This year marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, March 8, and The Body Shop, which has been known for its strong dedication to defending human rights (one of the most well-known campaigns is the global movement aimed at stopping sex trafficking of children and young adults), is launching another project to commemorate the date and help homeless women in Australia improve their lives. The ‘Strength in Numbers’ campaign, which starts today, March 1, supports the global United Nation’s theme for 2011 International Women’s Day, which is ‘Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.’
Illustration: www.thebodyshop.com.au
The project, which will be running throughout March, has been launched by the personal care brand and The Big Issue magazine, a periodical which was began as a The Body Shop Foundation project and is sold by homeless people on the streets. Now, for every 100 subscriptions sold, The Big Issue’s Women’s Subscription Enterprise provides one disadvantaged women with work and training, so that she should earn legal money, support her family, gain new skills, and pave the road to her personal success and a better future of her children.
Sally Hines, Head of the Women’s Subscription Enterprise for The Big Issue, says, “With 15 women currently on the waiting list and many more that we would like to try and support, this campaign is a great tool for us to reach thousands. The Body Shop customers will be able to purchase subscriptions to The Big Issue magazine in store, with 3 and 12 month subscriptions available. For as little as $39 people can be part of a movement that will create lasting social change to Australian women.”
Celebrated illustrator Dean Gorissen created a poster for the campaign, which was developed by Melbourne-based agency The Blue Group. The customers of the brand’s venues are also invited to write a message of support to the women who will benefit from the program—as a gift, they will get a themed temporary tattoo to wear during this month. So far, there are 46,000 homeless women in Australia, and through the initiative the brand is going to help some of them break the circle of poverty.
Mark Kindness, Chief Executive, from The Body Shop Australia, commented, “The largest single cause of homelessness in Australia is domestic and family violence, which overwhelmingly affects women and children. The ‘Strength in Numbers’ campaign will provide an opportunity to create awareness of this issue, and in turn affect change in the lives of some of society’s most vulnerable people. Previous similar campaigns have received between 15,000—20,000 actions of support, and we envisage this one will be just as popular”.