DAVID’s LEGACY
Stop. One Punch Can Kill
SYNOPSIS
After an unprovoked and violent attack claimed the life of 22 year old David Cassai, his mother Caterina vowed that his death and countless others would not be in vain.
A night out that began like any other, quickly turned to catastrophe when David and his friends were approached by another group of men. One single punch was all it took, his head hitting the concrete and he never woke up. A moment measured in milliseconds, with an impact that would last forever. One single punch that would leave an entire family, friendship group and community devastated, and lead to a decade long crusade for social change.
CHALLENGE
Despite years of campaigning for safer streets, STOP. One Punch Can Kill (SOPCK), an organisation founded by David’s mother, was concerned to see a rise in coward punch assaults and violence across Australia. With schoolies and end of year festivities looming, coupled with the end of covid lockdowns, concerns for anti-social behaviour were growing. Many young people who had struggled to navigate their final years of school at home, did not have the same experience in social settings such as pubs, bars, and nightclubs due to harsh restrictions that had stolen the best years of their schooling from them. Combining these stresses and mental fatigue with the consumption of drugs and alcohol, can easily lead to aggression, violent behavior or leave someone vulnerable to becoming a victim.
SOPCK believed there was a lack of life education in many schools and wanted to leave a legacy behind whereby teachers can implement life lessons easily into the school curriculum, to continue the conversation and educate young people about street and social violence, drugs and alcohol, and safe partying.
EXECUTION
We worked closely with SOPCK, Ambulance Victoria, educators, victims of assault and young people aged 16-20, to create a three-part video series that pays tribute to David’s legacy and educates young people to think twice before making a split second decision that could change the course of their lives forever. The harm prevention resource has been designed to be incorporated in the school curriculum to encourage reflection and open discussion about masculinity, violence, drugs and alcohol, mental health and the importance of checking in on your mates.
IMPACT
The video series formed part of an E-Module which is now being utilised in schools, sporting clubs, community groups, and across a number of other platforms such as The Alfred Hospitals P.A.R.T.Y Program (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth). Non-profit, The Man Cave, also integrated the E-Module into their programs at the time of its release, to help facilitate their work in encouraging healthy masculinity in boys and young men. The video series empowers young people to be a catalyst for change.