A dramatic rise in domestic violence cases in 2021 in Greece stunned the nation, especially after 13 brutal femicides were reported in the media by November, creating a grim body count that kept rising each month to reach 18 by the end of the year.

Greece is one of Europe's most patriarchal societies. It ranks last in the EU's Gender Equality index. And that is reflected in the country's news media that had initially called these murders "crimes of passion" or attributed them to "extreme love".

Lacta chocolate is a brand that has always been telling love stories in the form of Branded Entertainment, becoming a symbol of love in Greece. Seeing how these murders were committed in the name of love, Lacta wanted to make clear that possessive behaviour isn't "love" and warn women trapped into abusive relationships to see the signs and seek help before it's too late.

With 52.5 out of 100 points, Greece ranks dead-last of the 27 countries in the European Union on the Gender Equality Index. Greece’s ranking has remained the same since 2010. Its score is 15.5 points below the EU’s.

A dramatic rise in domestic violence – attributed to the pandemic and months of confinement – has been accompanied by a string of brutal murders, putting a renewed focus on abuse in Greece.

From the start of 2021, Greek media has reported victims being shot, strangled, suffocated, stabbed, beaten and drowned, with many of their arrested partners reportedly confessing to the murders.

Lawyers point to clauses in the Greek penal code that enable a culture of impunity around violence against women. These allow reduced sentences for those accused of homicide if they were “provoked” or the crime was committed in a rage – often referred to as a “crime of passion” – or if the accused displayed good behaviour before the incident and showed guilt afterwards. They say adding femicide as a motive to the penal code would act as a vital counterweight, denying perpetrators the opportunity to present themselves in court as innocent men suddenly overcome by emotion that justified murder.

The idea was to subvert the very subject that had made Lacta campaigns famous and produce another branded entertainment fiction film, like the ones that had been so popular with audiences, disguised as a love story. Viewers would soon find out that it was, in fact, the story of an abusive relationship that would lead to a tragic finale, inspired by the true events that had shocked the public opinion during the summer of 2021.

The film's screenplay was based on the confessions given to the Police by domestic violence perpetrators, describing the events and the escalation of violence in their relationships with the victims.

The film's online release was planned to coincide with the United Nations' "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women" on November 25th.

The film aimed to begin a public discussion about the causes of possessive behaviour, rooted in the patriarchal stereotypes that let women be trapped into abusive relationships under the pretence of love. We wanted to let everyone know that "this is not love", and our society should stop tolerating it.

At the same time, we wanted the film to act as a warning to women that were already in such relationships and let them seek help. Thus we cooperated with the NGO "DIOTIMA", which deals with issues of Gender Rights and Equality and provides free legal help to the victims of domestic violence.

The online film ended with a call to action to visit a dedicated web page created by DIOTIMA that provided a detailed "how-to" guide to detect the signs of phycological and physical abuse and a call centre to provide help.

The 4-minute film, directed by acclaimed Greek director Argyris Papadimitropoulos ("Suntan", "Monday"), stars two young actors in what appears to begin as a cliché love story, under the Greek summer sun, titled "DON'T EVER LEAVE ME".

Soon, however, the story takes a darker turn, and viewers get to experience the manipulative ways women are being trapped into toxic relationships, leading to a tragic finale inspired by true events. The film's title is then completed to "DON'T EVER LEAVE ME - BECAUSE I'LL HURT YOU", warning women to escape such relationships before it's too late.

The classic song "Don't talk to me about love", made famous from a cult 1970s Greek drama, plays throughout the new film, with its lyrics adding a poignant layer to the action.

The film was "dropped" on Lacta's YouTube channel four days ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The film instantly went viral, becoming the #1 trending video on YouTube in Greece for ten days, with more than 1.2M organic views in a country of 7M Internet users, 60% of which came from outside sources, and all the major media outlets in the country reporting about it.

Almost all major TV news and talk shows aired the film for free, some devoting complete shows, initiating a big discussion around the subject that had been unsettling the Greek society for months.

The film was shown at schools by educators and was shared on Social Media by the Greek Police.

More importantly, calls for help through DIOTIMA's helpline increased 8 times during November and December, while visits to its website proving information increased by 650%, and donations covering all expenses for legal services provided to victims increased by 100%.