Photo Series
This photo series is something I started as part of my own healing process. I’m a survivor of intimate partner violence. One relationship ended and that spiraled into another relationship, both toxic, both painful, both controlling, both terrifying.
All of that ended on January 1, 2015. I’m happier than I’ve been in the past four years of my life. Complete freedom is something I’ve been a stranger to for far too long and I finally am re-learning how to accept that and re-learning how to be my own person without fearing punishment.
That doesn’t mean that every day happiness isn’t partnered with struggle. I’ve struggled with nightmares, panic attacks, anxiety, and flashbacks. I’m in the process of healing, I’m in the process of reclaiming myself.
While it’s hard and sometimes I feel as though I can’t handle it, I know I’m strong and I know I can do this. I will wear my struggles openly and walk through this world as if I have a pair of wings, ready to fly.
Every day, I feel like I’m reclaiming a little bit of my life. Healing is a process that can last a few weeks to years after any type of trauma. Some days I don’t see my progress and I look to my support system for help: my family, my current partner, my friends….I don’t know what I’d do without their love and support in my life. I want to share that love and support with others who’ve gone through something similar to me. I want them to know that it’s ok if you’re struggling, it’s ok if you’re in habits because of your past, it’s ok to hurt because that’s all part of healing. Nothing is wrong with you. Keep fighting.
Our community needs to know and understand that just because the abuse stops doesn’t mean the fight is over. Survivors are prone to depression, PTSD, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, self harm, addiction and more. Survivors, I know you can feel so alone in these experiences. You are not alone, there are others going through exactly what you are right now.
Not only that, it’s a healing process for us. Everyone heals differently, but sometimes it helps survivors to put it out there and share their story, even if it’s anonymous. I’ve met many survivors who want to share their story but don’t know where to do it. They don’t want to go to a speak out because it’s either not safe to show their face or they don’t feel comfortable doing so, but they still want to share. That’s why I created this photo series as well, to provide a safe place for survivors to express themselves where they are in control.
This series is for any gender, age, orientation, race, religion and background. Power Based Violence doesn’t have a specific “type”, it can affect anyone. My photos are here to show our struggles and show our strength. Our trauma will not control us forever and we are all reclaiming ourselves. We will laugh, we will smile, we will share our strength. Survivors featured are survivors of power based violence. What does that include? Power based violence includes domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment (street, workplace, etc.), human trafficking, gender based violence and more.
If anyone is interested in being a part of Reclaiming Me or has any questions, please email reclaimingme1@gmail.com. You can also check out my methods for photographing survivors here.
How Do I Photograph Survivors?
Survivors can appear anonymous or show their face in the photos. I photograph survivors with writing somewhere on their body of a word or phrase that they now associate with themselves after their abuse. The photo can be taken in any position, style and location the survivor wants. This is their chance to capture their power, determination, beauty and healing.
Sometimes finding their word is the hardest part so, before I start taking photos, I sit and take down their story. They share whatever details of their story they wish and there are always themes, important moments or words that consistently appear as they share their story. That’s how they find their word.
After this session (which typically takes about 1-2 hours) it takes me about a week to get the photos up and write out their story. After that, I email the survivor several photos I took, letting them chose which one they like the best. They are also emailed the full story and are able to edit/remove/change anything they wish. I know it can be hard writing your story down. Sometimes details are all jumbled, sometimes they might decide they want to remove something, sometimes they want to add more details. I was the survivor to be shown as they wish to be in their story.
Check out the survivor photos and stories taken so far by clicking here.
*All survivors have signs release forms for their story and photo to be publicly used by Reclaiming Me
