Men have been spotted in public with one painted fingernail, and the reason is both cool and for a good cause.

Men may choose to paint one or more fingernails on each hand, and the color chosen may vary from man to man.

True, some males take it a step further by adding a design to the hue, but the underlying concept stays same.

This male-only phenomenon began in Australia, but entrepreneurial American males are bringing it to the US.

While on the road with Hagar International, Elliot Costello met a little girl named Thea, who inspired him to paint his nails and propagate the notion.

Elliot and the crew landed in Cambodia with the purpose of making a difference in the lives of the locals.

In turn, the tiniest villager left the largest impact on Elliot, who discovered an issue that affects youngsters all throughout the world, particularly in the United States, and not only in Cambodia.

Elliot took the time to get to know small Thea by engaging her in activities that she would like.

Nail polish was essential for this girly-girl. She painted one of his while they spoke about her life and her problems, and he painted one of her own.

He discovered she had been sexually abused.

“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 was inspired by this beautiful encounter to create good change among males in order to protect children from sexual assault.

That’s when he came up with the concept for the Polished Man initiative, in which men are challenged to spend a week painting one of their fingernails in order to become #PolishedMan.

That one nail on a hand full of five represents the one in every five children who will experience sexual assault.

Polished Man, an organization dedicated to ending sexual violence against children, argues that “being a Polished Man means challenging violent behavior and language, both locally and globally.”

Because males are responsible for 96% of this form of violence against children worldwide, Elliot determined that men must be the driving force behind change if we are going to put a stop to the abuse of innocent children.

The ultimate aim is not for people to see a man with a beautiful new nail and forget about the hundreds of thousands of youngsters who are hurt every day and will pay the price for the rest of their life.

Instead, Elliot hopes that the fingernail will spark a discourse about this awful reality, leading to fresh ideas for ending it and maybe even donations to “support educational programs and resources for child survivors of abuse,” as APlus reported.

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