Since 2006, a Law known as the Maria da Penha Law was created so that violence against women would stop to be seen as a normal crime, ensured severe punishment for the aggressors and protection for the victims.

Even so, every year in Brazil, 4 out of 10 women are assaulted inside their homes. In the northeast region, this number increases to 6 out of 10 women. Besides the violence, the machismo deprives women of information. They are prisoners inside their homes. The law can’t enter the homes of these women.

We discovered a way to enter these homes dominated by machismo; we instructed women about the types of domestic violence and encouraged its report through the launch of a line of products, the Line 180, which entered the homes of women together with the Avon Representatives, who also had the role of multiplying the information to more and more women.

Since the 90’s, Brazil has been living in a democracy. The civil, social and individual rights are respected. However, when it comes to building the Brazilian Social Mentality, we still live in a dictatorship regarding the woman’s role in society. We still see small counties where the women cannot work and can only take care of the house. In advertising, there is still the perception of the woman figure still stigmatized in beer ads. We got out of military dictatorship, but in Brazil we still live a dictatorship of the woman’s image.

The 180 Line strengthened Avon’s commitment to be, as its own slogan proposes, “The Company for Woman”. A makeup company that had the courage to tell women not to use makeup. After all, for Avon, makeup is to let woman be prettier and confident, and not to cover-up bruises of the soul. We managed to bring the theme of the woman’s role in society, in the fight for their rights and the search for equality, right during Women Month, approaching an issue that is important to all women: domestic violence.

While all companies paid homage to women, we used the date to alert them that all women need to fight together to put an end to violence, for equal salaries, for equal tasks and equal rights. We obtained relevance in media, starting debates in different groups of women, from more radical feminists to beauty bloggers. We surfaced a problem that used to be imprisoned inside the home of thousands of women: the social wound of domestic violence.

Brazil is a culturally sexist country. In the companies, in the streets, in the bakery line and unfortunately, at home men think they have the right to degrade the role of woman. Since birth families impose that men play ball and women play with dolls. Creating a culture of “things for men and things for women”.

This line of thought reflects in the companies where we see women with the same position as men, earn 30% less just for the fact they are women.

This social way of thinking, degrading women in relation to men, puts women at risk. Many men feel their wives are their properties, depraving them of contact with the family, with friends and imposing rules. For the Maria da Penha Law this is already a form of violence. But because of the lack of knowledge of the Law, many women can’t see this as violence and are victims of violence inside their homes. The 180 Line campaign was created to enter these homes, where many times not even the police enters and shows women that there is a Law that will protect them, but also, change in mid and long term the sexist perception of the Brazilian society.

Since 2004, Avon globally promotes the eradication of violence against women through its Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program. In Brazil, every year Avon promotes Forums and Studies about the theme with the intention of disseminating information on domestic violence, the role of the Maria da Penha Law and the violence report 180 line.

We created the 180 Line, the first line of make-up with empty products, which received the same name of the number for the Violence Report and Woman Service Center, and it was empty to show that violence can’t be covered-up.

We created a special magazine, like the traditional Avon Sales magazine, but this time the products informed each type of domestic violence and how the Law protects the victims and punishes the aggressors. The magazine entered the home of women through the Avon Representatives, women who other women trust and have access to homes that many times not even the police can get in. Before, the representatives were qualified to understand the law, identify the campaign information. We created an integrated campaign to launch the 180 Line and a documentary to encourage women to report violence.