Eric Tom & Bruce engaged Absolute Translations mid-June 2022 to carry out the translation, subtitling and voice-over service for the STOPIT campaign with a delivery timeframe of two weeks, to achieve the VIC Police STOPIT campaign launch early July 2022.

One of the challenges was the rarity of some languages like Khmer, Thai and Punjabi combined with the short turnaround time this was requested in. Sourcing professionally trained voice-over talents and doing the casting of those talents in 10 languages in a short timeframe presented us with a unique challenge.

Another major challenge was the length of the videos. The videos were short 6″, 15″ and 30″ second videos respectively, created specifically for social media purposes. The English voice-over scripts were created to fit these timeframes exactly, but also the foreign language voice-overs needed to fit these timeframes exactly.

This was a tough challenge in languages like Khmer, Thai, Punjabi and Turkish as these are ‘wordy’ languages and contain generally longer words than English.

With regular translation these scripts would be too long to match the videos exactly and this meant that the translations needed to be shortened and reduced in size in order to fit the timeframes of the videos.

The localisation effort was highly successful, resulting in increased engagement and reporting from non-English speaking communities. The STOPIT service saw a significant rise in the number of reports from these communities, leading to more effective identification and action against offenders.

Key Takeaways

• Inclusivity: Ensuring that all community members could access and understand the campaign materials was crucial for its success.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Adapting content to reflect cultural nuances and preferences helped build trust and acceptance.
• Collaboration: Working with community leaders and organisations enhanced the reach and impact of the campaign.
• Continuous Improvement: Regular feedback and iterative improvements were essential for maintaining the effectiveness of the localised content.

The STOPIT campaign’s localisation effort serves as a model for other initiatives aiming to reach diverse linguistic communities. By prioritising accurate translations, professional voice-overs, and culturally relevant content, Victoria Police successfully made the STOPIT service accessible to a wider audience, contributing to a safer public transport network for all.

The feedback on the STOPIT campaign localisation effort by Victoria Police has been generally positive, with several key points highlighted:

Increased Reporting: The campaign has led to a significant increase in the number of reports from non-English speaking communities. Since its launch, the STOPIT service has received almost 3,000 notifications statewide, resulting in over 60 police investigations and 33 people being charged with sexual offences.

Community Empowerment: The localisation effort has empowered more commuters to report incidents of anti-social behaviour and sexual harassment. Many users have expressed feeling safer and more confident in reporting incidents, knowing that the service is accessible in their language.

Positive Impact: The campaign has been credited with making the public transport network safer. Victoria Police analysis shows that more than 40% of notifications related to threatening and offensive behaviour, while almost one in five notifications were about unwanted sexual behaviour.

Community Engagement: The localisation effort has been well-received by community leaders and organisations, who have helped promote the service and encourage its use. This collaboration has been crucial in building trust and awareness within diverse communities.

Ongoing Improvements: Victoria Police continues to seek feedback from users to make necessary adjustments and improvements to the campaign. This iterative process ensures that the localised content remains effective and relevant.

Overall, the STOPIT campaign’s localisation effort has been successful in increasing engagement and reporting from non-English speaking communities, contributing to a safer public transport environment.