The ‘Cosmetics Shop’ Using Code to Help People Escape Their Abusers

“When a woman places an ‘order’ and gives us her address, that’s the signal for us to send the police.”

By: Michaela Haas

June 4, 2021

When Krysia Paszko, as a 17-year-old student in Warsaw, Poland, learned at the beginning of the pandemic that domestic violence had risen to alarming levels during the lockdown, she felt the need to do something. She was already developing an interest in human rights. Plus, she says proudly, “As the leader of the Warsaw Girl Scouts, I learned to be bold and take action.” 

Some research led her to a creative program in France, where people affected by domestic violence can ask their pharmacist for a “mask 19,” a code phrase to indicate that they need help without tipping off their abusers. Using the same principle, Paszko began building a fake online shop for cosmetics in April 2020 with the innocuous brand name Chamomile and Pansies (Rumianki I bratki in Polish). Under the pretense of looking for face creams, visitors can use the site to draw attention to their situation via Facebook message, text, email, or phone. Instead of an aesthetician or a customer service representative, an experienced psychologist or a lawyer who has been specially trained by the Women’s Rights Center, a non-profit in Warsaw, will inconspicuously respond.

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