ABUSE IS NOT LOVE

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Where packaging is constantly in tune with the society of which it represents the values.
Packaging mirrors the culture of our society and in turn contributes to creating the same. It does so through messages, that are transmitted via its shape, its graphics, its symbols: it thus transfers values and messages and takes part in the evolution of contemporary social life.

Psychological abuse is never love: packaging on the side of women victims of violence

Violence against women and girls (Violence Against Women and Girls – VAWG) represents one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations that, to date, goes unreported due to impunity, silence, stigmatization and shame that characterize it.
This type of violence can manifest itself in different ways, for example as physical, sexual and psychological violence, which includes: partner violence in intimate situations (mistreatment, psychological abuse, marital rape, feminicide); sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber harassment); human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation); female genital mutilation; child marriage.

 

 

 

According to the United Nations, around 736 million women worldwide – almost one in three – have suffered physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lives. More than five women or girls are killed every hour by someone in their own family, and more than four in five (86%) live in countries without strong legal protection against gender-based violence.
To raise public awareness of this phenomenon which is still so widespread in the world, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women has been celebrated every 25 November since 1981, established in 1999 by the United Nations General Assembly. This date was chosen to honor the brutal murder of the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were tortured and killed in 1960 on the orders of dictator Rafael Trujillo.

 

To raise public awareness about gender violence, more and more brands around the world are involved in programs to support female empowerment and in communication campaigns against violence against women.
YSL Beauty continues its Abuse is not love initiative with the goal of reaching 2 million people worldwide by 2030 and raising awareness of the 9 warning signs that are increasingly mistaken for love in intimate relationships : 1) intimidate (call things crazy and instill fear); 2) ignore (in moments of anger); 3) blackmail (if you refuse to do something); 4) manipulate (to force someone to do or say something); 5) meddle (check your phone or monitor your location); 6) humiliate (put in difficulty); 7) show jealousy (regarding everything you do); 8) control (where you go and how you dress); 9) isolate (distancing yourself from friends and family).

 

 Avon in collaboration with the anti-domestic violence organization No More have launched the Reverse Make-up Tutorial, a video based on real experiences that focuses on controlling and abusive behavior aimed at destroying a woman’s self-esteem through her appearance and trick; behavior that is often part of or a precursor to physical violence. A survey conducted by the beauty brand on the experience of 1,035 British women revealed, in fact, that one in six women had a partner who controlled whether or not she wore make-up, while 11% of those interviewed happened to be influenced in the choosing to wear makeup; Nearly one in six women who had a partner control or influence their make-up also used make-up to hide injuries inflicted in the context of domestic violence. The age group that reported the highest incidence (22%) of partners controlling the amount of makeup they wore was 18 to 24 years old.

 

 

During the month of November, on the occasion of the celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Avon launched a “Personal Safety Alarm“, a key ring that includes an alarm to attract attention in case of need and a torch to light the way. 100% of the profits from the sale of this accessory will be donated to charity.

In Chile, 21 feminicides have already been recorded since the beginning of 2023. In these crimes, the precursory signs of violence are actually evident, but they are always hidden behind an “excuse me” and are often not taken into sufficient consideration.
In this perspective, in Santiago, the Municipality of Las Condes launched the campaign “Perdón, Alto en violencia” (Sorry, Excess Violence) based on posters spread throughout the urban space and on the distribution of bars of chocolate with different phrases printed on the packaging, such as “perdón, se me pasó la mano de celoso” (sorry, I exaggerated with jealousy) or “perdón, no era mi intención empujarte” (sorry, I didn’t mean to push you).

 

The phrases used on the packaging referring to violence (Alto en Violencia), aggression (Alto en Agresión) and harm caused to women (Alto en Daños irreparables), is a re-semantization – that is, the attribution of new meanings to existing words – of the expression “Alto en” (Excess of) required by Chilean legislation on labeling and affixed to those foods that exceed specific limits of calories (Alto en Calorías), total sugars (Alto en Azúcares), sodium (Alto en Sódio ) and saturated fats (Alto en Grasas Saturadas). With this labeling system, Chile has been a pioneer in Latin America in the fight against obesity and other diseases related to malnutrition, becoming an example for other countries on this continent.

 

 

According to UNWomen, gender-based violence is a plague that, in addition to negatively affecting the general well-being of women and preventing them from fully participating in society, has an impact on families, the community and the country in general; it also has enormous costs, from increased pressure on healthcare to legal costs and lost productivity. Violence against women and girls is an obstacle to the full realization of their human rights, and more generally to the achievement of equality, development and peace.
However, it is a problem that does not only concern a large number of particularly violent and disturbed individuals, but society as a whole, still pervaded by patriarchal legacies and strong injustices. “Sexual violence against women and girls has its roots in centuries of male domination. Let us not forget that those gender inequalities that fuel rape culture are fundamentally a question of power imbalances,” said António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations.

 

In Italy, the tragedy that struck Giulia Cecchettin, a young woman victim of feminicide, profoundly shook public opinion and brought attention to the serious issue of gender violence in our country too. Communication around this serious and complex phenomenon has once again become the protagonist of the press, television news and talk shows.
The hope is that thanks to this intense media coverage, also through unconventional campaigns such as those spread through product packaging, we can increase the awareness not only of women to be more attentive to the warning signs that may indicate the presence of a dangerous relationship, to react and ask for help, but also for all of us to feel co-responsible for what is happening.
Gender violence in fact has a cultural matrix, that is, it is based on the inequality that characterizes the patriarchal tradition in which we are still immersed and which attributes a minority role to women.

 

 

To combat gender violence, a profound paradigm shift is therefore necessary, but to implement it it is necessary more than ever to act from a systemic perspective to collectively rethink the role of women and the balance of power in society.

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