Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton has become "a victim of domestic violence" in a new social ad, local media reported. The edited image shows the royal with numerous bruises, cuts, and injuries on her face. The image was captioned with the following statement:
"She reported him. But nobody believed her - but she was left alone. But she was not protected - but he was not stopped. But she was killed anyway".
The Sun writes that the duchess’ photo was used without permission.
The royal is not the only high-profile female to appear in the social ad campaign. Altered images of US Vice President Kamala Harris, Queen Letizia of Spain, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde were also used in the posters. According to The Sun, the posters were seen on bus stops and buildings in Italy and Spain.
Artist AleXsandro Palombo, who created the social ad campaign, said its aim was to "draw attention to the poor responses from politics regarding the problem of gender-based violence and highlights the ineffectiveness of the support and protection system to the victims".
Judging by the reactions on social media, people didn’t like the ads at all.
Many users criticised the artist for the very graphic images.
Others berated AleXsandro Palombo for not focusing on emotional abuse, which they deemed was the most important aspect of domestic violence.
Many users lamented the fact that celebrities are needed to draw the public’s attention to the problem.
Others claimed that the artist was just seeking attention.
Some users seemed worried about AleXsandro Palombo not asking for permission to use the images.
Still others contended that the artist should have used photos of real domestic violence victims.