When Elliot Costello and a group of other people visited Cambodia, he had an encounter with a young girl named Thea.
Little did Elliot know that this encounter would have an impact so profound on him that it would help start a movement whose goal is to end sexual abuse against children.
Namely, Thea always had nail polish on her tiny nails. One day, as she and Elliot chatted, she asked to paint one of his nails. He agreed and was happy to speak to the chatty girl, but he then learned that she was once a victim of sexual abuse.
“As she painted one of my nails, I assured her I would always keep it that way to remember her, and by extension, her suffering,” Elliot said.
This motivated Elliot to try and make positive change among men so that less and less children fall victims of sexual abuse.
That is when he came up with the movement called #PolishedMan where men put nail polish on one of their nails. That one nail represents the one in five children who will be victims of sexual violence.
Polished Man works towards ending sexual violence against children. According to the organization, “being a Polished Man means challenging violent behavior and language, both locally and globally.”
Elliot believes that since men are responsible for 96% of this type of violence against children globally, they should be catalyst for change if we are ever to see an end to the abuse of innocent children.
The goal with the painted nail isn’t just to remind people of the number of children who are abused every single day, but to serve as a conversation starter about this reality, leading to new ideas about prevention. He also hopes that people will start donating to “support educational programs and resources for child survivors of abuse,” as per APlus.
We hope that more men, including celebrities
My Husband Left Me and Our Kids for His Mistress — I Took Revenge after Visiting My MIL
Hannah is startled and heartbroken after she finds shocking photos of her husband, Charles, with his young coworker, Madison. With her world falling apart, Hannah doesn’t know what to do, but a visit to her mother-in-law’s gives her a secret weapon. Can Hannah use this new evidence to get the revenge she deserves?
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Sitting in my living room, I stared at my phone, my hands trembling.
It all started a week ago when my friend Sarah mentioned she had seen Charles with a young woman at a café. I brushed it off, thinking it was a misunderstanding.
But something gnawed at me, and I decided to ask Sarah to keep an eye out.
Now, Sarah’s message popped up with several pictures attached. I opened them, and there they were — Charles and Madison, his 20-year-old coworker, entering a hotel together.
They were laughing and holding hands, the intimacy between them unmistakable.
He shook his head. “No, Hannah. It’s over.”
I realized our life together, the family we built, meant nothing to him.
After Charles left, my life turned upside down.
I moved into a small apartment with the kids, barely scraping by. The settlement I received was meager, barely enough to cover our basic needs. I had hoped to keep things stable for the children, but every month was a struggle to pay rent.
One evening, after putting the kids to bed, I sat down with my laptop to look for ways to make ends meet. My job as a part-time receptionist wasn’t enough, and I started searching for freelance work, anything that could help us get by.
“How could he do this?” I muttered to myself, feeling the sting of injustice.
Charles had lied about the house’s value during the divorce proceedings. He’d manipulated the system to leave me with almost nothing. The unfairness of it all consumed me.
How was I supposed to provide for our children when he had taken everything?
“We did it, Hannah. He’s finally getting what he deserves,” Margaret said, hugging me tightly.
I smiled, tears of gratitude in my eyes. “Thank you, Margaret. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
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