The Abuse You Don’t See: Billie Piper and Refuge Expose the Hidden Scars of Control

The film, produced by AMV BBDO, sheds light on the various forms of domestic abuse and its impact on survivors

By Creative Salon

09 October 2024

Refuge, the UK charity dedicated to supporting women and children experiencing domestic violence, is shining a spotlight on the often invisible forms of abuse that plague relationships.

Teaming up with actress Billie Piper, Refuge is using the power of storytelling to reveal the hidden realities of coercive control, financial abuse, tech abuse, and emotional manipulation—forms of abuse that often go unnoticed and unreported.

In a new ad, directed by BAFTA-winner Georgi Banks-Davies, Piper voices the real-life experiences of survivors. These are stories that remain largely untold—not because they aren’t important, but because speaking out is often too dangerous or emotionally overwhelming. By giving voice to these testimonies, Piper helps break the silence, ensuring that survivors' experiences are shared in a way that respects their privacy while amplifying their reality.

AMV BBDO creative team Lauren Peters and Augustine Cerf said, “Domestic abuse doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s not ‘just’ physical, or merely a private issue. It happens in the wider context of a misogynistic society. And as our society has evolved, so has abuse: becoming more insidious, creeping into every aspect of our lives, into our phones, our culture, our bank accounts, our streets as well as our homes. Refuge has evolved with it: showing up wherever abuse does.

"Our ambition for this campaign, working alongside Refuge, survivors, Billie Piper and Georgi Banks-Davies, was to show the hideously vast spectrum of abuse and the many ways Refuge help. We wanted to tell the kind of abuse stories that don’t usually get told. Including the abuse that can often feel too small, on its own, to report to the police. Often, when we spoke to survivors, we heard them say heartbreaking things like “It’s not physical, but…” But it’s abuse. And abuse in all of its forms endangers the lives of women all over this country. It deserves to be told and to be understood. Through Billie and the emotional, truthful force of her performance, we could protect the anonymity of the survivors, whilst giving a voice to their stories."

The film demonstrates how abuse can present itself in a multitude of ways, beyond physical abuse, such as tracking a survivor’s phone or isolating them from their family and friends. Abuse has evolved, becoming more insidious, and harder to name––from coercive control to financial abuse, to tech abuse. But also, in other ways louder: from headlines calling femicide a “crime of passion”, to memes about Amber Heard’s testimonial, to AI-generated images as tools for abuse. Violence and abuse against women show up in so many ways. But so does Refuge. As abuse evolves, so does Refuge––this film brings to light the forms of abuse that we should all know about but often don’t, but also shows the widening scope of Refuge’s work to support survivors.

Abigail Ampofo, interim CEO of Refuge, said, “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Billie for this awareness-raising film. Coercive control is a highly prevalent form of domestic abuse but is often not talked about, meaning that perpetrators are not held accountable while survivors are unable to access the support that they deserve. This type of abuse is insidious, and a perpetrator’s actions may appear subtle at first, which means some of the warning signs can be hard to spot. It is a pattern of behaviours that escalates over time, and the impact on survivors should not be underestimated.

"Billie’s invaluable work with Refuge will help us to show survivors of coercive control that they are not alone, and we hope it will allow more women to be able to spot the signs. For all the ways in which coercive control can show up, Refuge will show up for survivors.”

One in four women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. While all forms of abuse can have a devastating impact on the wellbeing of survivors, Refuge will continue to support as many women as possible in helping them to rebuild their lives.

Director Georgi Banks-Davies said, "Working with the teams from AMV, Rogue, Refuge and, of course, Billie herself was an incredibly rewarding creative process. Our challenge was to make a film that broadened the public’s perception of abuse. A common myth is that it’s only domestic abuse if it involves physical or sexual violence. In fact, many women experience domestic abuse without ever being physically harmed. It was super important for me to show the audience the diverse ways in which abuse can take shape, and that they are not alone in those experiences. Alongside this, we also wanted to showcase that no matter the form of abuse, Refuge is there for you, can support you and has experts in place who understand exactly what you are going through.

"Billie is quite simply the bravest actor I have ever worked with, and she encapsulates the different experiences and personas of the survivors’ testimonies so powerfully and sensitively. This was an extraordinarily important project for me and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of such an important campaign."

The creative work follows AMV BBDO’s impactful 2020 collaboration with Refuge, The Naked Threat. That campaign urged the UK government to make threatening to share explicit images of others an illegal offence—a form of abuse often used to control and manipulate women. As a result, the government introduced legislation making such threats a crime.

To support the short film, versions of 60, 30, 15 and 6 seconds will run in social media and cinemas across the UK for the next four weeks.