Just like a trivial piece of clothing, it seems to be increasingly essential that every human being also come with a "how-to-care-for" label, so that they are not destroyed by another person.

Based on this prism, and because we are passionate about creating meaningful pieces, we conceived the special edition You Can Leave, which aims to alert to the growing and expanding plight that is Domestic Violence and contribute to its eradication. More and more cases, earlier and earlier, more and more deaths. The main victims: women and children.

We created 3 pairs of sneakers and a pair of laces, all with 5 common symbols that show "how-to-care-for" – they are printed so that no one forgets that in a relationship, which should be based on love, mutual care and respect for individuality, there should be no violence, there should be no guilt, there should be no shame, there should be no intimidation, there should be no control.

Each symbol is associated to one of these actions, and we gave each pair of sneakers a life and a QR Code, which leads to possible help and understanding.

On one of the sneakers the QR Code is hidden, meaning that in a relationship where Domestic Violence exists, it proliferates in silence and shame. This QR Code comes with the message "You Can Leave", because the victim may not be able to leave the abuser the first time, but one of these times she will be able to leave, forever. There is always hope, because it takes between 5 and 7 attempts for the victim to abandon the abuser once and for all.

This is a cause that means so much to us, which is why the purchase of any one of these 3 pairs of sneakers or laces reverts to associations that help victims of domestic violence, namely APAV and She is Rising.

Two pairs of these sneakers not only have the "how-to-care-for" symbols, but also numbers, numbers that have a meaning:

• 7 in 10 women experience physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime;
• 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not considered a crime;
• The most common age for domestic violence to occur is between the ages of 15 and 44.

We want to alert! We want to talk about Domestic Violence. We want you to talk about it! Don’t judge, don’t turn a blind eye! It is only when we are in someone else's shoes that we can truly understand how pain and suffering, covered by shame, leave us incapacitated and feeling like a victim with no way out. But there is always a way out and it’s very important to know that there is a path that comes after all this, that no one is born damaged – there is hope for a life after a life of suffering, there is a new life waiting and many good moments to be lived!

Domestic violence is not a couple’s problem, it's yours, it's all of ours. Don’t forget that 7 in 10 women are victims of domestic violence at least once in their lifetime, and that some women are victims all their lives. And you definitely know someone who suffers from domestic violence, even if you think you don’t. Domestic violence doesn’t choose age, religion, or social status, so never assume it won’t happen to you or to someone you know.

Pass the word! Start this conversation!