#TheDress that “came closer to breaking the Internet than Kim
Kardashian's bare behind” has been cast in a new light by the Southern African branch
of the Salvation Army,
which placed the garment-seen-round-the-world in a startling new ad promoting
domestic violence awareness. In it, a woman wearing "the dress" (in white and gold) lays beneath a tagline asking why it's so hard to see "black and blue." The woman is bruised, obviously a survivor of domestic violence.
Why is it so hard to see black and blue? One in 6 women are victims of abuse.
#StopAbuseAgainstWomen pic.twitter.com/cpNgEWGekq
— The Salvation Army (@salvationarmy) March 6, 2015Created by the Johannesburg branch of
the Ireland/Davenport agency,
the awareness raising ad made its debut in the Cape Times newspaper yesterday. Raising awareness is an important goal everywhere, but perhaps especially in South Africa, which some reports have ranked as having the highest rate of violence against women in the world. While it's worth remembering that awareness alone doesn't actually stop violence, it's a step in the right direction — and could bring some solace to survivors, no matter where they live.