Home is where the hurt is, says abuse campaign

A shock campaign to end violence against women has been launched by Amnesty International to coincide with Mother's Day.
The organisation has highlighted a range of everyday household items - including a shovel, a hose-pipe and a rolling pin - along with a handgun and crutches, and links them to attacks on women.
It features cushions to "muffle screams, cries of resistance", a hose-pipe "for a well-deserved beating", a rolling pin to "keep her and the whole household in line" and a "super threatening" knife so "Mum won't be going anywhere in a hurry when she sees this".
Amnesty bosses anticipate the advert will generate some complaints but hope it will lead to increased public awareness. The advert says one woman is killed in New Zealand by her partner or ex-partner every five weeks. As part of the campaign, a press release in the form of a greetings card from the organisation to media outlets says: "Happy Mother's Day, Bitch".
Amnesty New Zealand's executive director Ced Simpson said it was part of a two-year global campaign to expose and raise awareness of violence against women. "We want to remind people that violence against women is affecting women whom we love, be it as mothers, partners or daughters, and that is how the idea came around in relation to linking this advert to Mother's Day. "Domestic abuse is consistent with torture and a purpose of this advert is to get that across and help people look at everyday situations and realise the human rights violations for what they are," Simpson said.
"Many people would be shocked to know the prevalence of violence against women in our own community."
Amnesty is the latest organisation to use shock tactics to convey its message to the public. The Land Transport Safety Authority launched a series of print advertisements last month comparing speeding drivers to vicious dogs, drug addicts and suicide bombers, although it pulled the suicide bomber image just days into the three-week campaign as it felt it was "inappropriate".
Simpson said any shock factor felt by people reading Amnesty's advert paled in comparison to the suffering experienced by some women.
"Amnesty often deals with grim stuff. Violence against women is unpleasant so we may get some complaints but we do not offer any gratuitous images and the reality is much worse than what is implied in these adverts. "We want people to stop and think. Think about whether there is something they can be doing about this grim stuff and to raise awareness that it is happening."
University of Auckland senior marketing lecturer Dr Christina Lee described the advert as "smart" but believed many people would skip over it. "For someone reading through a newspaper it is not effective because there is a lot of text and pictures. I thought it might be a Farmers' ad when I first saw it," she said. "It's not as clear as it could be because there are too many things in it and a lot of people just won't read it. The first three pictures already provide the message and it is almost like an overkill having so many elements to it. There might also be some complaints as Mother's Day gifts are supposed to be gifts of love, but instead of giving her gifts of love they show all this violence and pain and sorrow."
University of Otago marketing lecturer Michael Fay said even if the advertisement did prompt controversy it was unlikely to harm Amnesty International's cause. "Some people will probably be a little shocked and others disapprove of a day that is supposedly dedicated to 'mother love' being exploited in this way. Alternatively it may be that people are now so used to seeing graphic images that the advert will hardly create a ripple."
(Bron)