Image source: thoughco.

 

Domestic abuse fights back

Taking a stand for women through social media

A woman’s words are never the truth: many people fall accustom to feeling this way when cases of domestic abuse arise. The Salvation Army of South Africa found a way to promote such an issue through a viral dress. A blue and back, or gold and white dress took social media hype around February 2015, this dress questioned your perception of if you could actually see both colors, or just one. With the question of “what color do you see?” roaming around, the Salvation army posted an advertisement of a women in the dress, but the dress was yellow and white, while her bruises were blue and black. Saudi Arabia launched their first domestic abuse ad almost two years before this in 2013 showing how this was the worst place to be a woman. Throughout these ads there is use of many commonplaces of the homelands of where each of these advertisements came from. To appeal to their audiences—emotions are used, to make you believe what is said—logical points and statistics are produced, and the ads even use woman personal experiences to exemplify their ethical reasoning.

In other lifestyles, cultures experience different ways of living but there are similarities in the issues present within. The salvation army of south Africa used a Kairos move when they posted their advertisement coincidently after the hype of the viral dress. Using the platform that the dress received, the SA took it upon themselves to highlight the domestic abuse that not only is present in South Africa, but also in America. Actually, South Africa has one of the highest incidences of domestic abuse in the world yet are the most widespread places of spreading human rights abuse. As a society, it is our civic duties to become aware of what is happening around us. Our world is what we make it and how we deal with issues says a lot more than a glimpse of sensation from a meme that will last two hours versus an issue that is going to last a lifetime.

Within both of these ads, they portray a significant meaning and topic that is sometimes glazed over. Social media covers up things by putting focus unintentionally on viral sensations. But why is domestic abuse never viral? In some cases, it is, for instance the Ray Rice case with abuse to his wife, but that got attention due to his position and fame. I believe the salvation army of south Africa and Saudi Arabia are amongst a few of the places that are trying to vocalize an issue for those not seen. By using a white female in the ad, the salvation army was able to make it apparent that it’s not just happening in minority places, but also is present in someone who can be your friend or have characteristics of your friends. They wanted to show the grounds that everyone is affected, and by placing their ad with a white woman is saying more than what is needed. Similarly, Saudi Arabia used an Arab woman who is wearing a hijab, and the only things shown is her eyes. This is speaking on the issue present in their country and how women there are almost treated as animals. Hate and abuse has no specific face and form, it can target any woman of any age, and it was important that both of these ads convey different races in this matter.

Where there are similarities, there are also differences between the two ad that are not going to go unnoticed. The salvation army focused on the dress and piggybacked on that idea of seeing black and blue versus white and gold is hard when you aren’t seeing the full picture. But in the case of Saudi Arabia’s ad, they are zoomed in and really focusing on what the woman’s eye convey as meaning. There is also text that is translated into meaning “the tip of the iceberg” and by providing another language on the image it’s bringing direct attention to their culture due to the lack of motion that has been taken to stop the horrors. It’s not hard to see that both of these places are facing such issues in their civic days, but they both approached a matter in two different ways, but the one that really got the most attention was the Salvation Army’s as it used an audience that was already in disagreement and presented them with domestic abuse as a way for them to dispute and get talking about it.

Provided in each campaign, is the use of the culture the ad was posted from. The Salvation Army of South Africa has a clear connection to domestic abuse as they are one of the top areas that experience this. There was an South African Domestic Violence Act of 1998 that defined domestic violence as, “ Physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional, verbal and psychological abuse; economic abuse; intimidation; harassment; stalking; damage to property; entry into the complainant’s residence without consent, where the parties do not share the same residence; or any other controlling or abusive behavior towards a complainant, where such conduct harms, or may cause imminent harm to, the safety, health or wellbeing of the complainant”. The South African Medical Council released a study saying that out of 1394 men interviewed, 50% physically abused their female partners at home This means, that a place that has experienced more than their share of hurt is a key provider when it comes to bringing awareness on such a topic. For Saudi Arabia, is is taught that it is socially acceptable to hit women, a form of domestic violence that is prominent is a male guardianship which is also known as a Mahram. The women in this country are basically treated as a minor with no power over their own lives. Knowing that they have no control is important when Saudi Arabia posted their campaign fighting against the normality of abuse among women. Taking control and making a stand and having a voice is significant, and the recipients of the image of the beaten Arabian women should know to trust the ethics for why it was posted, due to the situational living that is abuse in their country. When such issues are posted from areas that have relations to a severe topic, those who are looking at the picture should understand there is more to an image than just what you see.

Connecting to the credibility of the Salvation Army of South Africa and Saudi Arabia, there are logical reasons to why these places are arguing for such an important issue. Each place comes from an area where domestic violence of beating, hitting, and rape are common things and within their community is not deemed as wrong. In America, everyone is raised with ideas of right from wrong and hardly care to involve themselves with the reality other countries face. Provided in the ads are real life people who are spreading awareness of what is happening and what can still happen in America. It just makes sense that places with such high rates of domestic abuse are taking a stand and using their stories to build a community of togetherness to spread awareness.

Within each ad there is clear use of emotional pull to have the audience made aware of the domestic abuse issue. Domestic abuse is something that can happen anywhere at any time even to people you know. Within the Salvation army’s ad, the image shows bruises that correlate with the black and blue aspect of the viralness of the main dress. For something that didn’t happen to someone, the ad was able to pick something that went worldwide on social media and make those who got angry over not seeing the colors, then become confused and sad. The sadness was used to make you realize that there is a bigger picture and the world does not revolve around a meme. Saudi Arabia’s no more abuse campaign depicted a woman wearing a hijab, where only her eyes are seen. Her eyes tell a story of pain and abuse, she may be covered up but there is more to someone then what they are wearing and how they appear. Anyone can appear to be okay, but it’s important to not make silent those who can’t speak up due to the environment they live in. By observing each of these, it is made apparent that no matter where you are from, what religion you practice, what color your skin is, you can be a victim of domestic abuse and together as a world we need to bring attention to the areas that are not able to see clearly.

Furthermore, I can conclude that these civic ads are good representations of bringing together commonality in our world for issues that are serious. The Salvation Army of South Africa was able to convey a message that spoke louder in the form of a picture. Using a platform allowed for a Kairos moment to expand on a viral meme that made their ad even more viral. Saudi Arabia similarly launched their first domestic abuse campaign to stand up against decades of women being put down due to their religion suggesting them as inferior to their male husband. Both of these ads used pathos, ethos and logos to exemplify their needs for attention on such an important issue. Fortunately, these ads being released on media did spike conversations and set into motion a form of awareness that wasn’t as strongly there as before