A woman who was viciously attacked in a nightclub in England is baring her battered face for the entire world to see in order to raise funds and awareness for other victims of violence.
Jeanne Marie Ryan, a 29-year-old Oxford University student, said she was beaten up at a nightclub on Saturday after she confronted a man who groped her, BBC News reported. Ryan approached her attacker and told him what he did was "completely inappropriate," according to her Facebook page.
The man then punched her seven times. She suffered a broken nose and lacerated chin, according to BBC.
It would’ve been reasonable for Ryan to keep it a private matter, but she decided to use the incident as a launching point for her advocacy efforts. She posted an image of her bruised face online, and asked supporters to donate to the Oxford Sexual Abuse & Rape Crisis Center in her honor.
Ryan set a modest goal of raising 100 British pounds (about $165), according to her fundraising page. But her supporters have far surpassed that.
As of Thursday afternoon, she had collected 15,202 British pounds (about $25,250).
Ryan was inspired to show her bare face to the Internet after seeing how successful the recent #NoMakeupSelfie campaign has been in raising funds for charity.
It’s unclear how the hashtag started trending, but celebrities and advocates alike have been taking to Twitter and Facebook to post their unadorned faces with the hashtag #NoMakeupSelfie in order to raise funds and awareness for Cancer Research UK.
The social media craze raised 8 million British pounds (about $13 million) as of Tuesday. It’s enough money to fund 10 new clinical trials, according to the organization’s blog.
But Ryan has decided to commit her brave selfie to helping other women who have been abused.
"No, we do not have to wear makeup. No, we do not have to smile. And, most importantly, no, we do NOT have to be touched," she wrote on her JustGiving page.
Learn more about the Oxford Sexual Abuse & Rape Crisis Center, and how you can get involved with Jeanne Marie Ryan’s fundraiser here.
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