In the Philippines, a culture of silence, shame, and putting family above all else prevents many Filipino women from reporting cases of abuse to authorities. It was stated in a government press briefing in 2024 that only 1 out of 10 cases of violence against women is reported. The way victims are portrayed in mainstream news reflects this shame: their faces are pixelated, blurred out, or silhouetted; their voices are distorted to hide their identities.
The Face of Courage campaign was created with the Foundation for Media Alternatives, a non-government organization in the Philippines dedicated to ending violence against women in the digital space. The goal was to spread awareness about domestic abuse in a helpful way by highlighting survivor stories in a safe space, ultimately giving others the courage to speak out and know they are not alone. Another goal was to connect victims to appropriate resource persons.
With 49M users in the country, TikTok was an ideal platform to launch this campaign. Known as a space for entertainment and e-commerce, it held a huge potential to be used to further advocacies through the use of technology – particularly a newly launched feature, the TikTok Symphony Creative Studios. Initially designed to be virtual influencers to promote products available on TikTok Shop, these AI-generated personas could be used for much more.
Based on data from past Philippine National Surveys and recent government and NGO reports, we identified issues behind women’s hesitance to report cases of abuse. These were a culture of silence, fear of repercussions from family and society, and carrying the shame of having been a victim of abuse. Only 1 out of 10 cases were reported. In mainstream media, victims’ faces were often obscured and hidden, to protect their identities. But this treatment also magnified the shame of being seen as a victim.
We saw the power in giving abuse survivors a relatable, human face that could retell their stories as if they were her own. Baring the truth without shame she would let others know that they were not alone in this fight. And hopefully “her” testimonies would encourage others to get help as well.
With 49 million users in the Philippines, TikTok was a strategic platform for spreading awareness. We used TikTok technology to create an AI-generated Avatar, whose fictional persona could protect the identities of survivors while telling their story.
Another insight that informed the project was that abuse victims who still lived with their abusers would need a discreet way to get help. We addressed this with a hidden helpline directory that ran as an ad within TikTok, disguised to look like a TikTok page.
Though TikTok and its features are used primarily for entertainment and e-commerce, Face of Courage repurposed it as a platform for public service.
We partnered with the Foundation for Media Alternatives to source and translate real stories from abuse survivors. These were crafted into first-person scripts and recorded by a voice talent, with care taken to honor lived experiences and end each narrative on a note of hope and agency—ensuring the tone aligned with TikTok’s emotionally resonant, community-driven storytelling style.
Using TikTok Symphony Creative Studios, we chose from its array of AI Avatars and customized them to authentically represent a Filipina woman—adjusting available features such as facial structure, skin tone, hair, styling, and setting within the platform’s tools. We intentionally worked within TikTok Symphony’s native capabilities, demonstrating how a commerce-built feature could be meaningfully redirected. The Avatar was then synced to the recorded voice tracks using the feature's built-in animation and lip-sync functions, producing short-form, vertical videos optimized for TikTok’s feed and viewing behavior.
The videos were released in batches to maximize scale and sustained reach. The initial batch launched the campaign on the Foundation’s TikTok page, establishing the Avatar as a recognizable and trusted presence. A second batch of videos was released on March 31, 2025—expanding the storytelling and deepening engagement.
In parallel, we developed an online helpline directory connecting women to law enforcement, shelters, and counseling NGOs. Each TikTok video directed viewers to this resource. To ensure discretion, we also created a version of the directory that ran as a TikTok ad—designed to mimic a regular TikTok profile page rather than a traditional helpline. By leveraging TikTok’s own interface and ad ecosystem, the platform itself became both amplifier and safe access point for women seeking help.
By harnessing TikTok as a platform for visibility and community, Face of Courage transformed stories into action.
The campaign generated 87 million in reach and achieved a 506.43% engagement rate—proof that when TikTok content resonates, it moves at scale. More importantly, the comments section became a space of solidarity. Users shared similar experiences, tagged friends, and in some cases directly reached out for help—connecting with the Foundation for Media Alternatives for support.
The videos were saved over 24,000 times—an especially powerful signal on TikTok, where saving content often means returning to it, holding onto it, or using it when the moment is right. Beyond awareness, action followed: the helpline microsite was accessed more than 194,000 times, translating views into tangible pathways to assistance.
While the fight against gender-based violence is far from over, Face of Courage demonstrated what happens when TikTok is used not just to entertain, but to empower. The platform’s reach, participatory culture, and native tools turned a single avatar into a catalyst for courage—proving that on TikTok, stories don’t just trend. They mobilize.
