Tattoo Artist Offers Free Work For Survivors Of Domestic Violence

Tattoo Artist Offers Free Work For Survivors Of Domestic Violence

- in Blog
2131
0
Survivors Of Domestic Violence

Scars can cut both ways: they can give us a sense of pride, or they can retraumatize by reminding us of the past. With that in mind, tattoo artist Flavia Carvalho decided to start a project called ‘A Pele da Flor’ (translation: ‘The Skin of the Flower’). Through this project, she offers free services to women who have scars from domestic abuse.

Flavia Carvalho runs a studio in Curitiba, Brasil. She’s helped women who have been stabbed by knives, shot with bullets, and covers up mastectomies as well.

I started the project quite recently, and I had no idea it would receive this much media attention. It began very spontaneously. As I said, my services are a hundred percent voluntary, and the only “cost” women need to invest is to choose a design for their tattoos!

She tells her story of how it began:

It all started about two years ago when I worked with a client who wanted to cover a large scar on her abdomen. Survivors Of Domestic ViolenceShe told me that she was at a nightclub, and when she turned down a man who approached her, he stabbed her with a switchblade. Survivors Of Domestic ViolenceWhen she saw the finished tattoo, she was extremely moved, and that deeply touched meSurvivors Of Domestic Violence

The one that shocked me the most was the story of a 17-year-old girl who dated an older man and, for months, suffered from the physically abusive relationshipSurvivors Of Domestic Violence

When he wanted to break up with her, he scheduled a meeting, and after they began to fight, he stabbed her several times in her abdomen and violently raped herSurvivors Of Domestic Violence

This tattoo covers up a scar left by a bullet:Survivors Of Domestic Violence

This is a tattoo she did for a woman who had undergone a mastectomy.Survivors Of Domestic Violence

This is a remarkably touching idea, bringing light to otherwise dark situations.

 

This article is re-posted here under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Facebook Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *