Distressing video reveals kind of call domestic violence counsellors get every day

Two women are killed every week by domestic violence in England and Wales and around the world, and it is estimated that a third of women have experienced some kind of violence – mostly at the hands of a partner.

Domestic abuse isn't just about physical violence, however – it also comes in the form of emotional, mental and financial abuse. A domestic violence counselling service has released a video re-enacting a typical call its counsellors receive every day, featuring a distressed woman experiencing abuse.

This video shows a diverse set of people of different ages, sexes, and ethnicities – listening to a re-enacted phone call of a woman calling into the counselling service.

In the clip, several ask for the recording to stop when it becomes too upsetting.

The Full Stop Foundation, an initiative of the federally funded Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia, launched the campaign to challenge the perception that domestic violence is solely physical.

One survivor of domestic violence, known as Katie, told IBTimes UK she went through physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse.

"It escalated when I decided to leave him. We didn't live together, so he would come over and tell me his TV was broken and blamed me, saying I had to pay for a new one or he would just take mine. I let him take my money and my goods. He would borrow money and never give it back," she said in an interview in 2016.

"It really kicked in when I had my son. I was on maternity allowance and he would take everything, leaving me with £20 a week. I remember times when I would go weekends with no gas or electric in my house, no milk for my son. He would switch off his phone."

The RDVSA, which provides essential, life-saving support to victims of domestic violence, is facing possible closure in July.