Solace Women’s Aid, a domestic abuse charity based in London, UK wanted to tell the world that domestic abuse isn’t always easy to see. So, in a world first, we used Twitter’s new Hide Replies feature to hide domestic abuse on Twitter. 

Twitter's tech for Hide Replies was so new it hadn't been launched - let alone used for a Third Sector campaign. This meant working closely with Twitter's technical experts to use the new tech to the best of its ability and ensure the optimum user journey for our campaign.

At first glance our tweet looked like a selfie from a happy couple. But when people viewed our tweet’s hidden replies, they uncovered domestic abuse hiding in plain sight which created an outpour of responses.

The campaign achieved over 15m impressions on Twitter, but more importantly, it gave over 700 women the confidence to speak about their own experiences of domestic abuse - sometimes for the first time.

On Twitter, individuals told their own stories and the empowering effect the campaign had on them.

Some realised, as a direct result of the campaign, that what they had experienced was domestic abuse. In a few short words, the effect is palpable.

'I'm safe now but this post just made me realise that I suffered abuse. I knew it was difficult and uncomfortable, now I know I was right to leave.'

'Do one thing today. Click on the hidden replies in this tweet, that's all I ask. I wish I could go back and save my younger self. Not just partner relationships but family relationships too. Not all abuse is physical.'

We need to continue to educate that domestic abuse isn't always physical. If you're experiencing domestic abuse, sadly you're not alone...and there is help and support available.