Friday, March 16, 2012

Unbreakable: A truly amazing project

Project Unbreakable is a project that allows victims of sexual abuse to empower themselves through the language used while victimizing them. Grace Brown, a student at The School of Visual Arts in New York, thought of this project in October after a friend confessed that she had been sexually assaulted. This wasn't the first time someone disclosed to her, and as it turns out not the last time either. 


The next morning Brown had an idea of how to deal with these sexual assaults while empowering the victims. She asked participants to write words that their attackers had used on cardboard and photographs them aiming to diffuse the strength of the words and assist in the healing process. 


Brown said: 
"It's not something that you really think about. A survivor can tell their story of abuse to someone but the words are never really said," she said. "They bury themselves in a pit in their stomach and then it's forgotten about. You realise this is something a human said to another human; it's very important that they not hold onto those words because they are incredibly powerful."
After 5 months, survivors from around the world are uploading their own photographs to the website in addition to the subjects Brown shoots. 


Ashley Ray, one of the subjects described the photo as freeing: 
"Taking the picture was like ripping off a band-aid. I barely even remember it. Afterwards I felt emotionally drained but there was a weight lifted off of me," she said. "I had a panic attack the first time I saw my picture in print. But after working through that, I'm in a place where I can feel proud to be part of something that has healed me and is healing others. I'm truly grateful every time I see that picture. It's a piece of me that is no longer hiding in shame and guilt. It's a beautiful scar."
I don't even know where to begin with the amount of amazing this project is. I wasted quite a bit of time on the site, trying to read everything that was posted. 

No comments: