Zombie bride ads ‘may spook abuse victims’
ANTI-violence campaigners have called on a major high street chain to remove a store promotion featuring a burned and bleeding woman.
Scottish Women’s Aid said the shocking till display at Superdrug could cause flashbacks to women who have been the victims of domestic abuse.
The company claims it is a celebration of Halloween and insists it is a traditional view of a ‘zombie bride’.
The image has been used in Scottish branches of the chain and also features on its website.
It shows a blonde model with matted hair, who has significant burn damage to her right eye and cheek as well as blood dripping from her left nostril.
However, Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, described the picture as ‘awful’, adding that such images can further upset women who have endured abuse.
She said: ‘We can’t believe anyone thought this picture was acceptable, much less that it would sell something. Women walking through a public space are assaulted by an image that for some will be only too evocative of their experience or that of their mother, sister or daughter. It should be removed.
‘Not only do such images revictimise those who have suffered enough but they miss the most important aspect – women’s power to survive.’
Shopper Alan Dignon said he found the picture ‘distressing’ when he encountered it during a shopping trip with his wife, Susan, last week.
Mr Dignon, 59, from Newton Mearns, Glasgow, added: ‘It goes too far… it smacks of domestic violence.’
A spokesman for Superdrug said: ‘We apologise if our imagery has caused any offence as that certainly is not our intention. The imagery is identified as the Zombie Bride and is to support our Halloween campaign.
‘This is part of a group of photographs which depict popular Halloween looks.’