“They contact me from all over the country, as well as from abroad.”

The emotional trauma caused by domestic violence can last a lifetime, and so too can the physical scars.

Brazilian tattoo artist Flavia Carvalho is helping survivors of abuse to reclaim their bodies by offering them free, transformative tattoos.

“The idea of the project is very simple,” she told the Huffington Post , “It is a voluntary service for tattooing over scars that have resulted from domestic violence or from mastectomies.”

Flavia Carvalho. Image via Facebook.

Carvalho came up with the concept two years ago after working with a client who wanted to cover a scar on her abdomen.

“She told me that she was at a nightclub, and when she turned down a man who approached her, he stabbed her with a switchblade,” she explained.

“When she saw the finished tattoo, she was extremely moved, and that deeply touched me. I was suddenly struck by the idea of providing free tattoos to women who were left with scars following domestic violence or mastectomies. Each tattoo would act as an instrument for empowerment and a self-esteem booster.”

An example of Flavia’s work. Image via Facebook.

The project’s name, A Pele da Flor, roughly translates to “The Skin of the Flower” and is a play on the Portuguese expression for “deeper than the skin”.

“[It] also alludes to the fact that all of us women are like flowers and deserve to have our skin protected and embellished,” she said.

At present, Carvalho is running the project alone and on a voluntary basis, but has received incredibly positive feedback, especially from the women she is helping:

Currently, she is working with The Municipal Secretariat of Policies for Women and is planning to form a relationship with the Women’s Police Station so she can offer her services more directly to women who are reposting violent attacks.

“As I said, my services are a hundred percent voluntary, and the only ‘cost’ women need to invest is to choose a design for their tattoos!”