A window display showing a bruised mother chained to her two children aims to show how it’s more important to speak up about abuse than keeping families together.The hard-hitting mannequin display on Hamilton’s busiest shopping street depicts the sort of violent scenes taking place in homes across our communities.The window display has been unveiled to launch Domestic Abuse Awareness Month in the hope it will get people talking about what is going on behind closed doors.The Centre Against Abuse wants the attention-grabbing campaign to encourage people to speak out even though it may tear families apart. The mannequin display at PrimaDiva on Reid Street features a family-of-four beneath the words: ‘I’ll do anything to keep my family together’.A man can be seen holding the end of the chain, which is wrapped around a woman and two children.Huge banners showing a series of nine posters will also be put up outside the Bermuda Library on Queen Street and on the railings of Victoria Park in Hamilton.Individual posters will also be on show in MarketPlace and Lindos supermarkets.The posters show local models next to frequently-said slogans such as ‘I just fell into a doorknob’, ‘I have nowhere to go’, ‘I know he loves me,’ ‘I brought it on myself’ and ‘Don’t make excuses’.One of the posters shows a woman with her arm in plaster and the words: ‘there are many ways to show someone that you love them but frequent visits to the emergency room is not one of them’.The charity has this year decided to “go visual” with its awareness month to “reach out to a wider audience”.Laurie Shiell, executive director of the Centre Against Abuse, hopes the shock tactics of the window display and posters will “grab the attention” of passing motorists and pedestrians. They want to reach out to all men, women and children in Bermuda, rather than just victims and their abusers.Ms Shiell said: “It’s a common problem in Bermuda that people believe it’s more important for a family to stay together regardless of any violence or abuse.“We don’t want people to stay silent if they know something is going on. We want to start conversations, we want to get people talking.“We all have to work together to end domestic abuse”.Domestic Abuse Awareness Month has been celebrated all over the world since 1987.The overwhelming message to be learned is that “there is no place for domestic violence in the homes, neighbourhoods, churches, workplaces or schools of this community.”The advertising campaign is the work of Hafid James who approached the charity with his ideas after graduating from Humber College in Toronto last year.The 25-year-old designed the posters and window display and has spent months “turning his ideas into reality” with the help of local models and photographers.Mr James, who works as a marketing assistant for the Little Venice Group, said: “It’s been a lot of hard work, but I believe this is something that really affects our community.“I just want to send a message to people that they don’t need to make all these excuses for staying in a relationship.“People are tired of seeing the same old things with advertising so I’m hoping this will grab people’s attention. I want people to stop and stare, I want people to be shocked.“Hopefully someone can connect with the message then either help themselves or help others”Ms Shiell added: “We really saw value in Hafid’s work and we’re hoping it will help the victims of domestic abuse.“A young Bermudian came to us with his ideas and we were happy to support him”.The window display is expected to remain in the window of PrimaDiva at 75 Reid Street, opposite Chopsticks, for a week and the posters will stay on display for the month.Domestic Abuse Awareness Month includes the charity’s Denim Day where company employees pay $5 to wear their jeans for the day on Friday (October 7).Throughout the month the charity will also continue to visit schools, churches and prisons to highlight their work.Schoolchildren are to be encouraged to take part in a Clothesline Project where they design their own T-shirts “about anything that reminds them of domestic abuse” then display them on a clothesline.The Centre Against Abuse, which was formerly the Physical Abuse Centre, has been going strong for more than 30 years.Staff take calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering crisis intervention, individual and group counselling and run the island’s only shelter for women and children.For more information on the Centre Against Abuse call 292-4366, e-mail info[AT]centreagainstabuse.bm or visit the website at www.abusefree.org.Call the 24-hour hotline on 297-8278 or the men’s crisis hotline on 332-1293.