Ben Patton
Senior Manager
“When did he stop treating you like a Princess?” is the slogan for the online campaign titled “Happy Never Ever” by Middle Eastern artist, Saint Hoax.
The series of rather disturbing images features Disney princesses looking battered and bruised which is part of “an awareness campaign targeting any girl/woman who has been subject to domestic violence.” The artist hopes that the series will “encourage victims to report their cases in order for the authorities to prevent it from happening again.”
Hoax told The Huffington Post, “Disney princesses are perceived as ideal females. They belong to a fairytale land where happy ever afters are bound to happen. By portraying Disney princesses as victims of domestic violence, I’m proposing the idea that no girl/woman is safe from being emotionally/physically/sexually abused.
“As a Middle Eastern artist, I always have the urge to voice out the injustice and inequality that takes place in my region,” said Hoax.
According to statistics posted by The National Domestic Abuse Hotline, “On average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year.”
While men are not to be left out, the Hotline reports that “From 1994 to 2010, about 4 in 5 victims of intimate partner violence were female.”
“1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) aged 18 and older in the United States have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime,” the site continues.
As Saint Hoax has made clear in his series, “It’s never too late to put an end to it.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of domestic abuse or are currently in a potentially abusive situation, please visit TheHotline.org or call
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
. Hotline assistants are available 24/7 and in over 170 languages.