The print campaign was launched in collaboration with Woman and Home and Bona magazines.

According to the duo, readers were encouraged to 'scan the scar' — an image of a caesarean scar on a young girl's stomach embedded with a Spotify code.

Once scanned, the code directed readers to a Spotify playlist featuring real stories of child and teenage pregnancies, collected with the assistance of Children of Success and Women & Men Against Child Abuse. Well-known female poets and artists — Lebo Mashile, Koleka Putuma and Thembe Mvula — narrated these stories and conveyed the experiences of three young girls.

"The crisis of child and teenage pregnancy cannot be ignored. The numbers of young girls giving birth are staggering, but we need to remember that these are not just numbers but real people; our '#ScanTheScar' campaign gives a voice to these individuals," says Shenilla Mohamed, executive director of Amnesty International South Africa.

"It is important for us to continue highlighting the crisis we face so that there can be change. This issue needs to be tackled by the government and the people of South Africa together; however, the state has a responsibility to create an enabling environment for the youth to make autonomous and informed decisions, to support these young and adolescent girls to continue their education so that they do not fall through the cracks," adds Mohammed.

"As advertisers, we have a huge responsibility to highlight issues like child and teenage pregnancy, and work with organisations such as Amnesty International South Africa to spark these important conversations," concludes Martin Schlumpf, executive creative director at Joe Public.

Individuals have been encouraged to listen to the poems on Spotify here and to watch the case study video on YouTube:

For more information, visit www.joepublic.co.za. You can also follow Joe Public on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram. 

*Image courtesy of contributor