Billie Piper retells domestic abuse stories in Refuge film

Trackers hidden inside a child’s favourite panda teddy, spending monitored over £5 and a woman beaten to the point she thought she would miscarry are some of the survivors’ stories told by Billie Piper in a searing new domestic abuse awareness film.

- ELLIE MUIR

Refuge’s short film Make the World a Refuge explores the different forms domestic abuse can take, such as coercive control, technological and financial abuse, alongside physical violence.

The 42-year-old actor, who has been an ambassador for the domestic abuse charity since 2022, retells the real-life testimonies of survivors with devastating emotion.

Her intervention comes as The Independent campaigns for the Brick By Brick appeal with Refuge to raise £300,000 to build a safe home for women escaping abusive partners. Already the appeal has raised £130,000 towards making a secure home for survivors.

Make the World a Refuge sees a shocked Piper in a stripped-back room as she recites testimonies, such as: “He got our kid this cuddly panda and she took it everywhere and I realised it had a tracker in it.”

Other upsetting quotes highlight forms of financial abuse, such as: “He never actually physically hurt me but when he set up our bank account, he would get notifications every time I spent more than £5.”