The artist offering beautiful, "transformative" tattoos to victims of domestic violence.

“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.”

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.”

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:

“The sense of affection, sisterhood and camaraderie is deeper than I ever imagined. They contact me from all over the country, as well as from abroad. They come to the studio, share their stories of pain and resilience, and they show me their scars. Embarrassed, they cry, and hug me. Then we design the tattoo and we schedule the session. They become excited, optimistic. It is wonderful to see how their relationship with their bodies changes after they get the tattoos. I follow many of them on Facebook, and I see how, after being ashamed of their scarred bodies, they now post pictures in dresses, and they look happy, changed.”

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!”