An inspiring campaign to give rape victims a sense of control over their bodies has been launched thanks to the My Body Back Project.
The campaign, which is “simply about women reclaiming their body after rape” is described as about “rejecting the idea that a woman is in any way to blame for being raped or assaulted, or should feel ashamed, feel she has to keep it a secret or hide her body.”
Photographer Rankin documented the London women, who were all survivors of sexual assaults, capturing their beautiful body art that shared important messages.
Speaking about the campaign, Rankin said: “”The sheer strength of these women, after what they have been through, left me speechless. The importance of the work My Body Back do can’t really be expressed in words. They are brave in the extreme.”
The survivors had chosen messages such as “My body is more mine every day,” “You took something. I got it back,” and “In spite of what you took, I’m still whole.”
Launched by rape survivor Pavan Amara in 2014, My Body Back supports rape survivors emotionally and medically – providing STI testing and cervical screening too.
Speaking of the inspirational photo project, Amara said: “No one can take your strength away from you…it’s permanent, just like a tattoo.”
