Tamsin Thom
An award-winning creative
specialising in ➺ copy, brand strategy and transformation ✴︎ passionate about
helping purpose-driven companies
launch and evolve ☻
The statistics regarding domestic abuse in South Africa are beyond comprehension. With one out of five women a victim of domestic violence, there are, on average, 360 incidences of sexual and physical assault daily. With these horrifying figures, it should come as no surprise that domestic violence is the leading cause of death among our nation's women.
Domestic violence, unfortunately, often follows a pattern, and more often than not, even when the abused partner tries to break out of the relationship or to get away, they often have to go back to their abusing partner. This is usually because their financial independence has been taken away, and they have no way of leaving and making it on their own. And so the cycle continues.
With Take This Thread, we wanted to identify this pattern of abuse and then to break that pattern by using a tangible pattern.
This campaign centres around a striking, yet chilling pattern that, if you look closely, not only tells the story of abuse but is used by the women in the POWA (People Opposing Womens Abuse) safehouses to make headscarves, which are called “doeks” in South Africa and other garments that they can sell to become financially independent. This is how the pattern of abuse will be broken. Also, the act of sewing together with other people in the same kind of situation is therapeutic and allows for healing to take place, for the women to feel the support of each other to help them through their ordeal, and for them to build their confidence.
Placing emphasis on the doek or headwrap in the campaign’s launch pays homage to a universal symbol of dignity amongst women.
The doek has long been a poignant flag of defiance for women’s issues, whether at home, at work, or in public. Women have rallied together wearing doeks – they have celebrated each other, fought, mourned, and tapped into it as a source of strength and stood tall. Survivors living in POWA safe houses making doeks, encouraging the spirit which positions Take This Thread into an existing narrative that emphasises the emancipation of victims in South Africa.
