A campaign to help young
people who are feeling the pressure to hide their sexuality has
been launched by headspace, the National Youth
Mental Health Foundation.
The concept, 'Charlie versus the Big Secret', depicts the
internal conflict that a LGBTI young person might experience due to
the fear of rejection and judgement.
Chris Tanti, headspace CEO, said that many
LGBTI young people are concerned about the way people around them
might react.
"We want young people to feel comfortable to be who they are.
But the sad reality is that discrimination and homophobia are a big
problem in our society and create issues for young people who are
figuring out their sexuality."
"The pressure to fit in and be accepted often means holding onto
a big secret and this may lead to mental health problems like
anxiety and stress."
"We want young people to know that if they're having issues with
friends, family, work or school because of homophobia or
transphobia, they don't have to go through it alone," said Mr
Tanti.
Mr Tanti said it was vital that the concept was developed in
consultation with LGBTI young people across Australia .
"To get this campaign right we developed online surveys asking
LGBTI young people about the issues they face and tested what
concepts would resonate best with the audience."
Charlie versus the Big Secret is the ninth concept to be
developed as part of the headspace national
awareness campaign that aims to help young people get support for
issues affecting them.
The vintage fight poster imagery of the campaign depicts battles
that young people can win, with headspace in their
corner. The other ads focus on issues like, depression,
relationship break ups, anxiety, exam stress, bullying and drug
use.
The campaign will be featured on posters and postcards that will
be used by the 40 headspace centres across
Australia. It will also be seen in selected print and online
media as well ambient advertising in universities and pubs across
the country.
For more information or to access help visit
headspace.org.au
headspace media contact:
Carly Wright
Tel: 03 9027 0129
Mob: 0413 025 385
Email: cwright@headspace.org.au