DeafKidz International, the global advocate for the protection of deaf children and young people from abuse and exploitation, has appointed Boldspace to drive its PR and campaigns.

Boldspace will work with DeafKidz International to build fame as the charity safeguarding deaf children internationally, ensuring deaf children are included in mainstream conversations about the protection of children.

Deafness is the third largest disability globally with 466m deaf people worldwide. Deaf children are three times more likely to be abused than those who hear. Despite the shocking statistics, there remains relatively low levels of awareness of the issues some of the most vulnerable children face around the world today.

The account will be led by Boldspace co-founder and managing director, Mike Robb, reporting to DeafKidz International chief executive officer, Kavita Prasad.

Robb says, “The abuse and exploitation of deaf children in many parts of the world is simply shocking and not something any of us could have imagined to be the case before speaking to Kavita and her team. The international community must understand the scale of the issue faced by deaf children; we must do more to bring an end to the exploitation and abuse faced by so many. We can’t wait to work with DeafKidz to drive action.”

Late last year, DeafKidz International was awarded funding by the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children for a project to help deaf children aged five to 10 stay safe from online abuse and exploitation. As part of this project, which will be piloted in South Africa and Pakistan, the charity is developing DeafKidz Defenders, an interactive, accessible digital platform to help deaf children stay safe from online abuse and exploitation. Through educational games, children will learn to protect themselves from online risks, exploring what an inappropriate chat conversation might look like, understanding warning signs of abusers, and more.