Somerville Advocacy Group Gets Real in Mannequin Challenge for Domestic Violence Awareness

SOMERVILLE, MA — The "Mannequin Challenge," a viral video trend popular among the nation's youth, consists largely of wacky and creative frozen poses. But RESPOND, a Somerville-based advocacy group aiming to end domestic violence, harnessed the challenge to make a powerful statement.

In a collaboration with the Stoneham Police Department, RESPOND made a Mannequin Challenge video to raise awareness about domestic violence, particularly the dangers of strangulation.

The video shows participants frozen in an apparent scene of a strangulation attack, urging victims of strangulation and domestic violence to reach out for help.

"Strangulation is lethal," said a Respond representative in the video."When you are strangled, you are on the edge of being murdered. Please, please reach out for help."

The video later implores the public not to be "frozen by fear." You can view the video below. Keep in mind that the content of the video may be shocking to some viewers.

Image via Youtube screenshot.

Joe Lipovich (Patch Staff) contributed to this report.