite other survivors to come forward, shaping the Foundation’s understanding of lived experience and informing future work.

Across all outputs, the approach remained consistent:

• co-design with subject matter experts and lived experience voices
• format selection based on audience and intent
• careful balancing of clarity, sensitivity, and accessibility

Each video is designed to meet people at different points in their understanding and readiness to act, while keeping a cohesive voice and sensitivity of subject matter.

The work strengthened the Foundation’s ability to engage multiple audiences in meaningful and appropriate ways.

Educational content improved awareness and understanding of how abuse occurs and how to respond.

Campaigns encouraged organisations to recognise their role in protecting children and take action.

Most importantly, survivor-led storytelling helped create space for others to come forward. Campaigns such as Emma’s Story contributed to a significant response from the community, with many individuals sharing their own experiences and seeking support.

By designing for different needs, awareness, education, and advocacy, the work supports a more informed, responsive, and compassionate system around children and survivors.