Avon calling in campaign against violence (From Thisisdorset)

Avon calling in campaign against violence

10:00am Saturday 2nd January 2010

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AVON is calling at doors across Weymouth, but the ladies will be ditching the lipsticks to pay more than lip service to domestic violence.

Britain’s army of Avon ladies is taking a stand against domestic violence by spreading messages of the beauty company’s Four Ways to Speak Out campaign in the new year.

The representatives in the Weymouth team will be spreading the word among its network of more than 43,000 customers while on their rounds.

Instead of selling make-up, the representatives will be focused on selling the campaign by raising awareness of domestic violence and where to find help.

Gail Reynolds, Avon sales leader from Weymouth, said: “We’re going to be going out and about on our rounds talking to every woman we meet about the Four Ways to Speak Out campaign – that means we can share the message with tens of thousands of women through my team alone.

“Domestic violence is devastating for women and, as well as calling on my customers, I’ll be encouraging friends and family to sign the petition and buy the Avon Empowerment necklace too.

“This gives us a great opportunity to open the channels of communication for women who are unsure of where to turn if they are experiencing domestic violence, or think they know someone who is.”

The Empowerment necklace commemorates the women killed by domestic violence and helps fund vital domestic violence services.

Avon is also raising funds to support charities such as Refuge, a national organisation for women and children experiencing violence at home.

The Avon ladies are calling on their customers to play their part in spreading the word in four ways – by buying the Empowerment necklace, downloading a poster to display in their local area, inviting family and friends to join the campaign and signing a petition.

The petition at www.fourwaysto speakout.com calls for the Government to put an end to the postcode lottery of domestic violence – as it stands, one in three local authorities do not provide any domestic violence services.

Celebrities backing the campaign include Ruby Wax, Helen Mirren, and Lorraine Kelly.

Allyson Russell, executive director, business development at Avon UK, said: “It’s a challenge for a beauty brand to take on the ugly issue of domestic violence but at Avon we believe that if you can empower a woman, you can change the world.”

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