‘AD DOWNPLAYS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE’
Women’s Aid Organisation slams makers for belittling domestic violence
THE Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) yesterday lashed out at the makers of a beauty product for an advertisement it said insulted women and belittled domestic violence victims.
Its communications officer, Tan Heang Lee, said the advertisement appeared to say that women “should be pretty and your husband won’t hit you”.
“WAO is appalled by the recent Slimme White ad, which suggests that what domestic violence survivors needed was a beauty product that made them thinner and whiter. Such ads are incredibly damaging because they imply that women who look a certain way deserve abuse, and that their husbands have a right to abuse them,” she said in a statement.
Tan described the advertisement as offensive, unhealthy and irresponsible, adding that it was a disservice to the community.
“What this ad failed to recognise was that domestic violence is fundamentally about power and control. Domestic violence happens because men have more power in relationships, and then abuse their power to control their partners,” she said.
Tan said domestic violence happened because society tolerated men who abused their partners.
“Ads like this enable domestic violence. We don’t need a beauty product that promises us fair skin and a flat tummy; that in itself is a sexist beauty standard. What we need is respect and equality. We need men to respect women, and to recognise that it’s never okay to abuse another person.”
The advertisement shows a husband chasing his wife out of the house and telling her of his intention to divorce her.
The four-minute video then shows flashback memories of the past where the husband is portrayed as a caring person with believable promises, compared with the current situation where he abuses the wife both verbally and physically.
The woman then seeks refuge with her sister, who offers the Slimme White product.
A month later, the woman, noticeably slimmer and fairer (and played by a different actress) walks past her husband.
He then chases after her, proclaiming his love, asking her to forgive him. However, she rejects his request and asks him to move on with his life.