Domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid has laucnhed a hard-hitting new campaign aimed at classifying domestic abuse as a public emergency in the UK.
Developed with creative agency House 337, the ‘Ignored Emergency’ campaign seeks to raise awareness of the alarming prevalence and deadly nature of domestic abuse, which claims the life of at least one woman per week on average at the hands of a male partner or ex-partner.
The charity’s campaign reveals startling facts about domestic abuse. Women are 50 times more likely to be injured by their partner than in a house fire, twice as likely to die at their partner’s hands than from smoke or gas inhalation and more than three times more likely to be killed by a partner than by not wearing a seat belt.
Despite these statistics, only one in five Britons believes that the scale of domestic abuse in the UK exceeds that of car accidents or house fires.
“Domestic abuse must be recognised as an emergency,” said Sarah Hill, chair of Women’s Aid, “We need to help society see it for what it truly is, which is why we’ve repurposed the familiar format of a public safety campaign to spotlight the horrifying statistics.”
The campaign features two key films, ‘Fire Safety’ and ‘Car Safety’, directed by award-winning filmmaker Emma Branderhorst and produced by The Corner Shop.
The films mimic the style of traditional safety videos, initially presenting familiar emergency scenarios before shifting to depict domestic abuse situations.
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The campaign will be rolled out across various platforms, including online, digital out-of-home, radio, social media, press and influencer channels.
It will also be displayed in major UK cities including London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Glasgow, Dundee, Southampton and Manchester, in partnership with Clear Channel and Ocean Outdoor.
The initiative also aims to raise awareness of the emergency method for seeking help – by pressing 55 after dialling 999, callers can silently signal to operators that they need police assistance.
“We want people to take an active role in supporting their friends, family, neighbours and communities,” said Lucy Freedman, chief growth officer at House 337, “Without donations, Women’s Aid can’t continue to be the vital emergency service it is for so many women.”
