There's a heartwarming reason why men are painting their nails

An Australian charity campaign called Polished Man is asking men to glam up with nail varnish to raise awareness and funds towards combating violence against children.

The idea came about when Elliott Costello, the CEO of social entrepreneurship company YGap, travelled to Cambodia to work with a partner project. There he met eight-year-old Thea, with whom he played noughts and crosses. Thea drew a love heart on Elliot's hand, and coloured in his nails bright blue.

It was only the next day that Elliott found out that Thea had been raped daily by the caretaker of the orphanage she used to live in.

And sadly, Thea's story is not unique.

One in five children around the globe experience violence - and it is estimated that 150 million girls and 73 million boys have experienced sexual violence.

Ninety per cent of sexual violence committed against children is perpetrated by men, mostly behind closed doors and done by people they know.

But Polished Man is seeking to change that by raising awareness of men's role in challenging violence.

The website says that being a 'Polished Man' means challenging violent behaviour and language, both locally and globally.

The campaign began on October 1st and has already raised more than £100,000.

We hope that as the campaign progresses each year, men will lead a change in the conversation about what it means to be a man... By promoting positive male role models who support equality and child rights, we can create a community of male change-makers.

For details on how to start a Polished Man team within your community or workplace, and for more details on the campaign, click here.

More: The crowdfunding bailout failed, but there's a new campaign to help Greece

More: The internet's fat-shaming campaign 'Operation Harpoon' is awful, but also not quite what it seems