While traveling across Cambodia with some other people, Elliot Costello came upon a little girl named Thea.

Elliot had no idea that this encounter would have such a profound impact on him that it would motivate him to start a campaign to stop the sexual abuse of youngsters.

Every single day, Thea’s little nails were painted. One time, when they were talking, she requested Elliot to paint one of his nails. He agreed, happy to have a conversation with the chatty girl, only to learn later that she had been the victim of sexual assault.

According to Elliot, “I told her as she painted my nails that I would always keep it that way to remember her, and by extension, her suffering.”

This gave Elliot the idea to try to alter men’s perceptions in order to lower the amount of child sexual abuse cases.

He then started the #PolishedMan movement, which encourages men to paint one of their fingernails. The one out of every five youngsters who will be sexually assaulted is represented by that one nail.

Polished Man strives to put an end to child sex abuse. “Being a Polished Man means challenging violent behavior and language, both locally and globally,” the organization states.

Elliott claims that men should be the main force behind reform if we are going to halt the abuse of helpless children, as they are accountable for 96% of this type of violence against children globally.

In addition to serving as a visual reminder of the issue, the painted nail is meant to provoke conversation about the frequency of child abuse and provide new ideas for prevention measures. Furthermore, according to APlus, he wants people to start donating to “support educational programmes and resources for child survivors of abuse.”

We genuinely hope that more men—even well-known men—will consent to lend their support to this cause.

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