Violence against Women is an issue that affects one in three Filipinas. At some point in a woman’s life, she will experience physical, emotional, or sexual violence from her partner. While some laws and policies protect survivors, around 41 percent keep from seeking help, 20 percent share experiences only with trusted people, and a little over 30 percent seek help from authorities.
It’s because when survivors talk about the abuse they’ve experienced and when women call for accountability online, they face guilt-tripping, gaslighting, and other threats normalized by society. With the prevalence of violence against women, which has extended beyond physical and onto the digital setting, more and more women fear not feeling safe to live and to speak out.
There has been a need to create a solid response to the lack of safe spaces for women and to build conversations focused on the rights and safety of women both online and off.
As part of its commitment to raise awareness of violence against women, Avon supports the move to create safe spaces with an informational and educational campaign on gender-based violence.
Avon’s latest contribution to the movement is to provide information. The brand has created a series of infographics that indicate abuse in numbers and specify tell-tale signs of physical, emotional, and sexual violence to encourage the community—survivors and witnesses alike—to Speak Out. All materials also reflect the different ways to seek help through Avon’s partner NGOs, the Luna Legal Resource Center for Women and Children Incorporated, GWAVE (Gender Watch Against Violence and Exploitation), and Ing Makababaying Aksyon.
A celebration to call for change will commence raising funds for Avon’s partner organizations with a culminating activity to SpeakOut for Safe Spaces.
In collaboration with Notorious Concepts—the group behind the popular nightlife destinations in Poblacion—Avon will host activities in their establishments to encourage fun and safe partying amid Metro Manila’s infamous nightlife scene. Avon and Notorious Concepts will introduce The Pink Drink as part of the fundraising partnership. For each Pink Drink sold, 5 percent of sales will proceed to partner NGOs committed to ending violence against women and girls.
Beyond raising awareness and donating funds, the event series will launch direct efforts to help women and communities speak out against violence. Throughout each partner establishment, Avon will place collaterals that inform women of safe words to discreetly alert other women, allies, and venue management of any potentially unsafe situations.
Join the cause to create a better world for women with Avon by participating in the call to SpeakOut for Safe Spaces on April 11, 13, and 16 in Alamat Poblacion, HQ Poblacion, and Japonesa Poblacion, respectively.