TW: Sexual assault.
I cannot believe it's been a month already.
On the 10th of March 2024, thirteen women stripped all of their clothes off and stood in front of my lens at 6:30 AM in the middle of London.
This worldwide project involved women and non-binary folks getting naked in 5 different countries, and 18 different cities. It was organised by Lauren Porren from Crooked Images, an Australian photography artist and speaker on the occasion of International Women's Day 2024.
When you see these photos, reflect on the fact that every participant with a cross on their body is a sexual assault survivor. And let that sink in.
You can watch this video to see the data from all the shoots worldwide: watch on Instagram.
Here's a recap of our London shoot, in pictures.
We started by getting to know each other and I gave a small speech. We had to be brief and quick with all we did, to keep everyone safe and guarantee they'd be naked for the shortest amount of time possible.
All the sexual assault survivors were given a purple cross across the chest. Everyone helped each other, passing the tape around like they had known each other their whole lives.
These photos are courtesy of Stephanie Kalber Photography
We were all well aware of the importance of what we were doing, I also got emotional and shed some tears, but spirits were high and everyone came together in unity and lifted each other - it was one of the most wonderful things I have ever witnessed and I am still in awe of these people to this day.
We moved to the chosen location and tried a formation before everyone got naked. This is when we knew it was about to get real, real quick.
We did some quick shots, then ran to a slightly different location to have two options. It was a little moment of pure joy!
At this stage, these incredible humans had only been naked for around 1 minute and a half.
They ran back to their clothes and started to get dressed.
The sun came up, and it was a glorious golden sunrise light. I was packing away, tapes were coming off, and I looked up to see them all staring at me. I knew exactly what they were thinking. Their eyes were shining in anticipation.
"Can we go again?" - someone said.
I thought mega quick about the risks: they have to retape themselves, get naked again, it'll take more time and draw more attention (we had already attracted some curious looks). I looked at them: "Are you sure? Are you all sure?".
Many YESs were said, out loud, with zero hesitation. "OK, let's do it".
And they went, with strength in their eyes, retaping themselves, and abandoning their clothes once again.
At this stage, site security had approached us and I let my amazing teammate Stephanie Kalber chat and deal with them, so we could get this done with no interruptions.
Thanks to these humans' braveness, their desire to go again, and their commitment to the cause, this was the final, incredible shot.
9 out of 13 participants had a cross on their body. That's 69%.
I had a cross on my back too.
When we were done, we all screamed and ran and cheered.
The energy was unreal, the unity was unbelievable, and these women went from being strangers at 6 AM to being eternally bound to each other by 6:30 AM.
All standing together for body autonomy.
The actual shoot lasted less than 4 minutes, including getting re-dressed, un-taped, re-undressed and re-taped.
All photos courtesy of Stephanie Kalber Photography
After the shoot, we chatted, we hugged, some got emotional.
We did some small interviews, to remember this moment forever.
Some went for coffee, and some went to work.
I was overcome with emotion, so proud and grateful to all the women who trusted me that morning and stood together so bravely.
Both Chaze and Sumana, two of our participants, talked about "strength in numbers". The power of coming together to raise awareness about something that, sadly, affects most of us.
Despite sexual assault not being gender specific, women and non-binary people are widely more affected than men. Statistics are proof.
I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all the participants and Stephanie Kalber, who helped me, supported me and took some incredible behind-the-scenes photos. I cannot imagine a better thing to do on the occasion of International Women's Day. Our Bodies are Ours.
Body Autonomy for All.
SEE US NOW.
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If you are a survivor, you are not alone. Here are some useful UK resources:
24/7 Rape & Sexual Assault Support Line
0808 500 2222 / www.rapecrisis.org.uk
UK National Domestic Abuse Helpline
0808 2000 247
Victim’s Support
0808 168 9111 / www.victimsupport.org.uk
The Survivor’s Trust
0808 801 0818 / www.thesurvivorstrust.org
Women’s Aid
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