Refuge: Domestic Abuse Is Getting Smarter

Refuge is marking 50 years of fighting domestic abuse in a new campaign created by BBH, which highlights the insidious ways technology is being used by abusers to monitor and control their partners, and how this makes the charity's job more complex than ever. At the heart of the campaign is a 40-second film which, at first glance, appears to be promoting a new smartphone. But as the camera lingers on its elegant design and a voiceover details its features, things take a sinister turn. Maps in real time, we are told, can “keep you up to date with traffic in your area… and her movements”, while smart home features can be used to adjust the heating and lights “even when you’re not at home, so you can control her from wherever you are”. It ends by reminding us that as domestic abuse gets smarter, the job of Refuge gets harder, along with details of how to make a donation. This kind of control is one of the fastest growing crimes being tackled by Refuge, which saw a 97% rise in complex tech abuse cases between April 2020 and May 2021. It is also the latest example of how the organisation has continued to adapt the services it provides and issues on which it campaigns since it opened its first safe house for women and children escaping domestic violence in 1971. The full-length film is running on television, cinema and social media, with a 15-second version also being shared by influencers, including Ayesha Perry-Iqbal. The message of the campaign is being carried through radio and OOH, with posters which also look like tech ads but carry lines like “Watch for your deliveries. Watch her every move.” Along with sharing the film, influencers will hand their Instagram Stories over to Refuge for a day to highlight content showing just how far abusers will go to monitor their partners, like checking bank statements and tracking their movements outside the home. At the end of the takeover the influencers will reveal that Refuge is behind the strange posts, encouraging their followers to donate.