YSL Beauty's "Abuse is Not Love" Initiative Elevates its Impact

YSL Beauty's philanthropic initiative, "Abuse is Not Love", recently underwent a major expansion. In collaboration with the China Women's Development Foundation, this initiative has launched an educational program for college students across China. It focuses on helping young adults identify key red flags in relationships, fostering healthy and positive connections, understanding the true essence of love, and ultimately bettering themselves.

Since its born in 2020, the global initiative aims to collaborate with global partners to raise awareness about the nuances of intimate relationship violence. It seeks to educate young people on this issue, with the goal of preventing violence in relationships. So far, the initiative has reached over 267,000 individuals across 25 countries, working with local NGOs to empower people to recognize and respond to signs of unhealthy relationships and promote confidence and independence.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) remains one of the most prevalent forms of violence against women. Studies indicate that around 641 million women and girls globally are affected by IPV. In relationships, IPV often manifests in multiple ways, including not just physical or verbal abuse, but also more subtle forms of psychological control, often masquerading as love. Recognizing and addressing these hidden forms of violence is crucial in helping victims escape these situations.

In China, YSL Beauty's initiative, in collaboration with the China Women's Development Foundation and supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Center for Applied Psychology, has launched an educational project for university students. This project involves comprehensive research on students' relationships and a range of educational activities to promote healthy intimate relationships, having already educated 142,000 participants.

By 2030, YSL Beauty aims to enlighten at least 2 million people globally about the signs of intimate relationship violence, with a target of reaching 500,000 individuals in China. This effort is part of YSL Beauty's commitment to social responsibility.

In its quest to foster healthy intimate relationships and prevent violence, YSL Beauty has identified nine major warning signs through its research on university students' relationships.

In 2023, YSL Beauty further upgraded its "Abuse is Not Love" WeChat mini-program, offering free psychological counseling services in partnership with the China Women's Development Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This service aims to provide immediate assistance to young people experiencing discomfort in their relationships, enhancing awareness and self-protection among those less able to recognize signs of intimate relationship violence.