Call to Make it Stop - radio campaign 2012
In partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service, Women’s Aid have created a series of radio adverts to help combat the silence surrounding domestic violence in the UK.
These adverts, which you can listen on the links below included the horrifying sounds of domestic violence and were too distressing to be aired during the day. They were scheduled on LBC radio 97.3 late on Monday 30th April and Tuesday 1st May in the evening when people are most likely to be in their homes.
We understand that people would never wish to hear such violent abuse. But some do. Nearly 1 in 5 murders in London is the result of domestic violence and on average a woman is assaulted 35 times before going to the police.
The aim of our campaign was to persuade people to always call 999 whenever they overhear incidents of domestic abuse.
We encouraged listeners to call a specific number given in the advert and as soon as one person called we took the violent sounds off air.
We wanted to demonstrate that just as in real life, making a call can make it stop.
The message from Women’s Aid and the Metropolitan Police Service is that in real life, if you hear domestic violence, you can make a phone call and help to stop the sounds of abuse, by calling the police and potentially saving a life. The campaign has been directed by BAFTA winner Dominic Savage and features Lindsay Duncan and Olivia Colman, who famously portrayed a victim of domestic violence in 2011 film Tyrannosaur.
Listen to the radio adverts here:
Campaign introduction - radio advert 1
You called, it stopped - radio advert 4
Thanks for calling - radio advert 5
Nicki Norman, Deputy Chief Executive for Women’s Aid said:
“At Women’s Aid we believe that women have a right to live lives free from violence. We are working with the Met Police on this campaign to show that there is something you can do if you become aware that domestic violence is happening, and that by calling the police you could save a life. Two women every week in England and Wales are killed by their current or former partner, so we know that domestic violence incidents can be fatal. We know from working with the Met that they want to take action to stop violence against women, so if you hear it happening, we would urge you to call them. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who generously gave their time to develop this important campaign.”
Lindsay Duncan said:
“Our homes and our relationships are where we expect to be safe and loved. The statistics on domestic violence undermine that assumption and show that we are all closer to a victim of violence than we like to think. I fully support this campaign because until we take some responsibility the violence will continue to ruin lives of women and children who could live next door to you or me.”
