Topics of abuse have been widely covered, however there’s substantial under-representation of the nuances which accompany the on-screen portrayal of abuse of women and girls. The work’s main mission was for the film to stand out and create an authentic emotional connection in order to encourage a call-to-action. In striving to achieve authenticity by expanding out the behaviours of the female characters, the work simultaneously pushed back on gendered-tropes within the context of abuse.

This, however, became especially tricky within the context of women of colour, where our uncomfortable history can sometimes marginalise work created for mainstream consumption. Work that does make it into the ‘mainstream’ has often lacked the intersectionality of female characters of colour.

In addition, a PSA film referencing, and self-funded by, the POC community caused distribution channel delays, and ultimately led to our independent and non-traditional release. The film was also driven by a female director, in a climate where in 2023 the number of female directors decreased from 16%.

Yet because of both female leadership and sensitively considered characters the film was able to achieve the real and authentic connection it needed to resonate during screenings, resulting in an onboarding of policymakers and changemakers post-production.

'I See Her' follows the story of a woman trapped in a forced marriage who experiences an alternate future in which a neighbour helps her out of her situation, only to realise none of it will exist without the awareness and understanding of strangers.

It’s a short film with a mission to stop violence against women and girls, whose lives could follow a completely different path with the help of us, the active bystander. It also highlights wider issues of race, inequality and injustice affecting minoritized communities when presented with the decision of whether or not to act in an often inherently flawed judicial system.

The work’s goal is to inspire us to take action. The more we understand the problem, the better our chances of stopping gender-based violence. No one should live in fear of abuse. If you see her, you can help her.

Data was collected from NGOs, charities, The Home Office and New Scotland Yard enabling us to understand the extent of the issue within the UK. Speaking to international NGOs and activists helped us understand the global context. We wanted the work to stand out amongst call-to-action PSAs which attempt more traditional advertising narratives to emotionally connect with the public, and in which the intersectionality of gender-based issues often fall behind the line of consideration.

The film had a two-pronged approach. Phase 1: a launch to changemakers, activists, government officials, police-force, non-government and charity organisations. Phase 2: a strategy to incorporate the film into schools, where statistics show that children both report abuse, and must be part of the education towards breaking the cycle. Children were included in the soundtrack of the film with a simple melody that they could hum, allowing us to include music within educational presentations.

The film was created in the UK by a female-led team. Once the footage was complete, it was taken internationally to be edited, sound graded and colour graded. International post-production was completed remotely where possible to reduce the carbon footprint. Finally the soundtrack was recorded and added.

The film took several months to complete with everyone involved donating their time for the charity. The completed version was uploaded via private link on 25th June 2023.

It was then screened from 18th – 29th November 2023 to changemakers, activists, government officials, police-force, non-government and charity organisations during International Domestic Abuse Awareness Month.

Our second phase, incorporating the film within schools has begun, with roll-out throughout 2024.

Final delivery of the film publicly online as a free resource will complete in November 2024, once again marking International Domestic Abuse Awareness Month.

The film will continue to be distributed in educational programs post-2024.

Phase 1 of the launch is complete, with successful screenings and presentations at Genesis Cinema (attended by 350 changemakers who purchased tickets with 100% of sales going to the NGO charity providing support pathways for victims and survivors of abuse), The Royal Television Society (an educational television society presentation to their 5,030 online members), United Nations Women UK (their social media engagement increased by 300% during our launch) and The Houses of Parliament (attended by non-government organisations, government officials and Helen Pankhurst, great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst, who were both leaders in the suffragette movement).

Attendees agreed that the film successfully reimagined how the topic of gender-based abuse could be portrayed.

Each of these sessions resulted in a pledge to action by those who were directly responsible for legislative changes and support of the prevention of cases of violence against women and girls (VAWG).