Justice

The Internet Is Outraged Over This Family's Sexist Christmas Photo

December 16th 2015

Hannah Hawkes Photography, a Louisiana-based studio, is causing a stir online after one of its family Christmas portraits went viral on social media. The photo, which was removed by Facebook, according to the Daily Dot, shows a little boy giving a thumbs up and a man holding up a "Peace on earth" sign beside two little girls and a woman with duct tape over their mouths:

Hannah Hawkes Photography cacheHannah Hawkes Photography cache - googleusercontent.com

Mic and the Daily Dot reported that the Facebook page had been deleted as of Tuesday morning, but it appeared to be live again by the afternoon (ATTN: has reached out to Hawkes Photography for comment and will update this piece if the company responds). Facebook did, however, delete the photo in question, which received a lot of backlash from users.

Hawkes Photography didn't reveal any information about the people in the picture, but the company wrote in a Facebook update that nobody in the photo was harmed and that the family was merely trying to be humorous.

 

The image, however, got tons of flak for seeming insensitive to the pervasive problem of violence against women.

"The message is clear," wrote the Frisky's Kristin Clifford. "The women [in the photo] have had their mouths forcibly closed, and their hands tied. Finally, father and son know peace! No annoying women can be heard, and they can’t move either. Toss ‘em in a closet and you don’t even have to see them. Such bliss!"

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According to Safe Horizon, the largest victims’ services agency in the U.S., women between the ages of 18 and 34 are at the highest risk of falling victim to domestic violence. More than 4 million women are physically and sexually assaulted by their partners, and more than 3 million children witness domestic violence in their homes each year.

Many expressed discomfort with the photo on social media because it seemed insensitive to victims of domestic abuse in America, among other things. 

 

RELATED: What This Tattoo Artist is Doing To Help Domestic Violence Victims

On the 20th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Vice President Joe Biden said that domestic violence is "the most vicious form of violence" around.

Biden, who introduced VAWA as a senator, told the TODAY show last year, "It's never, never, never the woman's fault. No man has a right to raise a hand to a woman. No means no."

RELATED: A Domestic Abuse Victim Has a Message That's Being Heard Around the World

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