A teenage girl set up a fake cosmetics website so that people can report domestic abuse while pretending to shop.
According to the New York Times, domestic abuse has soared worldwide amid the coronavirus lockdowns still ongoing in many countries.
With many people forced to stay at home with their abusers (depending on their respective Covid-19 guidelines) hotlines have been receiving a higher volume of abuse reports.
Uneasy about the alarming stats, one high school student from Poland felt compelled to help.
Krystyna Paszko, 18, launched an "online shop" to ensure that victims and survivors trapped at home with their abusers could have a lifeline to turn to. (For the purpose of protecting the site, we will not be naming it in this article.)
In fact, the ingenious and potentially life-saving idea even bagged her the European Union prize, which included an award of €10,000 ($12,100).
In an interview with the BBC, Paszko explained: "Firstly, I heard about the increase in domestic violence cases during the pandemic.
"Then I heard about a French initiative, where people go to the pharmacy and ask for a special mask that lets the pharmacist know they are a victim of domestic violence. I thought it was a brilliant idea, so I came up with the idea of selling cosmetics."
The fake cosmetics retailer was set up last April by a then 17-year-old Paszko. The premise behind the website is that survivors are able to discreetly arrange for help.
When a "buyer" requests a skin cream, it's a psychologist rather than a sales assistant who responds. The psychologist then asks how long their "skin problems" have been going on.
If the "buyer" orders an item and leaves an address, this allows the authorities to visit the home of the victim and their abuser.
Paszko wrote about the retailer on her Facebook and received an unexpected amount of interest.
"I thought it would only be for my friends, and friends of friends. I thought I would help maybe one person or two, but the shares on Facebook were big and it became really popular," she told the BBC.
Paszko then got in touch with the Women's Rights Center, a Polish NGO, and asked for assistance. This paved the way for psychologists and lawyers to work with the website.
Since it was launched nearly a year ago, more than 350 people have gotten in touch with the website. Most of the victims and survivors are under the age of 40, and about 10% are male.
"More younger women prefer to write on Facebook than to call on the phone, it's more natural for younger women to use Facebook chat. Most of the men writing to us are teenagers," Paszko said.
