Results: #PolishedMan Raising Awareness Of Child Abuse

You may have noticed some men walking around with only one fingernail polished, and wondered what it means. It is not some hipster fashion statement, or some radical political statement. It started with Elliot Costello, who along with several friends started 'Y Generation Against Poverty' (YGAP), a group dedicated to ending poverty and empowering people to implement that change, through education and awareness within the youth population. He started this latest project 'Polished Man', which centered around creating awareness and raise funds for the 1 in 5 children globally who will suffer physical and sexual violence before the age of 18. He met a young girl named Thea on one of his missions to Cambodia, who was sexually abused. He spent some time just playing with her, and they took turns painting each other's fingernails. When Elliot learned she had been abused, and that one in five children would tragically be abused in their lifetime, he promised himself and that little girl that he would always keep one fingernail painted to remember her and her pain, and to stand for that one in five. He then asked other men around the world to do the same, as it is men who do 96% of that abuse. Have you noticed any men with one fingernail painted?

Ultimately the hope is not to just see a bright fingernail painted and notice it, but to become more aware of the problem, and to think of and implement ways to combat it. Something must be done to help these innocent victims feel safe and just be children again. Do you think you will join in this campaign to paint one of your fingernails?