The image of six-year-old Emily, a victim of child neglect, was
projected onto famous landmarks across London last night (Tuesday
27th April) by children's charity Action for Children to highlight
the magnitude of child neglect - a problem which affects up 1.5
million children* across the UK.
The images, which appeared on high-profile sites including
Battersea Power Station and Houses of Parliament during the
evening, threw the spotlight on the often-overlooked issue of child
neglect and aims to galvanise support for the charity's Neglect
Appeal.
Actress and comedienne Jessica Hynes, who is backing the campaign,
followed the activity creating a behind the scenes short film about
the motivation for the projections and the scale of neglect.
Emily, whose life was transformed by Action for Children,
currently features in a major advertising campaign. The charity
aims to raise £17 million over the next three years to provide
essential support for vulnerable families across the UK. The
charity is also urging government to tackle child neglect through
increased investment in preventative, early intervention services
that help break cycles of neglect.
Tom McLaren Webb, Head of Campaigns, said: "Serious neglect ruins
children's lives and too often it goes unnoticed. We want to tackle
this problem and break long term cycles of deprivation and neglect
- which is why it is imperative that we support families who are
struggling as early as possible."
The projections come after Londoners were recently encouraged to
'Find Emily', as miniature models of the little girl were placed
across many boroughs in the past few weeks.