On Valentine’s Day, the Bulgarian Fund for Women announces the launch of the Love Errors campaign that reminds people of the most common delusions about love. The aim of the campaign is for young women and girls to recognize early signs of violence and to encourage them to be more brave and loving themselves. It is realized with the support of AVON Bulgaria as part of their “Mission against violence against women and girls” and the creative realization is provided pro bono by Direct Media KRES advertising agency.
Despite the shocking statistics that every third woman in Bulgaria has been the victim of violence and the escalation of female murders in recent months (35 killed by a man close to them or a male partner only in 2018), there is a lack of sufficiently effective campaigns against gender based and domestic violence, and prevention is the most important weapon against this pressing problem. This is why organizers launch this campaign with provocative messages.
The series of illustrations and statements, causing natural disagreement in the audience, aim to expose the most common clichés that justify violence against women. “I challenged him. I’m to blame,” “He’ll stop if I stop going out without him,” “Well, come on, a slap on the face is not a drama,” are just a few of the most erroneous delusions that young women who are now entering into a romantic relationship or are already in one tend to succumb to. Looking for love, they tend to justify or conceal, ignore or accept the first signs of violence. They excuse words and actions in the name of saving their relationship, they want to believe that it will not happen again, and that they are capable of changing the person by their side. And the truth is that the guy by their side is most likely an abuser and should seek help. And they should too.
The organizers call on people: “Do not believe in delusions. Recognize violence and seek help!” and remind people that too much attention, following and tracking someone’s daily life, expensive gifts and flowers are not always an expression of love. Love is trust and support, respect for the other‘s right to have an opinion, freedom to make their own choices and to express their individuality without fear.
The different types of abuse are explained on the website LoveErrors.bg, for violence is not limited to physical only, as well as contact information for emergency help and consultation. The information will be further distributed via the specially created profiles in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoveErrors.BFW и Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveerrors_bg/.
The cooperation between the Bulgarian Fund for Women and AVON is a natural continuation of the mission of the cosmetic company to work against gender-based violence by supporting information campaigns and activities to protect and support victims such as the establishment of an emergency telephone hotline for professional advice.
