If you're in a major city, you probably walk past a Big Issue vendor every day. It isn't easy shouting on a street corner trying to sell a few sheets of paper, and it's even harder if you're a woman and you're trying to run away from something. With a new subscription drive, The Big Issue is trying to make it easier for suffering women to make a fresh start, and the Body Shop is helping out.

The Body Shop will promote subscriptions to the magazine in store with posters (sample below) and offer subscription sign ups in store. The money generated from the subscriptions will help fund new paid positions for women to work in producing The Big Issue. As well as paid employment, the women will also get training, career guidance, and the chance to develop their skills in a safe environment.

The campaign was designed by Melbourne creative agency, The Blue Group, and uses an image by illustrator Dean Gorissen that recalls the famous wartime 'we can do it' poster.

 
Mark Kindness, chief executive of The Body Shop Australia, said it was the perfect campaign to launch to their customers, coinciding with International Women’s Day.
 
“The largest single cause of homelessness in Australia is domestic and family violence, which overwhelmingly affects women and children," he says. "The ‘Strength in Numbers’ campaign will provide an opportunity to create awareness of this issue, and in turn affect change in the lives of some of society’s most vulnerable people.

“Previous similar campaigns have received between 15 000 – 20 000 actions of support, and we envisage this one will be just as popular”.
 
Sally Hines, head of the Women’s Subscription Enterprise for The Big Issue, said they were grateful to The Body Shop for their ongoing support and the campaign was timely, with disadvantaged women already on waiting lists to work on the enterprise.
 
“With 15 women currently on the waiting list and many more that we would like to try and support, this campaign is a great tool for us to reach thousands of Australians through The Body Shop’s 82 stores across the country.”

Customers are also being encouraged to write messages of support for the homeless women being employed through the Women’s Subscription Enterprise and will receive a campaign temporary tattoo to wear throughout March.