Home Office: Forced Marriage
The Challenge
Forced marriage remains a problem amongst some middle and southeast Asian communities, and is usually associated with physical acts of violence. But softer forms of pressure, including shaming and social exclusion, can compel someone to enter a marriage they do not want – and still constitute a criminal offence.
We needed to create materials that could be distributed outside of mainstream media, sitting instead in community centres and online platforms, that would get this message across.
The Approach
We created a campaign designed to create awareness and empathy at the same time, educating our audience while demonstrating the emotional scale of the pressure that victims might feel
We created press and digital ads to visualise the layers of pressure smothering victims as well a film using a simple camera move that reduces the victims to inconsequential players in their own lives. These sat aside a longer film communicating the same message, as well as cutdown communicating individual stories. The three brides and one groom represent a range of communities based on real cases in the UK.
The campaign was launched with the backing of community advocates and organisations, and is now running across the U.K.
For more information and a full credit list, see here.
