The Tattoo Environment as a Therapeutic Healing Space for Sexual Assault Survivors

ABSTRACT

The view of tattoos and the tattooed is emerging from a position of deviance and criminology to a potential practice for restoration and healing. Tattooing is emerging as a process through which survivors of sexual trauma can reclaim bodily autonomy after experiencing violation. Additionally, the opportunity for the tattooing environment to be a healing space is emerging. Through the application of the theory of supportive care environments, this study sought to better understand how the tattoo environment operated as a therapeutic healing space by conducting a secondary data analysis on qualitative interviews conducted with ten survivors of sexual trauma and seven tattoo artists. Results highlight the importance of aesthetic of the space which contribute to it being perceived as comfortable and safe, experiencing a sense of belonging within the safe both in the rapport built between the artist and client and in the ritual of receiving a tattoo, and in the empowerment of the individual receiving the tattoo to exercise their autonomy within the tattooing space. Results implicate the ability of the tattooing space to be a trauma-informed, healing environment and point to the importance of incorporating ritual and spirituality into the healing process for survivors of sexual trauma.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

December Maxwell

December Maxwell, Ph.D., MSW, is an Assistant Professor, and Graduate Assistant at The Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work at The University of Oklahoma. Her recent research has focused on prenatal and postpartum mental health, sexual trauma and PTSD, mothering and birthing expectations, Native American policy, and cultural differences in birthing and mothering focused on Native American maternal mental health. Her recent research has appeared in Health and Social Care in the Community, School Social Work Journal, and Affilia.

Sarah R. Leat

Sarah R. Leat, Ph. D, LMSW, is an Assistant Professor of social work at the University of Memphis. She earned her doctorate from the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas. Sarah has experience working with women experiencing intimate partner violence and victims of crime. Sarah’s research primarily focuses on service provision and utilization by survivors of intimate partner violence. Sarah is particularly interested in how the built environment (i.e. the structure, location, design of service agencies and transportation networks) impacts survivors’ abilities to access services and survivors’ outcomes, such as future experiences of violence and overall health and well-being.

Johanna Thomas

Johanna Thomas, Ph.D., LCSW, is an Associate Professor and Director of the School of Social Work at The University of Arkansas and a licensed social worker in the State of Arkansas. She is the president-elect for the Board of Directors for the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Her research interests include truancy prevention and intervention, school social work, and gun violence prevention and advocacy. Dr. Thomas has completed several evaluations for TANF programs in the State of Arkansas including kinship subsidies, financial assistance, and most recently, Individual Development Accounts. Dr. Thomas has also evaluated a statewide truancy intervention program and received two grants to study post high school services for students with disabilities.

Shaun A. Thomas

Shaun A. Thomas, Ph.D., is a Professor and Director of the Center for Social Research in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Arkansas. His recent research focuses on the sources of neighborhood spatial and temporal patterns in interpersonal violence, health outcomes, and health disparities. He has significant experience as an evaluator of mental and behavioral health programs and criminal justice programs and initiatives funded by diverse federal, state, and local agencies. His recent publications have appeared in American Journal of Criminal Justice, Journal of Criminal Justice, Justice Quarterly, Homicide Studies, Deviant Behavior, and Crime and Delinquency.

Siobhan Coad

Siobhan Coad, MSW, holds a B.A. in Medicine, Health & Society from Vanderbilt University and a M.S.W. from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and is currently enrolled in the Social Welfare PhD program UH Mānoa where she also works for the Interprofessional Education Department as a graduate assistant. Her research interests include gender bias in health care, social determinants of health, and patient empowerment.