In 1981, one woman shared some stunningly powerful photos. Photojournalist Donna Ferrato set out to portray the love between a couple who enjoyed the swinger lifestyle. She found a polygamous couple and took photos of them. But the story quickly changed: it became about domestic violence.
Ferrato caught a powerful shot of the husband attacking his wife. It seemed to come out of nowhere, but there are many other signs that a relationship may be abusive. Here are some of the disturbing photos:
Photographer @donnaferrato documented the horrors of domestic violence in the U.S. https://t.co/Q8eRXyoAAj pic.twitter.com/FE9o47kW5M
— A Path Appears (@APathAppears) June 9, 2016
This one ended up on the cover of Time magazine in the ’90s.
Motion Arts Pro
The Day that Donna Ferrato Began Photographing Domestic Abuse https://t.co/0LEc22OcVq pic.twitter.com/f1xKqyMpjA— American Photography (@AmericanPhotog) June 9, 2016
Pendant 30 ans, Donna Ferrato a photographié les violences domestiques aux USA. https://t.co/EHiffAEXzz pic.twitter.com/BahNsEJWuh
— Polka Magazine (@polkamagazine) April 14, 2016
Ferrato was hoping that the photos will help get the husband to stop abusing his wife, but they didn’t stop him. This violence inspired her to document more photos depicting domestic violence.
She published these things in her 1991 book, Living With The Enemy. Just a few years later, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act.
Time Magazine is making a documentary by Time Red Border Film featuring Ferrato and her work.
Ferrato had this to say about the night that she first saw the man abusing his wife:
“It was not my intention to document domestic violence. I hadn’t much thought about it, because it had not threatened my childhood. One night, four months after I was documenting this couple in their beautiful mansion, the husband attacked his wife (without apology or shame) in front of me and my camera.”
“I was shocked because he seemed to feel entitled to hit her, even in front of an outsider, because she was his wife.”
Unfortunately, there are many women (and men) stuck in these kinds of relationships. Women often stay with abusers for a multitude of reasons. The abuser will use many techniques to get the victim to stay. They may isolate the victim from family and friends. They may take control of the victim’s money or employment.
Also, it is not just women who experience these kinds of abusive relationships. Many men are victims of abuse as well, but men often feel like no one would believe them if they told, or that they will seem “weak” for being abused by a woman.
When asked about what she wants people to understand about domestic violence, Ferrato said:
“Domestic violence is a page taken from hell. It’s an injustice to our rights as citizens of the free world. It’s an affront to everyone, not only the victim. I wonder how anyone can feel good about their own lives knowing that down the street, a woman is being raped and tortured in her home! What good is a home if men are allowed to torture and abuse the people inside it as if they are prisoners?”
Here is a video by Donna Ferrato about the stories that she has seen.
https://youtu.be/bB8ppMiwKGw
Featured image by Donna Ferrato via Twitter
