2in2u - If it feels wrong, it probably is.
Listen to the Women's Aid 2in2u radio advertisement
Visit the 2in2u website for a relationship health check
Actress Charlene McKenna launches the Women's Aid 2in2u campaign on St. Valentine's Day, 2011.The Women's Aid 2in2u National Public Awareness Campaign highlights the issue of violence and abuse against young women in dating relationships supported by Irish actress Charlene McKenna.
The 2in2u campaign is designed to show the hidden reality for many young women who are experiencing abuse, control and violence at the hands of their boyfriends.
Are you affected by dating abuse? If so, you might like to read our dating abuse section.
The 2in2u campaign
Women's Aid hears from young women when their relationship starts to feels unhealthy, often after something has happened that may have made women feel unsafe or uncomfortable. When it feels like he is just 'too into you'. We also hear from women who have been living with domestic violence for some time that the signs that their partners were possessive and controlling were there from the start. But to them and their family and friends, it appeared like they were just 'so into her'.
Actress Charlene McKenna and Margaret Martin, Director of Women's Aid, launch the Women's Aid 2in2u campaign on St. Valentine's Day, 2011.The Women's Aid 2in2u campaign highlights the way that a controlling boyfriend's attention can often be overwhelming at the early stages of a relationship, and encapsulates how it feels to be a young woman experiencing controlling behaviour.
The campaign addresses the myth that abuse only occurs in older and more established relationships, where women are married or living with, and/or have children with their abusive partner.
Our experience and national and international research show that young women are at risk from violence and abuse from their boyfriends. In dating relationships violence and abuse are already a feature but are often not recognised as such by the young woman herself, or her friends.
The 2in2u campaign raises awareness of unhealthy behaviours in a relationship in the hope that young women, if informed, might get help before the relationship becomes more established, and it has become harder to leave or get support.
That is why we have put together a Relationship Health Check Quiz at www.2in2u.ie. The quiz has also been adapted to be taken from a mobile phone.
We hope that if a young woman is uncomfortable or worried about any aspect of her relationship with her boyfriend, and hears or sees one of our advertisements, she will contact the Women's Aid National Freephone Helpline (1800 341 900) or talk to someone she trusts.
2in2u campaign - radio, digital, online and poster advertising campaign
The 2in2u campaign is a four week long intergrated radio, online, digital and poster advertising campaign targeting young women aged 18-25 years old.
The campaign features a radio advertisement (listen here) which draws attention to how this type of emotional and controlling abuse plays out in a relationship and how confusing it can be to be on the receiving end of it.
The advertisement encourages young women to trust their instincts - if it feels wrong, it probably is - and to give their relationship a health check at a dedicated web resource www.2in2u.ie. The advertisement will run for 4 weeks on Today FM, Dublin's 98FM, Spin 103.8FM, Spin Southwest, FM104, Red FM and iRadio 102-104.
The issue will also be highlighted by an online and digital advertising campaign targeting users of various online websites including Facebook and Youtube, Entertainment.ie and mobile advertising on 02.
We have developed two separate campaign awareness posters. One (download here) for display in bars and clubs in the Dublin area. The other (download here) will be displayed in women's washrooms around Ireland and distributed to 3rd level colleges throughout Ireland as well as to local community groups and other organisations that young women may access.
You can also download a briefing card on dating abuse here.
2in2u in the Community
In addition to the four-week advertising campaign, 2in2u campaign resources, including awareness posters and the Relationship Health Check Quiz, have been present in community spaces since the beginning of the campaign in 2011.
Family Resource Centres, Local and Community Development Programme groups, libraries, Citizen Information Boards, and women's organisations and support services display the 2in2u posters on their premises.
The 2in2u Relationship Health Check Quiz has been used as a resource within larger programmes in youth groups and schools starting discussions about healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours.
Please let us know what your organisation thinks about the campaign, and how it has been of use to you, by filling out this feedback form.
2in2u Campaign enters second year
The 2in2u Campaign is being run for the second year, starting on the week of Valentine's Day again in 2012 to call attention to the reality of relationships for some young women, at a time when they are very much in the spotlight.
During the 2in2u campaign in 2011, as well as experiencing a rise in calls from young women, the Women's Aid Helpline experienced an increase in calls from mothers and in some case fathers of young women, where the parents were uncomfortable about the relationship and wanted to know how best to support their daughter. In some instances this led to the young women making contact themselves. This is something that we will continue to monitor.
Several callers to the Helpline also expressed a strong reaction to the campaign and how it called attention to early warning signs of abusive behaviour saying, `If only I had heard that message when I started going out with him'.
Support the 2in2u campaign
- Share the Relationship Health Check Quiz with friends and family, and help spread the word about healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours
- Add the Women's Aid National Freephone Helpline number 1800 341 900 to your mobile contacts in case you or someone you know should ever need it.
- Find out how you can support a friend or family member who is experiencing relationship abuse here.
- Follow Women's Aid on Facebook and Twitter, and share information on 2in2u on your profile, or share this information with friends via email.
- Change your profile picture to the 2in2u logo (download here) during the campaign to spread the word.
- Download a copy of the two awareness posters (here and here) or request one to be sent to you from info@womensaid.ie and put it up in any community space you may share with young women.
- Sign up to our e-newsletter to stay informed and participate in further Women's Aid actions and campaigns.
Dating abuse
Dating abuse can happen to anyone and it is important to start talking about what are healthy and unhealthy behaviours in relationships. For many young women this abuse means that their boyfriend: controls what she wears and who she sees, isolates her from family and friends, constantly bombards her with texts and uses technology to abuse, control and stalk her. He may physically attack her including hitting, punching, spitting and throwing her against walls. He may threaten to kill her or himself, or force her to do sexual things against her will. She is living in constant fear of his moods and temper.
Did you know?
- 1 in 5 women over the age of 18 experience physical, emotional and sexual abuse in Ireland.
- 40 women aged between 18 and 25 years old have been murdered in the Republic of Ireland since 1996. Of the resolved cases, 53% of women were murdered by a boyfriend or former boyfriend.
- In a national survey on domestic abuse, almost 60% of people who had experienced severe abuse in intimate relationships experienced the abuse for the first time under the age of 25.
- In research conducted by Women's Aid in Ireland, 95% of young women and 84% of young men reported knowing someone who had experienced abuse, violence and harassment ranging from being followed, to being forced to have sex, to being hit by a boyfriend. The persons known were mainly young women. 1 in 4 young women knew someone who was forced to have sex.
If you are affected by this issue, please visit the dating abuse section of our website or call the Women's Aid Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900.
This campaign is funded by Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence and created with the generous support of design company Language.