#WhoWillYouHelp: Ontario government’s PSA seeks to encourage onlookers to prevent sexual assaults

The scenes are disturbing.

A man is undressing a drunk woman while his friend wields a video camera. He turns to the camera and thanks the viewer for keeping theirmouths shut.

A man leans over a woman at her desk and starts massaging her shoulders, to her obvious discomfort. He thanks the viewer for minding their own business.

A teenage boy shows revealing photos of a girl to his friends, thanking the viewer for keeping the secret.

Another man drops powder into a woman’s drink at a bar while she’s not looking. He thanks the viewer for not telling anyone.

In just over a week since it was launched, the ad from the government of Ontario’s sexual violence awareness campaign has been viewed an estimated seven million times, according to the premier’s office.

The #WhoWillYouHelp ad has been tweeted 31,000 times. Wynne’s own tweets on the campaign received more than 22,000 retweets. On Youtube, the one-minute spot has had more than 230,000 views. It’s also been circulated in online ads purchased by the province.

Subtitled versions are circulating in social media in Turkey and Portugal, where it’s had almost four million views, the premier’s office said, and the campaign has also reached the U.S., the Philippines, India, the United Kingdom and France.

On the Ontario government Facebook page, it’s one of the top 10 posts of all time.

The campaign is creating awareness, Wynne said Monday in a statement.

“This will make everyone safer. It’s very important to me that we take action,” she said. “Given the number of people from around the world who have seen this ad, be it in English, French, or the international translations we’ve seen posted, we know this issue is resonating and there is an expectation that government helps enact change.”

Social media is increasingly a battle ground in the fight to curb violence against women.

The Salvation Army capitalized on #thedress debate that spread through social media like wildfire earlier this month.

The organization in South Africa quickly came out with an ad that showed a battered and bruised model in a gold and white dress.

“Why is it so hard to see blue and black,” the ad said, referring to the optical illusion that captured the Twitterverse.

More than 27 million people have viewed an Italian public service ad on Youtube that asks young boys to slap a girl they’ve just met. The boys refuse.

The B.C. government launched a tamer social media campaign against domestic violence — #SaySomething — the same day as Wynne unveiled Ontario’s three-year, $41-million initiative against sexual violence and harassment earlier this month.

In addition to the #WhoWillYouHelp campaign, the plan includes a 48-page campus guide to developing a response to sexual violence, legislation on workplace harassment and an end to the two-year limit on civil claims for sexual assault.

One in three women will experience some form of sexual assault in her lifetime, according to the government of Ontario.