FCB Warsaw and Polish Centre for Women's Rights Asks “Is ‘I’m Sorry’ really enough?”

In 2016, when the new government took over, the Polish Ministry of Justice denied funding to all organisations helping abused women, arguing they were helping only women and discriminating men.

 

The denying of NGO’s funding meant privatisation of violence, isolation of victims and treating act of violence as a conflict to solve within walls of home. To confront society and politicians with consequences of such decision, FCB Warsaw created a new flower brand – “flowers to Say Sorry” –  turning a harmful chauvinistic cliche’ into a symbol of tragic desperation of abused women in Poland. 

 

The “I’m Sorry” flowers collection reflected the typical cycle of violence, where every flower was named after offences corresponding to different abuse – from verbal threats to killing the partner.

 

Just before International Women’s Day, when the men traditionally buy woman flowers, the “I’m Sorry” flower collection was introduced to flower shops across Poland to gather social support for the cause.  The “I’m Sorry” flowers were composed into bouquets telling true stories of battered women gathered by The Centre of the Women Rights Foundation. On March 8, 2017, 460 “I’m Sorry I’m alive” bouquets were sent to each of 460 members of Parliament, asking to bring back the funding for Centre for the Women’s Rights.

 

Media broadly supported the cause and bringing back the funds for The Centre of the Woman became one of the main postulates of International Women’s Day Strike on March 8th. A week after The Members of Parliament presented an official interpellation to bring back the funding for the Centre of the Women Rights.