Online Campaign Raising Awareness For Female Domestic Abuse

This video is part of the “Don’t Cover It Up” campaign, and features Lauren Luke with fake facial injures meant to address how some women reguraly cover up their bruises and injuries with make-up after being physically abused.

Refuge, a UK-based support organization for women and children who are victims of domestic abuse, has created an online campaign called “Don’t Cover It Up,” in an effort to raise awareness about female domestic abuse victims. The video above was created as an fictional account that is all too real for some women, who use make up to cover up bruises and injuries sustained during an act of domestic abuse. It’s part of the campaign, which features make up artist Lauren Luke.

In an interview posted on YouTube, Luke explained why she decided to make the video, which has been viewed more than 100,000 times since being posted on Sunday. “The reason I did this film is because domestic violence is a huge issue, and I really don’t think it gets the exposure that it needs.” Luke is something of a YouTube star; her channel, panacea81, has more than 400,000 subscribers and more than 126 million video views. She also has a Twitter account, @panacea81, where she tweeted the video on Sunday.

Don’t Cover It Up: Lauren Luke On ‘How To Look Your Best The Morning After’ – Domestic Violence Campaign | Conversation graziadaily.co.uk/conversation/a…

—Lauren Luke(@panacea81) July 2, 2012

Here’s the full interview where she talks about the interview and why she decided to make it.

The campaign also has an official hashtag, #DontCoverItUp. Here’s a sampling of some of the tweets using the hashtag.