The Bar Coasters Drawing the Connection Between Drinking and Domestic Violence – Place a cold drink on one and it reveals the face of a battered woman.
By Liz Dwyer , May 17, 2015
JAPAN – It’s a scene that can be found the world over: A group of friends or colleagues heads out for a night on the town to celebrate the end of the workweek or a special occasion. Innocent enough, except when one too many drinks leads to an incident of domestic violence. Now, a series of coasters produced by a Tokyo nightclub chain, Yaocho Bar Group, is turning the spotlight on the sobering connection.
According to the World Health Organization, alcohol consumption is “a major contributor” to intimate partner violence around the world. Its data indicates that 55 percent of domestic violence incidents in the United States are connected to alcohol.
As the video above shows, images on these “Violent Coasters” were created with a special thermochemical ink. When patrons set their ice-filled drinks down on one of the squares, the cold temperature of the glass causes the picture of a woman to transform, with cuts and bruises appearing on her face.
Accompanying the image are the words, “Don’t let excessive drinking end in domestic violence.” That will be a welcome message to the roughly 33 percent of women and 17 percent of men Japan who have experienced some kind of domestic violence, according to a 2006 survey from Japan’s Gender Equality Bureau.
Whether drink coasters in a bar are effective in addressing such a serious and significant problem remains to be seen. But the guys in the video certainly seem shocked by the coasters’ change, so let’s hope these coasters spark conversations that raise awareness and change behavior.
(Video) Bar-coasters-make-connection-drinking-domestic-violence