The Italian fashion brand has been forced to pull an advertising campaign in Spain following protests from Amnesty International, among others. The ad showed a bare-chested man holding down a woman by her wrists, while other men look on.
This is the second time the firm has been rapped for such use of violence in its advertising. Earlier this year, a print campaign depicting the aftermath of a knifing was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority after attracting 166 complaints, including complaints from the campaign group Mothers Against Murder.
Following its decision to pull this latest campaign in Spain, Dolce & Gabbana has once again refuted any allegations that they are promoting violence through such images.
In a statement, the firm said that negative messages had been read into the campaign "even where they don't exist".
Last year, designers Dolce and Gabbana themselves were the subject of another complaint surrounding violence, this time in another brand's advertising campaign.
They appeared in a Motorola Razr campaign that showed one of the designers holding the phone like a barber's razor while the other sported a red cut on his face. The campaign received 160 complaints, mainly concerning the glamorisation of violence.