Local body painter creates living artwork for domestic abuse campaign
A prize-winning young Devon body painter will be creating a human work of art in Exeter this weekend (February 10th and 11th) during this year’s One Billion Rising events, which are part of an international campaign against exploitation and violence against women.
18-year-old Milena Watts will paint a heart on her model, Dan, as part of a design representing healthy relationships.
She has come on board to support Exeter’s charity SAFE (Stop Abuse For Everyone) who are organising the One Billion Rising events in the city over the weekend. This year their focus is on promoting healthy relationships for young people – those aged 16 to 24 are at the greatest risk of experiencing abuse within a relationship.
Milena, who won first prize at last year’s Devon Body Art Exhibition in Exmouth, said: “Abusive relationships are such a real and serious problem in society, and having the opportunity to use my skills to help bring awareness to the issue is a fantastic thing for me to be able to do.
“I’m fortunate enough to be in a comfortable and loving relationship and I believe it’s extremely important to spread the word that if someone doesn’t feel comfortable and safe around their significant other, then something is very wrong and they should seek help.”
Milena will be demonstrating the astonishing effects she creates with body make-up at the Lush shop in Princesshay from 10am till 4pm on Saturday February 10th.
As in past years, SAFE are also organising a series of flashmob dances in Exeter city centre as part of One Billion Rising. This year they will take place on Sunday February 11th.
Everyone – men, women and children - is welcome to join the dances or just come along to show support for the local and global campaign.
The dance, to the song Break the Chain, will be performed in Bedford Square in Princesshay at 11.00, at East Gate in Princesshay at 11.30, in Bedford Square again at 12.00 and in Cathedral Green at 12.30. Anyone wanting to learn or practice the dance can attend a rehearsal on Saturday February 10th, 11.00 till 1pm, at St Sidwell’s Community Centre.
SAFE are taking part in One Billion Rising not only to support the international campaign but also to raise awareness of the high levels of male violence against women in Exeter, across Devon and in the UK as a whole.
They are keen to move the focus away from ‘women as victims’ and encourage the belief that men’s violence against women is a problem facing society as a whole – with men also as part of the solution.
SAFE’s Chief Executive, Jacinta Wainwright, said: “Men’s violence against women is preventable if we work together. We believe there are huge benefits for men in supporting the prevention of violence and achieving equality.”
One Billion Rising has been described as the biggest mass action to end men’s violence against women in human history. The campaign began in 2012 as a call to action based on the shocking statistic that one in three women in the world – amounting to a billion - will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. Every February, campaigners in hundreds of countries ‘rise’ to show their local communities and the world as a whole what one billion looks like and shine a light on the injustice often faced by survivors. But they also ‘rise’ to show that they have not been defeated by this violence and are determined to create a new consciousness in which the abuse of women is no longer tolerated.
For more information on the One Billion rising campaign please visit the official website http://www.onebillionrising.org/
To see more of Milena's body art please visit https://www.instagram.com/milenasmakeups/
