This was a real experiment in a complex in Johannesburg. The neighbours responded exactly as shown in the video – no actors were used, nothing was staged.

With no budget for a high-production ad, we used the residents of a typical townhouse-complex to tell our story. We confronted South Africans with their own apathy regarding woman abuse, showing that their passiveness is part of the reason why 1400 women are killed.

We used the residents of a typical middle-class neighbourhood in South Africa as unknowing participants in a stunt designed to wake South Africans up to their apathy.

Our aim was to expose the anomaly that people fail to act when they believe domestic violence is happening, but will quite happily complain over trivial matters.

On one night we set up a musician on a drum set in a Johannesburg apartment-complex. Within minutes, angry neighbours arrived at the doorstep and handed him a written warning.

On a different night we staged a violent domestic dispute -- complete with sounds of glasses smashing, a woman's screams and slamming doors. Yet none of the neighbours responded or called the cops.

We secretly documented the experiment and sent it out virally, giving people the opportunity to pass the message on, creating a sense of personal advocacy and giving the message widespread direct and indirect reach.

Our stunt demonstrated what we’d set out to prove. We received vehement complaints about the drumming, but on the fight night, we heard nothing.

With no media budget, the once apathetic citizens became advocates for this anti-abuse message spreading it to millions of people. It’s been written about in over 4000 unique articles and blogs, discussed on radio, newspapers and received free flighting on local and international TV. It’s now the second best rated video on YouTube (SA, people and blogs). Calls to POWA increased by 311% with an unprecedented number of men (318%) calling to report suspected woman abuse.