Purple Drank

The pictures above are from Project Unbreakable. Project Unbreakable was created in October of 2011 by an amazing woman named Grace Brown. In her own words, Grace “works with survivors of sexual assault, photographing them holding a poster with a quote from their attacker. Grace has photographed over a hundred people, and received over eight hundred submissions.” She has a really wonderful, short video about why she does the work that she does that I encourage you all to watch.

I was so incredibly moved by this project; the first time I stumbled upon it I instantly started crying. I selected a handful of really powerful photos that deeply resonated with me, and that I hope will resonate with others, too.

After some thought, I’ve decided that I want to become a part of this movement and help to shed light on the issue of sexual violence. Particularly, highlighting the fact that most rapes are committed by someone who is at least an acquaintance of the survivor, and I feel that these photos and perpetrator quotes communicate that message very effectively. So, with that said, here is my Project Unbreakable submission:

I’m not in a place yet where I feel comfortable showing my face, and I have to keep reminding myself that there is no shame in that. When I’m ready, I’m ready. And this still feels like a big step for me. I really appreciate Grace and Project Unbreakable for inspiring me to take this risk.