A new short film aiming to raise awareness of domestic abuse and challenge stereotypes is being launched live and exclusive on Hiblio WebTV.

The ‘Are you ok?’ film has been created by Torbay’s Community Safety Partnership and encourages individuals to think about their close relationships and seek help if they think something is wrong.

The film will be aired on www.hiblio.tv at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday 20 May 2015 and followed by a live interview with Superintendent Glen Mayhew, Policing Commander for South Devon.

Supt Mayhew said: “With many domestic abuse campaigns there is often an assumption that victims recognise what’s happening to them, which isn’t always the case. People who abuse others who are close to them often start very subtly, chipping away at their identity, confidence and feelings of self worth over time. After a while someone experiencing this can feel like what’s happening to them is normal and that they even deserve it. Because of this, many people experiencing domestic abuse don’t always recognise that they’re being abused, particularly if they’re not being physically harmed, so the term ‘domestic abuse’ might not have any meaning or relevance to them.

“Our new short film doesn’t use the term ‘domestic abuse’ and it doesn’t depict direct violence. What it does show is the range of emotions that someone might experience if someone who is supposed to love and care for them is instead hurting their mind or body. Most importantly it also informs them where they can find help.”

The film was developed with the support of local actors and students from South Devon College and encourages the public to visit www.areyouok.co.uk for advice and help if needed. The website was created by Torbay Community Safety Partnership to provide a range of information and contact details for local and national support services.

Frances Hughes, Assistant Director Community and Customer Services at Torbay Council said: “People have really busy lives and it can be difficult to find time to stop for a moment and ask ourselves if we’re ok. The film aims to reach out to someone who may have worries, doubts or just a gut feeling that something might not be quite right about a relationship they have with someone close to them. People who abuse others hide behind silence so we hope that the film will start some local conversations about healthy and unhealthy relationships and where to access help if needed.

“It’s important for us to use a range of channels to communicate with the public about difficult issues like domestic abuse and we wanted to create content that could be used and shared online via social media. We are delighted to be able to use Hiblio as the platform for the exclusive and live launch of the film.”

Hilblio is a free WebTV channel which is simple to access and presents viewers with credible information about health, wellbeing and lifestyle. The service, which is the first of its kind in the UK, has been developed by South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and broadcasts topics that are relevant to the public on a whole range of issues from staying safe online to coping with depression.

Paul Norrish from Hilblio said: “Hiblio is about delivering content that people actually need in a format that fits in with their lifestyle. Given that domestic abuse is experienced by so many women, men and children in Torbay and throughout the UK we knew this was something we had to support. We’re really excited to be able to launch the new domestic abuse film on Hilblio and for anyone who can’t tune into the live broadcast they can catch it later on our ‘rewind’ service and join in the conversation online at www.facebook.com/hiblio and twitter.com/hiblio."

The film which was funded by the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner can be viewed at www.areyouok.co.uk from Wednesday 20 May 2015.