Does this mug axed by Sainsbury’s REALLY encourage domestic violence?
A MUG featuring a quote from a Roald Dahl story has been taken off the shelves at Sainsbury’s after campaigners said it encouraged domestic violence.
The phrase ‘ A brilliant idea hit her’ was written on the side of the £5.50 cups.
But the items have now been removed following a backlash, with critics claiming the slogan can be read ‘two ways’.
The phrase is adapted from a quote in the children’s author’s 1988 book Matilda.
The passage refers to Matilda’s friend Lavender who has the idea of putting a newt in headmistress Miss Trunchbull’s water jug.
The full excerpt reads: ‘ When at last the germ of a brilliant idea hit her, she began to expand on it and lay her plans with the same
‘It shows a lack of empathy for victims’
kind of care the Duke of Wellington had done before the Battle of Waterloo.’
However, some said the way the quote had been used and designed on the mug meant it could be mistakenly read as encouraging people to hit women.
Luis Labaton, head of domestic abuse charity Domestic Violence Assist, said: ‘Sainsbury’s has shown a lack of empathy for domestic violence victims by displaying these mugs. It shows just how far from reality they are.’
Ruth Mason, from the charity Women’s Aid, said: ‘We were dismayed to see the Sainsbury’s design with the slogan. This slogan can be read two ways – and that is the problem.
‘It can be read as the author Roald Dahl wrote in Matilda: “When at last the germ of a brilliant idea hit her.” However, it can also be read – as many have noticed and commented on social media – as a trivialisation of the violence that women experience in their own homes.
‘The design uses a different font and capital letters for the words “hit her” which further emphasises the ambiguity. In addition, the quote is not in full and out of context. Perhaps it would be “a brilliant idea” to change the design and donate to domestic abuse charities instead.’
However others disagreed with the activists’ complaints.
Emma Webb, the director of the Institute for the Study of Civil Society, Civitas, said: ‘I hope Sainsbury’s is capable of resisting idiocy. “A brilliant idea hit her” is not “a brilliant idea: Hit her”. Who is going to read a mug and find in it permission to hit their wife?’
A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said: ‘We are apologising to customers for any upset this may have caused and working with the Roald Dahl team to remove the mug from sale while the design is reviewed.’