BBFC amends warning for DA in films and TV
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is changing the way it highlights domestic abuse in rating information for films and TV.
The board will now use the broader term of ‘domestic abuse’ instead of ‘domestic violence’ and stop using the description ‘themes of’, which research shows people feel trivialises the issue.
The study, carried out with support from domestic violence organisations Women’s Aid and Respect, also revealed survivors can be affected by scenes of domestic abuse, especially if unexpected. So BBFC will now flag domestic abuse in every case, even if the scenes are not category defining.
The research also found the term ‘child abuse’ was widely associated with sexual abuse, rather than domestic abuse, and having a child present in a scene depicting domestic abuse often meant the scene was more triggering for audiences.
Therefore, the BBFC will limit the use of ‘child abuse’ to scenes where child sexual abuse is depicted, with non-sexual child abuse also described as ‘domestic abuse’.