Crime prevention council removes Amber Heard meme

The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) has removed from its Facebook page a controversial meme featuring an image of Amber Heard from the defamation suit between the actress and her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp.

The post, which was uploaded last Thursday and shared 1,000 times before it was taken down on Monday night, uses a viral moment from Heard's testimony about Depp conducting a "cavity search" on her - sexually assaulting her after accusing her of hiding his drugs.

While recounting what happened following the incident, Heard winces and says her dog stepped on a bee and had to be taken to a veterinarian.

The NCPC's meme used Heard's wincing face, but replaced her line of "My dog stepped on a bee" with other one-liners that rhyme with "bee". Similar memes have appeared on sites such as SGAG, where one such TikTok video received more than 16,800 "likes".

The Straits Times sent queries about the meme to the NCPC on Monday, but the non-profit organisation did not respond to queries.

Gender advocacy group Aware warns that such jokes and memes about the Depp-Heard trial, regardless of its outcome, can harm survivors of domestic violence.

In response to ST's queries, Ms Kelly Leow, senior communications manager at Aware, says the sheer ubiquity of social media content about the trial makes it "impossible for survivors to go even one day without encountering such content online".

She adds: "Those who have experienced domestic violence would likely be re-traumatised by witnessing scenes from the trial itself, in which acts of violence are detailed at length, and by the outpouring of callous jokes surrounding the trial."

Ms Rachel Lim, 29, a survivor of intimate partner abuse, has been troubled by the deluge of social media content about the defamation case.

"The verdict is not even out yet, and even if it were, this is in very bad taste," says the 29-year-old content strategist.

"Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. But when you share or create a meme, you have to understand your intentions. Are you trying to create a more peaceful world or are you trying to direct hate towards somebody?"

Ms Leow says the way this trial has been presented in the media and on social media tends to erase nuances, turning a complicated situation into a black-and-white, he-versus-she narrative.

Singapore's National Anti-Violence Helpline received 8,400 calls from Jan 18 to end-December last year. Out of 856 cases seen by the Sexual Assault Care Centre at Aware last year, 197 involved intimate partner perpetrators.

Dr Geraldine Tan, principal psychologist at The Therapy Room, who has worked with clients suffering from the trauma of sexual and physical abuse, says making light of domestic abuse is unhelpful.

She says: "Memes and jokes downplay the gravity of the situation. When everyone is having a good laugh, victims might feel dismissed, belittled or unheard."