Hollyoaks partners with the Home Office for Women’s Safety storyline
Hollyoaks has been working with the Home Office on special episodes around women’s safety.
The episodes will see Maxine Minniver – played by Nikki Sanderson – subjected to an unpleasant ordeal at the end of a fun girl’s night out. The audience will subsequently see her character examine whether different choices she had made during the evening could have changed the outcome and realising that she is not to blame for her attack.
Executive producer Lucy Allan said of the storyline:
“What happens to Maxine in town that night is completely relatable and a situation that will be recognisable to many women. She is alone and worried and tries to find the safest way to get herself home. Maxine does everything that women do either instinctively, or have been told to do, to keep herself safe from harm. Across the week it will be made clear to the audience that the onus should not be on Maxine to keep herself safe, We will also, through discussions between our characters, explore the role that other people can take in intervening in abuse and influencing peer behaviour”
The events within the episodes are set around a girl’s night out – filmed on location in Liverpool.
Maxine ends up separated from her friends and is thrown out of a club without her phone, which is charging behind the bar. She finds herself alone and having to find her way back home. In parallel her friend Theresa’s boyfriend Romeo, also out in the city, travels back to Chester with a hen party he meets on his journey.
The central episode was written by Hollyoaks core team writer Jayshree Patel, who explains that it was essential to highlight the differences in the female and male journeys, both in terms of the way they approach them and their experiences during the night.
“We’ve called the episode The Long Walk Home, but in reality the theme of the piece is essentially ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’. Ours is a positive message – girls need to enjoy their lives, they want to go out and be free to live as joyously as they can. It’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that this can happen. In truth it should not be a lot to wish for….”
The special ‘Long Walk Home’ episode has partnered with the Government’s ‘Enough’ campaign tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). As part of the campaign, those who witness abuse against women are encouraged to intervene safely and flag problematic attitudes or behaviours.
The campaign directs people to a website that explains how to intervene safely if a woman or girl is abused. Furthermore, it provides information on support services, how to report violence to the police, and offers guidance for individuals concerned about their own behaviour.
Hollyoaks have also worked with Rape Crisis throughout the editorial and filming process.
CEO Jayne Butler said:
“All too often, men and boys are left out of the conversations on women’s safety. The onus is on women to think of ways to keep themselves safe, rather than addressing the root cause of our fear: violent men. This episode of Hollyoaks highlights how the narrative that by taking certain actions we can avoid rape and sexual abuse is completely false. We know that many victims and survivors struggle with self-blame, asking themselves what they could have done differently or what more they could have done to stop it. That’s why it’s so important to clearly show that women are not responsible for preventing sexual violence against them, and that the only person responsible for sexual violence is the perpetrator.”
A Home Office spokesperson added that “There is no place in our society for acts of violence against women and girls. We hope that Maxine’s storyline will resonate with many women and girls.”
If you are aged 16+ and have experienced rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse or any other type of sexual violence – or you’re not sure what happened – you can talk to Rape Crisis England & Wales. Their helpline is open 24/7 – 0808 802 9999 or you can chat to someone online.
For more information about what you can do to help safely tackle Violence Against Women and Girls visit gov.uk/enough
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 7pm on E4, and 6:30pm on Channel 4
