Spijt van Tattoo Foundation (Regret My Tattoo Foundation) launches campaign to remove tattoos forced upon women. Survivor Joke was coerced by her former partner into having 250 tattoos placed on her body.

Joke’s partner forcibly tattooed his name on her body 250 times. Her case is extreme, but she is far from alone. In the Netherlands, countless women have been pressured, coerced or emotionally manipulated by a current or former partner into getting tattoos.

Even a small tattoo can have an enormous psychological impact after a relationship has ended. To help these women have such tattoos removed free of charge, Spijt van Tattoo Foundation is launching the campaign “Out of Your Heart, Off Your Skin” on Monday, 6 April.

Joke is the face of the campaign and represents a much larger group of women who have experienced humiliation, manipulation and abuse. She spent years in a destructive relationship. Her former partner bought a tattoo machine through AliExpress and used it to tattoo his name, initials or phrases such as “property of” across her body approximately 250 times.

He tattooed her wherever he believed another man had once touched her — as a sign of control and ownership. At the time, Joke was in an extremely vulnerable period of her life. She was humiliated and lived in constant fear. She was unable to defend herself against her partner’s verbal abuse and intimidation and tried to numb herself with alcohol and medication.

Joke has now chosen to speak publicly, on this occasion, as the face of the campaign. She wants to show that women do not choose this freely, but may submit to tattoos under physical or psychological coercion. She wants to draw attention to the many women whose experiences have remained largely invisible, break the taboo surrounding this issue and bring a hidden problem into the open.

A large proportion of Joke’s tattoos have now been removed, particularly those on her face. She hopes to be free of the tattoos by the end of this year. But removing the ink does not automatically heal the psychological damage. Women see these tattoos every day, and every time they look at them, they can be confronted again with painful memories.

Joke herself is still in the middle of her recovery. Nevertheless, she wants to give hope to women who have experienced something similar and show them that recovery is possible.

“If you have been brought to your lowest point, you can rise again. If I can do it, someone else can too,” Joke says.

Through this crowdfunding campaign, Spijt van Tattoo Foundation aims to raise enough money to have these women’s tattoos professionally removed by laser, completely free of charge. Removing the tattoos can be an important step in their recovery, but for most survivors the cost is simply unaffordable. Joke’s treatment alone costs €30,000. The foundation’s main sponsor, Tattoo No More, covers half of that amount.

For many survivors of destructive relationships, these tattoos are not decoration. They are permanent reminders of a period marked by control, fear and psychological dependency. This is why the campaign is called “Out of Your Heart, Off Your Skin.”

With this campaign, Andy and Dex, the founders of Spijt van Tattoo Foundation, want to help women not only remove a tattoo, but also close a visible chapter of a painful past.

Women cannot apply directly. Applications must be submitted through a professional supporting them, such as a psychologist, case manager or care professional from a recognised organisation. These professionals can submit an application to Spijt van Tattoo Foundation on behalf of their client.