On July 19, Urban Health Plan, a health system of community health centers located in the Bronx, Central Harlem and Corona, Queens, and one of the largest federally qualified health centers in New York state, announced the launch of “Know the Red Flags,” a bilingual multi-media digital PSA campaign designed to increase awareness about intimate partner violence (IPV) and the danger signs which are often indicative of emotional or physical abuse in relationships.
“Statistics show that just as the pandemic exacerbated the existing health inequalities in New York City, it also intensified risk factors for survivors of intimate partner violence,” said Paloma Hernandez, president and CEO of Urban Health Plan. “During the lockdown, there were significant increases in calls to the New York City Domestic Violence Hotline, as well as more than a 250% increase in visits to the NYC HOPE website. Intimate partner violence is preventable and interventions that promote gender equality and reduce a woman’s risk of being subjected to violence from a partner are indisputably needed in communities throughout the city.”
Urban Health Plan created the campaign in collaboration with F.Y. Eye, a NYC-based nonprofit media agency that intersects art and advertising to amplify social issues around the country. The “Know the Red Flags” campaign depicts a range of IPV situations crossing culture, age, gender and sexual orientation, by illustrating “real-time” text and message exchanges on digital devices, while in addition offering information on city IPV intervention resources available to the community.
“The timing of this campaign is important after several recent high-profile domestic violence cases that ended in tragedy,” said Jessica Toledano, executive director of F.Y. Eye. “There are strong resources in our city like Urban Health Plan and Safe Horizon, and everyone should know there is support.”
Thanks to a generous donation from LinkNYC, the “Know the Red Flags” campaign will be shared citywide via scores of kiosks reaching more than 5 million New Yorkers and is funded through a grant from New York City Councilmember Rafael Salamanca and the Domestic Violence and Empowerment Initiative.
