ABOUT

A multichannel campaign exposing Paramilitary illegal money-lenders, by depicting the real-world consequences of being drawn into this easily accessible and alarmingly acceptable financial control.

Paramilitary illegal money-lenders are exploiting victims and entire communities across Northern Ireland by positioning themselves as pillars of the community, providing a service under the long since forgotten guise being for 'the cause'. Whatever political motivations these paramilitary gangs once had have now been replaced with personal gain. They lure victims in with quick, easy loans but with the explicit intention of never allowing them to pay it off, succumbing them to a life of indebtedness and abuse under threat of extreme violence, where they will take control of their homes, their belongings, their benefits, their lives and the lives of their friends and families. Our campaign exposes the ease with which it is to be drawn in and the cold, hard reality of this never-ending and always worsening cycle of abuse, living in constant fear, isolated and facing physical and psychological torment.

Purpose: We spoke with charities and community groups in direct contact with both victims and lenders and found that the victims are always vulnerable in some capacity and credit through normal means isn’t available to them. Therefore, borrowing money illegally is common despite the risk it carries. We heard instances of people getting themselves into serious and escalating debt for loans as small as £20. Therefore, our purpose was to show the devastating consequences paramilitary money lenders have on a person’s life and tackle the lie that paramilitaries are there to help.

Method of output: The ever increasing cost of living affects us all, but paramilitaries identify it as an opportunity and our audience was and remains incredibly broad across Northern Ireland. Therefore, to ensure we inform as many as possible and prevent this crime from flourishing a multi-channel approach was required. The 60” film ran (and still runs) across all broadcast TV, VOD and online, supported through-the-line with equally hard-hitting radio, OOH, digital and bespoke adaptations for multiple social channels.

Results: As you might expect, this is an almost exclusively unreported crime. Despite the perceived acceptance of repercussions that might befall the victims if they fall behind on repayments, all are under no illusion that the threat hanging over them if they speak to the Police would be far graver. So, we commissioned independent tracking research in affected areas across NI that revealed:
• After seeing the campaign 87% agree that it shows the real consequences of borrowing from paramilitary money lenders.
• 90% agree paramilitary money lenders exploit people and hold them forever in their debt.
• 87% agree that the campaign would deter them from borrowing from paramilitary money lenders.