“Bullying Can Destroy a Kid’s Happiest Place”: Save the Children in Peru in Powerful Campaign

• In partnership with McCann, a global network of advertising agencies, this initiative powerfully illustrates how bullying erodes children’s well-being in spaces where they should feel safe and happy.
• The campaign has been designed to be replicated anywhere in the world, as bullying is a global issue that affects children in various contexts.

In Peru, more than 39,500 cases of school violence have been officially reported to the Ministry of Education (Minedu), underscoring the scale of the problem and the urgent need to address it. To raise awareness about the impact of bullying and mobilize the educational community to take action, Save the Children in Peru is launching the digital campaign “Bullying Can Destroy a Kid’s Happiest Place”. This initiative offers a raw and striking representation of how bullying deteriorates children’s emotional and social well-being.

The campaign materials have been designed for adaptation in different contexts, recognizing that bullying is a global issue affecting children worldwide. To facilitate broader reach, all campaign assets are available in both Spanish and English.

The campaign visually captures the devastating effects of bullying by transforming places traditionally associated with childhood joy—such as schoolyards and playgrounds—into bleak, damaged, and abandoned spaces. This powerful metaphor highlights how school violence not only harms children in the present but also affects their ability to build relationships and feel safe in their environments.

Each visual features a child alone, symbolizing the invisible scars of bullying: isolation, loss of confidence, and broken social bonds. The campaign challenges families, teachers, and the entire educational community to acknowledge and address the emotional toll of bullying, making its impact impossible to ignore.

“Bullying leaves emotional scars and undermines children’s sense of safety in their own spaces. With this campaign, we aim to raise awareness and encourage the use of available reporting channels,” said William Campbell, Country Director of Save the Children in Peru.

In Peru, over 17,000 cases of bullying involve physical violence, more than 16,000 are psychological violence, and 7,400 are cases of sexual violence. As bullying takes many forms, the campaign highlights different layers of aggression, including the use of femininity as an insult, fatphobia, and discrimination based on gender expression.

“At McCann, we believe creativity has the power to start conversations and drive real change. This campaign is about making people see, feel, and understand the impact of bullying in a way that can’t be ignored. We’ve taken children’s happiest places and turned them into devastated scenes because, for thousands of kids around the world, that’s their reality. Our mission is to rally the community to change that—to create a world where kids can grow up feeling safe, not afraid”, the agency stated.

Save the Children remains committed to protecting children and creating safe environments where every child can grow up free from violence and fully enjoy their right to a safe and happy childhood.

ABOUT MCCANN

• McCann is one of the most recognized advertising networks worldwide. Over the years, it has created campaigns like The Gift Card of Life, Fearless Girl, and Room for Everyone, tackling issues like healthcare access, gender equality, and refugee integration — using creativity to connect with people and spark change. With a presence in over 100 countries, McCann’s philosophy, ‘Truth Well Told’, has shaped ideas that make an impact and move society forward. In partnership with Save the Children, McCann reinforces its commitment to social causes, using creativity as a force to expose and fight bullying, ensuring safer spaces for children everywhere.