House 337 on Why Violence Against Women Is a Public Emergency

All too often, domestic abuse is treated as an act of isolated and private violence; after all, it’s in the terminology itself, ‘domestic’. But the numbers uncovered by the charity Women’s Aid are harrowing: one woman per week, on average, is killed by a male partner or ex-partner. The true numbers are likely to be even higher. Let’s briefly compare the shocking statistic to other ‘threats’ to women’s lives:

• Women are 50 times more likely to be injured by their partner than in a house fire.

• Women are twice as likely to die at their partner’s hands than from smoke or gas inhalation. 

• Women are over three times more likely to be killed by a partner than by not wearing a seat belt.

In light of this, it’s clear that domestic violence and abuse is not, unfortunately, rare – therefore should be treated with the same level of public care and attention as the emergencies and threats listed above. 

Women’s Aid's new campaign – ‘The Ignored Emergency’ – is focused on addressing this perception gap by taking the issue out of the domestic, private sphere and drawing direct parallels to its public counterparts, backed by research and data. The campaign spans online, digital OOH, radio, social, press and influencer, using a creative approach mirroring the tone and style of traditional safety films and public service announcements.

LBB spoke to Louise Canham, associate creative director at House 337, about finding the right balance between conveying the difficult truth of domestic abuse while remaining sensitive to survivors’ experiences, and communicating the urgency of the issue to garner much-needed support. 

LBB> The statistic behind the new Women’s Aid campaign – that at least one woman per week on average is killed by a male partner or ex-partner – is truly harrowing. Talk us through why you wanted to reframe it as a public emergency and present the reality of domestic violence outside the private sphere?

LBB> It’s clear that there’s a perception gap in how widespread the public thinks domestic abuse is and what’s actually happening behind closed doors. How is the campaign working to address this?

Louise> The campaign’s core objective is to close this perception gap. Research shows that only one in five Britons believes that the scale of domestic abuse exceeds that of car accidents or house fires. That’s a massive awareness issue, which this work seeks to fix. By mirroring the familiar tone and format of traditional safety films, we place domestic abuse in that familiar space. We use these highly recognisable scenarios – like fire safety and car safety – to draw the audience in with a false sense of security, only to subvert their expectations and reveal the much more deadly reality of domestic abuse. By juxtaposing these familiar emergencies with the startling facts about domestic violence, we confront people with a visceral understanding of just how dangerous and widespread domestic abuse is in our society.

LBB> It’s such a sensitive and important subject – how do you navigate making an impact with the messaging and visuals versus potentially triggering traumatic memories for the women who have experienced abuse?

Louise> While it’s crucial to convey the gravity of the situation, we were acutely mindful of the fact that some viewers may have experienced domestic abuse themselves. The films are designed to highlight the contrast between the urgency of safety measures for fires and car accidents and the stark realisation that many women live in a constant state of emergency. We avoid showing explicit scenes of violence, focusing instead on the emotional and psychological impact of living in an abusive relationship. The goal is to communicate the message powerfully, but without sensationalising the trauma. 

LBB> Why was emulating the tone of traditional safety films the creative avenue you decided to go with?

Louise> Traditional safety films are something that everyone can relate to –they’ve been a part of public life for decades, teaching us everything from how to cross the road, to how to react in emergencies like fires, car crashes, or floods. The familiarity of these films helps ease the viewer into the narrative, making them feel like they understand what’s happening. But by using this format, we can subvert expectations and make the true message land with greater impact. In these traditional safety scenarios, help is on the way –emergency services rush to our aid. But with domestic abuse, help is often not coming. This contrast is powerful: we want to jolt the audience out of their comfort zone and show that domestic abuse is an emergency that requires immediate, widespread attention. By using a format people trust and understand, we’re able to make the gravity of the issue clearer without needing to over-explain.

 LBB> Talk us through subverting the themes of fire and car safety specifically in the two films to communicate the campaign’s message.

Louise> Women are 50 times more likely to be injured by their partner than in a house fire and are twice as likely to die at their partner’s hands than from smoke or gas inhalation. Women are over three times more likely to be killed by a partner than by not wearing a seat belt. These numbers are truly horrifying. These particular statistics lent themselves to making the most powerful films we could. These are situations that we’re conditioned to recognise as urgent. Visually, there is an immediate understanding, a minimal need for different scenes, or visual storytelling, beyond the moments we show. The themes allowed us to create match cuts to jolt the viewer out of what they’d expected to hear and see. These films highlight the incongruity between the immediate, visible responses to other emergencies and the ongoing, invisible nature of domestic abuse.

LBB> The campaign is wide-reaching and spans online, digital OOH, radio, social, press and influencer – how did you adapt the message of the campaign across mediums? Tell us a bit more about the influencer involvement too. 

Louise> On social media, the films will be supported by short snippets and statistics to grab attention quickly. We’ve also included information about how to get help, including the 999-55 number, which I myself didn’t know about prior to this work. Callers can signal to operators that they need police assistance, allowing them to receive urgent help without having to speak. Digital OOH will feature stark imagery and messaging in key locations across major UK cities. On radio, we’ve been careful to craft scripts that communicate the core messages succinctly while maintaining the same sense of urgency. Influencers are also key to amplifying the message, as they can reach highly engaged audiences. We’ve partnered with influencers who are passionate about women’s rights, are allies to Women’s Aid and social justice to help spread the word and drive home the importance of supporting women facing domestic abuse, whether through donations or awareness.

Survivor Stories are also key to Women's Aid and we worked with them, as part of the wider campaign activity, to make those more engaging on their organic social channels through a refreshed design approach. The aim is to help women spot the signs through stories that may well resonate with their own personal experiences and understand how Women’s Aid can help.

LBB> What kinds of challenges did you face while working on the campaign? How did you overcome them?

Louise> One of the biggest challenges was finding the right balance between conveying the harsh truth about domestic abuse while remaining sensitive to survivors’ experiences. We wanted to create something powerful and eye-opening but also respectful. This required extensive research and close collaboration with Women’s Aid to ensure that the content was both impactful and responsible. Another challenge was ensuring that the message cut through the noise. Domestic abuse is a topic that’s often discussed in ways that can feel distant or abstract. We knew we had to find a way to make it feel immediate, personal, and impossible to ignore, which is why we focused so heavily on using familiar safety scenarios to create an emotional hook. Huge respect goes to Emma Branderhorst, our director who handled this topic with such sensitivity, without being afraid to give each film the incredible power needed, to provoke and challenge us all to act.

LBB> Is there anything else that you would like to share with LBB about the campaign?