Here are some selected images I have from a series I did about violence and sexual harassment against women. 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, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. According to the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), someone within the US is sexually assaulted every 107 seconds.
Before photographing I discussed with the models where the handprints should go on their bodies. There was something grotesquely mundane about the conversation. There was a lot of "oh yeah, put a hand print here" and "yeah a guy just grabbed my arm there the other day". The harassment women face is a daily struggle. It should not have been so easy for all of us to think of places where we had been touched without consent in our day-to-day lives.
I believe that no person should have to fear harassment of any kind and that is why I pursued this project. I think it is important to bring to light the harassment that people face everyday. I also wish to provide information and awareness about harassment and violence. I have included links to the National Domestic Abuse Hotline and the RAINN website. I encourage everyone to check them out. For more information, or to see more of the images from this series, feel free to email me at artist.sisimmons@gmail.com. Titles are above each photograph.
Look at Me
Look Away
Helplessness
Together
