Focus - The focus of my campaign is domestic abuse
- Domestic abuse constantly goes unreported and unrecorded, and victims often
don't know that they are a victim of the crime due to the nature of the
communities which honour crimes often happen in. As well as this, there is often
a stigma surrounding domestic abuse, and many victims feel that they are unable
to report domestic abuse due to fear of reprisal, shame, embarrassment, etc.
Furthermore, some victims of domestic abuse may be unaware that they are
victims of domestic abuse and therefore may not report it.
- This campaign will help to bring awareness to victims and those who are victims
of honour crime and ensure that victims, and people who see honour crime
happening, can report the crime and are able to serve justice to those who are
victims of honour crime.
- This campaign was inspired by Clare Wood, who was a victim of domestic abuse
and was killed by George Appleton (her ex-partner). It is evident from Clare
Wood’s case that domestic abuse is still a huge problem in today's society and
needs to be stopped.
Aims - Increase awareness of domestic abuse to encourage those who are victims to
speak up and report it
- Change attitudes towards domestic abuse as men can also fall victim to domestic
abuse, not just women
Objectives - Produce leaflets which educate people on domestic abuse in the local
community. Aim to give out 10,000 leaflets in total. In order to achieve this, ask
the local council to give out leaflets. This ensures it reaches the target audience
of the general public. Aim to distribute 500 leaflets per day.
- Produce social media adverts to highlight the hidden nature of domestic abuse.
Aim to promote the advert to 50,000 people. Use social media analytics to
specifically target women aged 16-45 years old. This ensures it reaches the
target audience via social media platforms which likely victims of domestic abuse
may use (e.g Facebook). Deliver adverts to 5,000 people per day.
- Produce merchandise to help raise money for domestic abuse victims so that
they can get the full support they need. Aim to sell 100 hoodies, 100 tote bags
and 100 mugs. In order to achieve this, research different manufacturers, and
create a website to sell merchandise on. This ensures that people can buy the
merchandise online. Aim to sell over 50% of products to ensure break even and
profit is made
Justification - I have selected this particular under-reported/hidden crime because there is a
lack of awareness of domestic abuse and the level of public awareness is low.
Domestic abuse happens within homes, meaning it is hidden away from friends,
family, and police. The reporting of domestic abuse is low, and this may be due to
fear of reprisal from offenders, shame, fear, embarrassment, etc. This evidently
shows how domestic abuse needs to be campaigned for to have more awareness
of it and to prove how anyone may be a victim of domestic abuse
- Some statistics to support my justification for the campaign is that 1 in 4 women
will experience domestic abuse in their lifeline, with 1 in 6 men experiencing
domestic abuse in their lifetime. This is a considerably high number, and this
figure proves domestic abuse is still a huge problem within our society, as more
awareness is needed to help victims seek support. Domestic abuse also
accounts for around 16% of violence crime, however it is still evident that violent
crime goes unreported and unrecorded to police. This also proves that domestic
is a wide problem which plays a large part in violent crime, which may lead to
victims being harmed, or murdered
- A tragic case linked to this crime is the case of Clare Wood, who was
, domestically abused and then murdered by her ex-partner George Appleton. This
case highlighted the hidden nature of domestic abuse, and demonstrated how the
public awareness of domestic abuse is low, and so needs to be raised in order to
prevent cases like Clare’s happening again
Target - Following the evidence within my justification, I have chosen my target audience
audience to be women aged from 16-50. This age group is the most typical age group who
are most likely to experience domestic abuse, with 1 in 4 women having
experienced domestic abuse within their lifetime. It is often that women are
victims of controlling behaviour, which makes the victims feel more subordinate
and dependent on the offender, who are usually males. Coercive behaviour is
often done by offenders to make victims feel emotionally abused, and this can be
done through harming them, punishing them or frightening them. Women are
often more vulnerable than men, and so it is statistically proven that women are
more likely to be domestically abused than men. Due to my target audience, I
have chosen three different campaign methods which are relevant to my target
audience.
- The first method is leaflets - these will be used to reach victims with more
condensed information. Even though not all women in my target audience may
pick up and read a leaflet, some people may still read the leaflet who may know
someone who is a victim of domestic abuse. Leaflets can have condensed
information on them, and so it will be easier for victims to find out about the
campaign and seek support through the leaflet if they were to pick one up. By
having an alternative to online methods, which some women may be unable to
access due to possible restrictions from their offenders, this increases the
likelihood of a victim of picking up a leaflet and reading it.
- The second method is social media. Millions of people in the UK use social
media, including my target audience. If my target audience is able to use social
media and have access to the internet, they may be able to use social media to
find out more about my campaign, and then gain the necessary support they
need. The use of social media means that victims do not need to talk to anyone in
real life, and can use online methods to contact people via email, direct
messaging, phone calls, etc, and this can ensure that if any victims are scared to
talk to anyone in person, they can speak to someone online.
- The third method is merchandise. The merchandise will be unisex, and will be
able to be purchased by anyone. The clothing will be available in different sizes to
accommodate everyone in different sizes. The sale of merchandise means that
victims have the choice to buy merchandise or not. It may be likely that victims do
not have the chance to buy merchandise, however it may be likely that people
who follow and support the campaign will buy the merchandise, leading to victims
being able to find out about the campaign through other people wearing and
using the merchandise
Methods Leaflets
- The first method we will use to promote the campaign is leaflets. The purpose of
the leaflets is to spread more condensed information onto one source which will
inform someone on domestic abuse - how to spot it, how to support someone
going through domestic abuse, how to report it, and to spread awareness of
domestic abuse. Some advantages of leaflets are the fact that they can contain
contact number, websites, imagery, condensed information, statistics, and more.
This is beneficial as it leads to people being able to use the leaflet to its potential
due to its condensed nature, and someone can find all the information they need
on the leaflet. Another advantage is that they are relatively cheap to produce in
bulk. This is beneficial as it can lead to more leaflets being printed at a lower cost
per unit. Another advantage of leaflets is that someone can pick them up as a
physical item, and do not need the internet to see them. This is beneficial as it
