Domestic violence is on the agenda this Super Bowl Sunday. Ella Hicks wants it to be there every day, too.
___
I hope that you never know what it feels like to face death in the face of someone you thought once loved you.
|
I hope that you never have to make a call to save you life. I hope you never know that kind of fear. Knowing that your life hangs in the balance; on a thin thread which is about to snap. I hope you never feel hunted or like your next move, if you are lucky enough to get one, has a narrow margin of success. I hope that you never know what it feels like to face death in the face of someone you thought once loved you.
It’s that time of year again where the subject of Domestic Violence gains media traction because the Super Bowl is approaching. Urban myth has it set that it is the day with the highest rate of reported abuse of one domestic partner to another. It isn’t, but this year we saw the NFL struggling to keep face after Baltimore Raven’s player Ray Rice knocked his then fiancé out in an elevator. Rice was initially suspended for two games. The relatively small penalty caused national controversy. He was later suspended indefinitely, but that decision was overturned. We saw other players being called out on domestic related violence as well. It wasn’t a stellar year for the old boys club.
I want you to know that Domestic Violence Happens Each Sunday—Not Just Super Bowl Sunday.
I am glad to see the NFL responding to this with a little proactive flair. This Super Bowl Sunday, which is quickly approaching, will have millions of people world-wide watching. Some just watching for the ever so famous commercials. On Sunday, February 1, 2015 the Super Bowl will air, but what is a little different this year is that there will be a PSA about domestic violence.
The video is a chilling reminder that so many women live in fear in their own homes.
|
No More, an anti-domestic-violence campaign, and the ad agency Grey New York have come together to publicize the distressing truth that this is still a huge problem in our society. The NFL donated a 30-second slot for the ad and paid for its production. The video is a chilling reminder that so many women live in fear in their own homes. Everyday, not just on Super Bowl Sunday.
To some I realize that it will be a mere bleep in the days advertisements. It may not be memorable to many. It may even cause a backlash in some homes, but it is worth it.
This weekend when millions are riveted to the television, my hope is that it will create a ripple across the land. Something positive out of a horrid situation that occurred the day that Ray Rice decided to finally call the darkness into the light.
The PSA is very simple. There is a woman making a call for pizza from her slightly disheveled home. When the other end answers you don’t hear “Hello Domino’s,” but rather “Ma’am, you have reached 911. This is an emergency line.” She continues to order her pizza, “Large with half pepperoni, half mushrooms.” The 911 operator keeps trying to tell her that she dialed the wrong number and she just keeps ordering her pizza, until he asks her if she is okay. Is this an emergency?
♦◊♦
I hope that this will resonate across the millions turned into the game that will be peppered with commercials of scantily clad women selling chips and celebrities self promoting. I hope that this commercial is the one that will have people talking. I know that my hopes my fall on millions of deaf ears and blind eyes, but I desperately want this to be seen. This is the real deal. According to Grey New York, the ad was based on a real 911 dispatch (paywall), found on a Reddit thread asking dispatchers about their most memorable calls.
Reality really sucks sometimes. I once had to make a call like this myself. It was either me or him, and I decided that I wasn’t going down like that. xo Ella
Editors’ Note: Men are also victims of domestic violence in substantial numbers. The video referenced focuses solely on domestic violence against women.
Originally published on Rebel Thriver.
Photo—Richard North/Flickr
“Editors’ Note: Men are also victims of domestic violence in substantial numbers. The video referenced focuses solely on domestic violence against women.” No surprise there, men are ignored yet again by media. I think it’s time men stop supporting these campaigns until women step up and start MAKING campaigns to help men AS WELL. Women need to step up and tell other women not to abuse men, women need to step up and write articles like that which I am yet to see a single article on that topic yet see many men step up to tell other men not… Read more »
“Men are also victims of domestic violence in substantial numbers”. Problem is, you wouldn’t know it from Ella Hicks or the N.F.L.’s ‘No More’ campaign. To many, male victims continue to be invisible. Why is that? Why can’t we try to help ALL victims? I mean, you wouldn’t start a movement to only help white victims, would you?