Her Majesty the Queen: Behind Closed Doors

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Summary

Queen Camilla has been raising awareness of domestic and sexual violence for over a decade. In this film, she gives voice to the grieving families who have lost loved ones, to survivors, and to those working to end the issue. Around three women take their own lives each week as a result of domestic abuse, but there is a lack of knowledge about its scale and how to resolve it across society

Review

Jane Rackham

Not as the programme title or our picture may suggest, a film about life at the Palace, but a subject very close to Queen Camilla’s heart: domestic abuse. The statistics are appalling. Around three women in the UK die each week as a result of domestic abuse. However, the abuse doesn’t have to be physical. Many women silently endure coercive control because they’re ashamed, don’t recognise what’s really happening, fear the consequences of speaking out, suspect they won’t be believed or don’t know of a safe place to go.

The Queen shows herself to be remarkably empathetic as she talks to charity workers, politicians and survivors of domestic abuse. Despite improvements to the law and attitudes, she’s determined to raise public awareness of abuse and give the women a voice. Talking publicly about it is a start because what happens behind closed doors is easy to ignore. As Cherie Blair says: “People are uncomfortable about judging what people do in the privacy of their own home.”