This PSA was created to promote the “Full Stop” campaign in England against child abuse.
This video is loud and viewer discretion is advised.
Why it was selected –
This Public Information Film, as PSAs are known in England, was highly controversial with over 150 complaints lodged by English citizens, 46 made by people who had experienced child abuse in some form or another.
It has made the rounds in the last few years due to its disturbing subject manner and blunt portrayal of an uncomfortable issue. There are multiple variations of this film with a female announcer, no announcer, no music, etc.
PSAs or PIFs are snapshots of issues within the time period in which they were produced. The current statistics on child abuse range from 700,000 to 3 million children who suffer abuse every year, depending on the study’s definition. Child abuse spiked from 1990 – 1993 with a roughly 37% increase in reported cases by 1993 but declined throughout the rest of the decade. Today, the National Child Abuse Alliance reports an estimated 678,000 unique cases per year but notes that the actual number of children abused is very likely underreported.
While there is no way to know whether PSAs such as this impacted the statistics, it is apparent that this was video was created as a reaction to an issue vs. getting ahead of it.
For more information about child abuse and what you can do to help, please visit the National Children’s Alliance website.