The Home Office Campaign Says ‘Enough’ to Violence against Women and Girls

The Home Office has launched an ambitious multi-year national communications campaign which says ‘Enough’ to violence against women and girls. Delivering on a key commitment of the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, the first phase of the campaign focuses on perpetrators and tackling abuse.   

The campaign includes television adverts, billboards, social media and radio advertising and will highlight different forms of violence against women and girls and the simple acts that anyone can take to challenge perpetrators of abuse. Forms of violence against women and girls represented include street harassment, coercive control, unwanted touching, workplace harassment, revenge-porn and cyber-flashing.    

The campaign was informed by the unprecedented 180,000 responses to the Call for Evidence last year and has been developed with an advisory group comprising over 30 voluntary sector organisations, survivors and academics who have given their expert insight. The latest findings in behavioural science have also been used, including the role of peers and wider society in influencing people’s actions, and the importance of providing simple, clear options to overcome the barriers people can have to challenging abuse.    

Alongside advertising, a new website provides more information on the steps people can take to safely challenge violence against women and girls, guidance for victims of these crimes and advice for perpetrators who recognise their behaviour needs to change. 

The television advert (TVC), directed by Sweetshop’s Marit Weerheijm, conveys a sense of solidarity by showing vignettes of a diverse group of people intervening in acts of Violence Against Women and Girls through ‘real’ UGC/CCTV-style footage and observational camera footage. 

The out-of-home advertising (OOH) is delivered from the perspective of the bystander and empowers individuals via handwritten copy which provides a sense of authenticity, and demonstrates how people can say “Enough” to violence against women in their own way. 

Even small acts can help prevent abuse, so the campaign’s creative encourages people to act where safe to do so by taking a range of tangible actions including calling it out, showing support, or reporting it.

ENOUGH creates a powerful sense of society coming together as a movement to stop Violence Against Women and Girls, encouraging positive change that everyone can get involved in.

Emily Whiteaway, business director at FCB Inferno said: “Conveying a sense of togetherness was pivotal to the creation of ENOUGH. We wanted to produce a campaign that emphasised that the power is in all of our hands to stop violence against women and girls. The responsibility of keeping safe has been placed on the shoulders of women and girls for too long. To bring about change, we all need to feel empowered to challenge abusive behaviour and attitudes.”