May is Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month, and SBS is supporting this initiative with a range of programs and content to help raise awareness and find solutions to the domestic abuse epidemic.
Monday 3 and 10 May – Living Black (NITV)
NITV’s Living Black, hosted by Karla Grant, will broadcast an in-conversation with Linda Burney MP at 8:30pm on Monday 3 May. As a survivor of domestic abuse, she will talk about her own experience, and her views on the need for legislation on coercive control. Then on the following Monday, 10 May, at 8:30pm, Living Black will air an in-conversation with justice advocates Keenan Mundine and Carly Stanley, who will talk to Karla about their own experiences of domestic abuse.
Tuesday 4 May - Dateline (SBS)
SBS’s news and current affairs programs will air special episodes throughout May as an accompaniment to See What You Made Me Do and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month. At 9:30pm, Dateline will air ‘Dying to Divorce’, an observational documentary filmed over five years that takes viewers into the heart of Turkey’s gender-based violence crisis. Featuring personal stories, the documentary gives a unique perspective on the struggle to be an independent woman in modern Turkey.
Wednesday 5 May – See What You Made Me Do (SBS)
The West Australian calls this three-part documentary series a “timely look at an issue ravaging the nation”, The Sydney Morning Herald, “a call to arms”.
Hosted by investigative journalist Jess Hill and based on her book of the same name, See What You Made Me Do will interview survivors as well as perpetrators of family violence, and explore the lack of understanding of this epidemic in “our systems – police, courts, family law – [which] are still a long way from being reliably protective,” says Hill.
See What You Made Me Do premieres at 8:30pm Wednesday 5 May on SBS and SBS On Demand. The three-part series continues weekly, and every episode will be simulcast on NITV.
See What You Made Me Do will be also be available to stream on SBS On Demand with subtitles in six languages: Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Hindi, Punjabi and Korean, allowing more Australians to engage in the important topic. The issues explored in the series will be explored further across SBS Radio programs, including with an explainer video about coercive control and how migrant women face additional challenges in seeking support, produced in 20 languages. Featuring Jess Hill and Brisbane social worker Jatinder Kaur, the video will be available on the and shared across social media by SBS’s language services.
Wednesday 5 May - Documentary Essentials, Jess Hill Curated Collection (SBS On Demand)
To coincide with series premiere, SBS On Demand will launch a Documentary Essentials collection of curated content on the platform, and Jess Hill will also curate a collection of her favourite films. Both collections will be available from Wednesday 5 May.
Tuesday 11 May – Insight (SBS)
At 8:30pm on Tuesday 11 May, Insight explores coercive control and whether it should be criminalised.
Wednesday 12 May – We Say No More (NITV)
Directly after the second episode of See What You Made Me Do, at 9:30pm on Wednesday 12 May, National Indigenous Television (NITV) will air a standalone response program titled We Say No More where panellists unpack how domestic abuse impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Filmed at the Brisbane Powerhouse Museum with five panellists and a studio audience, revered journalist, artistic director and Bundjalung woman, Rhoda Roberts AO, will host the discussion.
Wednesday 12 May – Over the Black Dot and Yokayi Footy on NITV
On Wednesday 12 May, NITV’s Over the Black Dot and Yokayi Footy will broadcast panel discussions that focus on gender-based violence in sport. At 7pm, rugby league panel show, Over the Black Dot, will talk about the NRL’s Voice Against Violence Program, which increases participants’ awareness and understanding of the serious issue of gender-based violence. Then from 8pm, Yokayi Footy will speak to the AFL Respect and Responsibility Policy, which ensures that people throughout the Australian Football industry are aware and have structures in place that recognise violence against women and behaviour that harms or degrades women is never acceptable.
Wednesday 19 May – The Feed on SBS
Immediately following the final episode of See What You Made Me Do on SBS on Wednesday 19 May, Jess Hill will join a panel of experts to discuss solutions that Australia can implement today to solve the family violence crisis. The one-hour special will be hosted by The Feed’s Alice Matthews.
Resources available at SBS Learn
To support the documentary series, educational portal will publish resources for school communities and families to better broach and understand respectful relationships. These include videos featuring young leaders speaking about their views on what respect means to them, as well as practical classroom activities and discussion guides. SBS will collaborate with the eSafety Commissioner on these educational outreach projects to extend the important messages examined in the series. This partnership builds on SBS’s previous collaboration with eSafety, on commissioned drama The Hunting.
If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence or sexual assault phone 1800RESPECT or visit . For counselling, advice and support for men who have anger, relationship or parenting issues, call the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit .
