Petition against Australian cosmetics company that 'indirectly supports sexual assault towards women' gathers pace

Students at an Australian all-girls school blast Klara Cosmetics for the 'abhorrent' ad

The ad by Klara Cosmetics which has been causing an online furore (Klara Cosmetics)

An online campaign against an Australian cosmetics company - which is said to be ‘indirectly supporting sexual assault towards women’ - has been gathering pace after a post of one of its in-store adverts went viral.

Almost 15,000 people have signed the Change.org petition in a week after 19-year-old Alexandria Mourelatos blasted Klara Cosmetics, asking them to remove its “abhorrent” lipstick ad.

The ad shows a young woman with the taglines reading: ‘Just kiss me, don't ask’ and ‘Be passionate and leave no evidence’.

In the petition – Ms. Mourelatos says: “The ads essentially tell impressionable young girls (10-12 y.o.) that you’re only attractive if someone can’t help but launch at you and kiss you without consent. It encourages them to define female attractiveness in the most vulgar way possible.”

She adds: “One ad might not make a difference but 20 of these ads from 20 companies starts to create a culture and breeds a deformed pre-pubescent psyche that accepts it.”

The advert caught Ms. Mourelatos’ attention when a Fintona Girls’ School student posted a picture of it on Facebook, prompting her to message the pupil and team-up to take action.

Klara spokesman, Daniel-Jacob Santhou, says the company is assessing public feedback and said: “Our message displayed in the advert was intended to inform women of Kiss Proof Lip’s stunning range of tones that don’t smudge, fade or bleed all day.

“The advertising campaign is actually over a year old and we have not advertised it since its initial release in 2014.”

He added that Klara Cosmetics ‘does not condone any ethical breach of conduct nor endorse any form of violence towards women’ but failed to confirm whether the advert would be dropped or not.