Airdate: Hitting Home

Sarah Ferguson has spent 6 months looking at the issues of domestic violence, and filming in women’s refuges for her 2 part documentary series Hitting Home, coming to ABC in late November.

With unprecedented access to courts and safe rooms, domestic abuse programs in prison, forensic doctors and specialised police units, Ferguson looks at how trouble escalates from control to physical violence and even death.

“All year we have been hearing stories of violent attacks on women, alone at home, in front of their children, in cars, in remote locations or in full view in public, but I didn’t have a good understanding of what domestic violence actually is,” she says. “I wanted to find out how it works, why men – and it is largely men – do it, and why their partners find it so hard to leave. These are gripping, sometimes heartbreaking, stories of women and children caught up in extraordinary situations. Their courage in speaking out took my breath away.”

“Hitting Home is a program for all of us – men and women, young and old,” says Director of Television Richard Finlayson. “The Prime Minister rightly labels this crisis a national disgrace. I hope Sarah’s unprecedented access to victims and their stories will not only enlighten viewers but reveal areas of hope for the future.”

Culminating on the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, episode 2 will be immediately followed by a special edition of Q & A hosted by Virginia Trioli.

Hitting Home is an In Films production. Written and presented by Sarah Ferguson. Director Ivan O’Mahoney. Series Producer Nial Fulton. Executive Producers Ivan O’Mahoney and Nial Fulton. ABC Commissioning Editor Anita.

24 & 25 November at 8.30pm on ABC, followed by a special edition of Q&A.