This TED Talk features artist and activist Yana Burr Tavaneer, recorded live at TED Residency 2018.

In the summer of 2017, a woman was murdered by her partner in Sofia.

The woman, let's call her V, was beaten for over 50 minutes before she died.

The morning after, her neighbors told the press that they heard her screams, but they didn't

intervene.

You see, in Bulgaria and many other societies,

domestic violence is typically seen as a private matter.

Neighbors, however, are quick to react to any other kind of noise.

We wanted to expose and affect the absurdity of this.

So we designed an experiment.

We rented the apartment just below V's for one night.

And at 10pm, Maxim, the artist in our group,

set on the drum set we had assembled in the living room, and started beating it.

10 seconds, 30 seconds, 50 seconds, a minute, a light came on in the hallway. One minute and 20 seconds.

A man was standing at the door, hesitant to press the bell.

One minute and 52 seconds.

The doorbell rang.

A ring that could have saved a life.

Beat is our project exploring the ominous silence surrounding domestic violence.

We filmed the experiment and it became instantly viral.

Our campaign amplified the voices of survivors who shared similar stories online.

It equipped neighbors with specific advice and many committed to taking action.

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