
This image, Hands created by the organization Casa Do Menor, is an advertisement that was created to fight the widespread problem of sexual abuse on children. In this image, a young girl is picture naked and covered in hands in what appears to be a nice, well-furnished yet dark and eerie living room. Scattered across the room are picture frames and children’s toys, one of which is actually in the hands of the girl. Many features in this advertisement are used to help the image portray the meaning that Casa Do Menor is attempting to get across to viewer. In this image, the creator’s use of the crowded orientation and clearly defined shape of the hands, the darkness and dullness of color, the real life texture of the girl, and finally the representation of the individual all play a role in determining the purpose of the advertisement. 

When I began looking at this image immediately my eyes were drawn to the center where the young girl stands with hands covering her entire nude body. After looking at the hands on a closer level the first thing I noticed about them were the crowded orientation in which they were placed around the girl. On the surface level, it is quite obvious that the hands in this case represent the abuse to the child; however, when digging deeper and analyzing the purpose behind using this crowding I came to realize that the use of this visual feature helped the creator of the image make the girl, and the hands surrounding her, the center and most critical piece of the picture to viewers. This is especially true when considering that this is done in contrast to a very sparse background. Essentially, the hands and the way they are oriented help to focus the viewer’s eyes to the most important element of the image, the girl in this case. 

Along with the orientation, the clearly defined shape of the hands that surround the girl and simply the use of hands themselves aid in giving the image meaning as well. When focusing directly on the hands themselves I began to wonder what the use of the hands meant. However, when giving a deeper thought to what they may represent I thought of what happened when a child is being abused. While the act of abuse is obviously done by a person as a whole, the actual physical contact during this action is between the hands of the abuser and the body of the child being abused; therefore, the hands symbolize how it is not the abuser the child is fearful of but the hands of the person doing so. After realizing this I gave the hands an even closer look and recognized how the hands were all shaped in a way where they appeared to be grabbing the girl and holding on. The hands being shaped in such a way are indicators of the fact that child abuse, specifically the hands of the abuser, stays with them forever. In other words, the grabbing and holding onto the girl symbolizes how the child will hold onto the memory of the sexual abuse for a lifetime. As well as the grabbing shape made by the individual hands, when looking at the hands as a single unit the shape of them clearly becomes that of a dress. The use of this dress-like shape is yet another method of giving the image an underlying theme. When considering what the formation of a dress around the girl could mean I thought of what clothes, like a dress, are actually used for. When an individual uses clothing items in their everyday life the purpose of doing such is to wear the clothes. Therefore, the girl wearing a dress of abusive hands symbolizes how children wear the marks of their abuse both on their body and in their mind. 

Based on all of this, the shape of the hands as a whole and their individual shape work in unison here to show how much a child is truly affected by sexual abuse. 

Another feature that greatly changes the attitude and feelings created in the viewer are the color and lighting used. Most pieces of the image hold a dark and dull coloration. The use of this color scheme contributes to the advertisement by using another method to highlight the key aspect of the image and giving the picture a negative connotation. Just as the crowded orientation of the hands helped to focus the viewer’s eyes on the girl in the center, the use of darkness throughout the picture contrasting with the bright lighting that the girl is shown in actually works to do the same thing. The use of two different methods to focus the viewer to the girl stresses the importance Casa Do Menor intended to put on that part of the picture. Along with that, the gloomy colors work to give the image meaning in another way as well. Often times dark and dull coloration, like the one in this image, hold a negative connotation and represent sadness or fear which goes hand in hand with the message that the ad intends to send. When anyone thinks of child abuse the emotions that it is immediately associated with is almost always sadness and heartbreak as no child should have to suffer through such traumatic and horrible events. The use of these colors also represents fear because when a child has repeatedly been sexually abused throughout their life they live in a constant state of fear when around the individual that has been doing these disgraceful acts to them. Therefore, the use of the gloomy colors as a visual element symbolize and illuminate two prominent emotions of the image. 

Another interesting use of color is how the only two components of the image that do not hold a dull color are the toys that belong to the girl. In the advertisement the girl is holding a Barbie doll that is wearing a pink dress; along with that, sitting atop a table is a doll of some sort that is colored in bright red, yellow, and blue. The bright colors of the two toys in the image have a strong contrast to the dreary color of the rest of the image. After considering what this may represent, I started to hold the belief that the use of contrasting colors between most of the image and the toys symbolize the young age of the girl and how the girl was forcefully introduced to sexual activity during a time period where most children don’t even know what sex is, much less have to deal with its abuse. The contrasting of colors, between dull colors and bright ones, in this image overall serves to emphasize the youth of the girl while she is dealing with these issues. 

One visual feature that strengthens the image as an advertisement is the real life texture that is used in the image. The fact that real child is used, opposed to that of an animation or cartoon, is useful in this advertisement for two reason. The first reason this real life child helps to strengthen the meaning is because it allows the viewer to connect with the child in the image and create the emotion of sadness in those who view the image. The emotion that the viewer feels upon connecting with the girl makes them feel sorry for her and feel a need to help her. Since she is unable to be helped however, considering that she is just the model for the advertisement, the connection made, in turn, urges viewers to help the cause the advertisement is supporting rather than the individual and therefore strengthens the meaning. The second reason the real life texture enhances the purpose is because, along with the viewer’s newfound connection with the individual, a connection is made between the girl and the meaning of the image. This second connection made further helps to urge the viewer to contribute to the cause being supported by the image as it shows how much sexual abuse during childhood affects the individual. Fundamentally, the use of real life people in advertisements specific to fighting a cause strengthens what the advertisements stands for as it gives observers an example or model of someone who has endured that event. 

The final visual feature of the image that influences it as a whole is the creator’s representation of the young girl being abused. When closely looking at how the girl is portrayed in the image there are two elements that stick out. The first of these aspects is the nudity of the girl. The fact that the girl is naked in this image symbolizes how it is the body of the young girl that is being touched and harmed for the pleasure of the degenerate adult who is abusing her, and, along with that, emphasizes to the viewer the underdevelopment of children and how regardless of maturity children are still sexually abused. Therefore, the use of nudity in this image helps the creator to not only define the characteristics of sexual abuse of children but also works to strengthen the purpose as nudity, especially the nudity of children, is a big taboo in our society today. The second aspect that stands out in the representation of the girl is the depressing look upon the young girls face. The look that is plastered across her face is, on the surface, an obvious way of representing how sexual abuse breaks down the will of a child and leaves them in a constant state of depression. However, the deeper reason for giving the individual a mournful look is that, just like using a real life individual, this look creates a strong emotion in the viewer. As stated in the previous paragraph, the creation of emotion in those who come across the advertisement urges them to support the cause that is being portrayed and, due to this, bolsters the purpose of the image. 

All in all, the use of the crowded orientation and clearly defined shape of the hands, the gloomy color scheme, the physical texture of a real human being, and the portrayal of the girl all work collectively to produce the meaning that the image holds and additionally aid in the detection of its purpose. Through the application of the many visual elements Casa Do Menor creates an advertisement that shows the horror the goes along with the sexual abuse of children and uses it to create an influential advertisement working against this. The significance of this image analysis is that not only does it pick apart and take a deeper look into how the visual features used affect the image, but also the methods advertisers use to create a stronger project. 
