In 2010, Dove commissioned its biggest global study ever “The Real Truth about Beauty Revisited”. This study revealed some shocking statistics:
• 53% of girls in the UK have avoided certain activities because they feel bad about their looks.
• 22% won’t go to the beach or pool.
• More than 1 in 5 girls in the UK avoided physical activity or exercise because they feel bad about how they look. Almost the same number avoided shopping.
• 16% didn’t offer an opinion.
• 1 in 10 didn’t go to the doctor.
• Nearly 1 in 5 didn’t go on a date.
The Dove brand’s social mission is to encourage all women and girls to develop a positive relationship with beauty, helping to raise their self-esteem, and thereby enabling them to realise their full potential.
Read on to learn more about the Dove Self-Esteem Programme.
What is the Dove Self-Esteem Programme?
Dove developed the Dove Self-Esteem Programme (DSEP) to make real change in the way women and young girls perceive and embrace beauty. Too many girls develop low self-esteem from hang-ups about looks and, consequently, fail to reach their full potential in later life.
The DSEP is committed to help girls strengthen self-esteem and build a healthy body image. Specifically the DSEP wants to reach 15 million girls globally by the end of 2015 with educational interventions lasting at least an hour. It is already over half way there. The DSEP is part of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, a global effort designed to widen today’s stereotypical view of beauty.
In the UK, Dove works with Beat (Eating Disorders Association, Registered Charity No. 801343). The work carried out by the DSEP and Beat is focused specifically on preventative work, aiming to make people feel better about their bodies. Together we have created the Self-Esteem Workshop Guide for Teachers, an educational workshop for 11-14 year olds that aims to give pupils the tools to build positive self-esteem and provide a platform for group discussion on image related concerns.
A range of resources for girls, mothers, youth leaders and teachers can be found here.
• Self-Esteem Workshop Guide for Teachers of Pupils 11-14
- Aimed at teachers, to help young people build body confidence by dealing with feelings about physical appearance
• Self-Esteem Workshop Guide for Youth leaders of Girls 10-14
- Aimed at youth leaders, to help girls build positive self-esteem by dealing with feelings about physical appearance
• Self-Esteem Activity Guide for Mothers & Daughters 8-11
- A fun activity guide for Mums and Daughters to explore body confidence by discussing the changes during adolescence
• Self-Esteem Discussion Guide for Mother of Daughters 11-16
- Supports mothers in conversations with their daughters around body confidence and self-esteem
How you helped Dove make a difference in 2012
To support the brand’s Social Mission, Dove continues to equip girls with self-esteem education through workshops and the online tools that are available, and aims to reach 1 million young people by the end of 2012.
Dove invested a minimum of £250,000 in the provision of self-esteem education in the UK in 2012. Between 26th March 2012 to 15th May 2012, Dove pledged to contribute an additional £10,000 for every 1 million packs sold in the UK above 20 million packs.
The self esteem education is being delivered via a 1 hour workshop in schools in partnership with Beat, who facilitate their delivery, and teachers are able to apply for teacher training and/or self esteem workshops via the Dove website.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how you can help, a range of resources for girls, mothers, youth leaders and teachers can be found here. [http://www.dove.co.uk/dsep/support-tools/workshops.html