Content Warning: This campaign addresses intimate partner violence.
Some of the content me be distressing or triggering.
The "Staying isn't Choosing" campaign aims to raise awareness about the complex reasons why women remain in abusive relationships. Through a dedicated website and a series of short videos, the campaign sheds light on different forms of abuse, including isolation and financial control, while challenging the common misconception: "Why don't they just leave?"
Why the campaign matters?
For survivors of abuse, the decision to leave is never straightforward. Fear, financial barriers, stigma, and concerns for personal safety or children's well-being can make leaving incredibly difficult.
The "Staying isn't Choosing" video series explores the many forms abuse can take, from control and manipulation to family pressure and isolation. But these are only some examples. Abuse can also involve sexual coercion, digital surveillance, threats to pets, or the misuse of culture, religion, or immigration status.
No matter the form, abuse is always about one thing: power and control. And every survivor's experience is unique.
Because the truth is ... staying isn't choosing. It's surviving.
Changing the Narrative
The "Staying Isn’t Choosing" campaign challenges harmful narratives that blame survivors, and instead asks us to look deeper at the systems that fail them, at the emotional bonds that complicate leaving, and at the collective responsibility we all share in creating safer communities.
The campaign was created to:
- Validate survivor's experiences without judgment.
- Educate the public about the realities around staying and leaving.
- Shift the question from "Why don't they leave?" to "What makes leaving so hard, and what can we do to change that?
- Call on community members to replace judgement with compassion, action, and advocacy.
Watch the videos, access resources and support, and learn more about the campaign at: stayingisntchoosing.ca