Anti-DV PSAs from Canada and Australia

[kellyrose82]

While reading a blog post about that Canadian workplace accident PSA that is now scarring the retinas of everyone in the US, I found a link to these two domestic violence PSAs and thought immediately of sharing them with this community. I find them to be very bold and attention-getting (which I think is a GOOD thing), far more than anything I've

Comments

[rosehiptea]

I don't think it's wrong that they are shocking, because these violent acts are really happening to women. (Though I agree with the above comment that they would never air in the USA where I live.) Whether they'll help, I don't know. Getting people to think about domestic violence can't be a bad thing, but maybe people who already don't care will just write it off as overly dramatic or think it can't really happen to anyone they know so they're not going to think about it.

I guess I'm pessimistic.

[unmellow_yellow]

I think YouTube attracts misogynistic idiots to make comments or something. I can't believe some of the stuff written down there for those ads.

I liked these. But knowing the U.S., if we had those ads, they'd just be parodied on SNL or something.

[paperclipchains]

That'd be the attitude of most 20somethign whtie males.

[sunnies]

I'd say it's the attitude of many males, regardless of race OR age.

[thespian_soul]

what timing, i literally JUST wrote an article about this in my blog

http://silence-betweenthewords.blogspot.com/

these PSAs are amazing, yet the comments underneath make me even more worried about the situation than i was :/

[kellyrose82]

I just read your blog, and I feel your rage. I didn't read the YouTube comments - in fact I usually try to avoid reading comments on... any site but LiveJournal, because people usually feel free to cut loose with their worst selves.

I found the Australian one particularly powerful because of the neighbor doing the reverse of what you expected him to do with the bat. Maybe I'm being naive, but I can picture that PSA making an impact, if only with a few people. I can see it popping into someone's mind when they're about to ignore a DV situation because it's "none of their business," and leading them instead to call the police, at least. One can only hope.

[thespian_soul]

thanks so much for reading, and i completly agree with you about the PSA. it's so strong and so jarring that i just can't imagine it NOT making an impact on someone. maybe i'm naive as well, but at least we have some faith in humankind, eh? :)

[vaverine]

As far as I know, no one in Canada has seen the PSA on TV since the local stations refused to carry them because the violence depicted was "too extreme". HomeFront (the Calgary, Alberta agency that produced the spots) had support from our local police force, and partner agencies, but were still unable to get the spots on air. Recently there have been other, less graphic, PSAs on tv

[kellyrose82]

You're not rambling at all. I am so glad you commented; this perspective is fascinating. I am shocked (though I suppose I shouldn't be) that these were not aired, despite all the support for them. I think you're right about the spots targeting public apathy, which is certainly something we have in the US, despite our lack of "Canadian politeness." DV Awareness Month seems to me to be generally ignored by the US mainstream media, due to it sharing October with Breast Cancer Awareness month. (Everything is plastered with pink ribbons, rather than the purple DV ones.) Not to take anything away from the importance of fighting female cancers, but I feel like it's an easier topic for the public to pay attention to. Perhaps they feel that cancer victims are easier to sympathize with - there's less perceived blame versus DV survivors, who many people still feel must have done something to deserve their treatment. That's why I thought the Canadian PSA was so great - it shows, among other things, how little it takes to set off an abuser. If

[sunnies]

I thought they were good... sure, they are graphic and violent, but this isn't some benign little issue we're talking about. What *actually* happens is just as violent and ugly, except it's real and it happens every day. People aren't going to realize that until they actually *see* it. I thought the Canadian one did an amazing job at portraying just how little it takes to spark a violent attack. It reminded me of anti-DV ads that ran in my home country 5 years ago or so - billboards of battered women's faces (bruises and blood and all) with a tagline that simply said "Because the soup was too salty" or something to that extent. Powerful stuff.