Sexual Assault Awareness Campaign Uses Disney Princesses to Make a Point

Artist Saint Hoax is appropriating some of the world’s most beloved cartoon characters to call attention to victims of sexual assault. Her new poster series, “Princest Diaries” shows Disney princesses being forced to kiss their fathers.

It’s disturbing, but that’s the point. The series of images—which have already gone viral—are meant to raise awareness and encourage victims to report cases of domestic abuse. The bottom of each pictures reads, “46 percent of minors who are raped are victims of family members. It’s never too late to report your attack.”

That statistic is from a 1992 report by the Department of Justice, which found 46% of victims under the age of 12 were assaulted by a family member. The study also stated that 20% of victims aged 12 to 17 were assaulted by a family member. A more recent report in 2000 by the U.S. Bureau of Justice that’s cited by the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) found that 34.2% of sexual assaults of juveniles were committed by family members, and 58.7% of minor victims are attacked by an acquaintance.

The corruption of a childhood fantasy—what little girl doesn’t dream of growing up to be a Disney princess?—brings the true horror of domestic sexual abuse to light. The artist also hopes that the Disney princesses will appeal to the young girls she is trying to reach. Their faces are familiar ones, and in theory young girls might feel more comfortable telling someone about their abuse if they know their heroes suffered the same.

See all the images on her website.

Organizations and hotlines for victims of sexual assault:

RAINN

National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence

Pandora Project