In Curitiba, in southern Brazil, tattoo artist Flavia Carvalho runs a project that turns scars into artwork at no cost. Called A Pele da Flor, often translated as "The Skin of the Flower" and also explained as a Portuguese saying meaning "deeper than skin", it offers free tattoos to women whose bodies carry marks of domestic and gender-based violence, and to women who have had mastectomies. The women choose a design; Carvalho donates her time, skill and materials.
The project drew international attention in September 2015, when Brazilian and international outlets shared before-and-after photos from her studio. What makes the work moving is not only the art. A scar from an attack can keep the attack present every time a woman gets dressed or looks in the mirror. Covering it with something she has chosen can change who gets to define that part of her body.
Below are the stories behind the photos, as Carvalho has described them, followed by context on domestic violence in Brazil and where survivors can find help.
How A Pele da Flor began
According to Carvalho, the idea grew out of a single appointment around 2013. A client asked her to cover a large scar on her abdomen and explained how she got it: a man approached her at a nightclub, she turned him down, and he stabbed her with a switchblade.
On a thigh, a wide patch of scarred skin, outlined in red pen before the session, now carries a cluster of large blue and green flowers with a dark ornamental border. Planning the outline first matters: scar tissue takes ink differently from healthy skin, so artists usually map the damaged area and design around it.
This abdominal scar, a long vertical line with visible stitch marks, has become a flowing design of lotus flowers and a hummingbird, the kind of piece that started the project. The bird's wings and the flower stems follow the line of the scar, so the old wound becomes part of the composition instead of something hidden underneath it. Carvalho has said that seeing her first client's emotional reaction to a finished piece like this is what persuaded her to offer the same work to others for free.
Scarring on an upper arm is now covered by a vintage-style gilded frame holding a black silhouette of a woman with a cat. Choosing a framed "portrait" is a clever cover-up technique: the dense black areas hide uneven skin texture, while the frame gives the piece a clear, deliberate shape.
Stories behind the scars
Word spread quickly, and women began arriving from other parts of Brazil and from abroad. Speaking to GoodtoKnow in 2015, Carvalho described the response as one of affection and "sisterhood", deeper than she had expected. Some of the stories she heard were harrowing.
Carvalho has said one story shocked her more than any other. A girl of 17 had been in a relationship with an older man who abused her physically for months. The scars shown here on her leg are now covered by a vivid watercolour-style portrait in orange, red and blue, a reminder that this kind of work is as much about choosing a new image as hiding an old one.
According to Carvalho's account, when the man decided to end the relationship he arranged to meet the girl, attacked her with a knife several times in the abdomen and sexually assaulted her. The stab scars around her navel are now part of a garden of roses, birds and a small butterfly that spreads across the whole abdomen and draws the eye away from the individual marks.
Bullet wounds and surgical scars
This tattoo covers a scar left by a bullet on the side of the torso; reports at the time said one of the bullet wounds Carvalho covered had been inflicted by an ex-boyfriend. The scar has been worked into a trailing branch of pink cherry blossom. Blossom branches are a popular choice in cover-up work because they can be arranged to follow almost any line on the body.
Carvalho also tattoos women who have had mastectomies. Here, the chest of a breast cancer survivor is shown before and after, with pink lotus flowers drawn across the surgical scars. Medical and decorative tattooing of this kind has become a recognised part of recovery for many survivors who choose not to have, or cannot have, further reconstruction.
Domestic violence in Brazil and worldwide
The project exists because the problem is huge. The World Health Organization estimates that about one in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner or sexual violence from someone else during her lifetime. Among ever-partnered girls aged 15 to 19, more than one in five have already experienced partner violence. Its effects go well beyond visible injuries, and include chronic pain, depression, post-traumatic stress and, at worst, death.
Brazil's main legal answer is the Maria da Penha Law, signed in August 2006. It is named after Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes, who was left paraplegic after her husband tried to kill her twice and then fought for about twenty years to see him held to account. The law created specialised domestic violence courts, toughened penalties and allowed judges to issue urgent protective orders. Carvalho told GoodtoKnow she hoped to work with Curitiba's municipal office for women's policy and a women's police station so that more women reporting violence would hear about the project.
Why covering a scar can matter
Not every survivor wants to cover her scars. Some wear them openly as evidence of what they lived through, and that choice deserves equal respect. For others, a scar is an intrusive reminder that keeps an assault close. A tattoo does not erase what happened, but it can give a woman a sense of control over her own body and a new story to tell about it.
There are practical points too. Scar tissue needs time to heal fully before it is tattooed, often a year or more, and thick or raised scars can be unpredictable. Anyone considering a cover-up should choose an experienced artist and talk to a doctor first, especially after surgery or radiotherapy.
If you or someone you know is living with violence, local women's services, a doctor or the police can help. In Brazil, the national women's helpline is 180; in other countries, national domestic violence hotlines offer free, confidential advice.
Sources: Photos and stories: Flavia Carvalho, Flavia Carvalho on Facebook; GoodtoKnow (September 2015); HuffPost; World Health Organization: Violence against women; Wikipedia: Maria da Penha Law; earlier coverage via David Wolfe and The Open Mind.
Related:- Signs of Domestic Abuse
- Identifying Emotional Abuse before it Happens
- 8 Ways to Spot Emotional Manipulation.. and Free Ourselves From It
- These Are 15 Things People With High Emotional Intelligence Do
- Emotional Intelligence: Is It More Important than your IQ?
- Social Anxiety, Intelligence and Empathy: Why the Claims Need Care>
- 15 Things Only Highly Sensitive People Do
- Alone Isn’t Lonely: 10 Signs You’re Perfectly Happy With Solitude
- How To Be Alone Without Feeling Lonely
- How To Not Take Things Personally
- How To Regain Your Self Confidence
- 7 Things to Remember When You Think You’re Not Good Enough
- 12 Tips for Recovering from Emotional Pain
- 5 Mind Hacks to Better Manage Your Attitude
- Optical-Illusion Tattoos: How Shading Creates Apparent Depth
COMMENTS