In France and the UK, with just a “magic word”, those at risk of domestic violence would be given a chance to talk in private, to see if they need any help from police or other services from domestic violence helpline. All they have to do is to say the code word to the pharmacists.

Inspired by the “Mask-19” initiative in France, a high school student in Poland has set up a fake cosmetic shop on Facebook, for victims to hide their distress signals by camouflaging as shopping online from their abusers who would constantly check their phones. This initiative has won an award from the European Union for tackling the consequences of Covid-19.

Salespeople from the online shop “Camomiles and Pansies", whose actual name in Polish will not be disclosed under the interviewee’s request to protect victims’ safety, are actually therapists. They disguise themselves and ask questions about their skin as a cover to ask about their family violence situation, for example, they will ask about which products are their skin sensitive to, if they have problems with redness and when do these problems occur. And when the person “places an order”, it is actually a code for authorities to visit their homes. 

“Use our mask and get rid of all the skin impurities that make your life difficult and stressful,” one of the product descriptions reads in Polish. 

In response to a Facebook messenger enquiry on April 9, 2020, a spokesperson of Camomiles and Pansies said: “We try to be very casual with our descriptions, but almost every sentence has a hidden meaning - if you know what we do, you will understand... We have to create a perfect balance between encouraging victims and being undercover.”

As of January, the Facebook page has helped 350 people, mostly young women and teenagers, who experienced various types of violence from their parents.