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An artist has been causing controversy online recently with a set of posters featuring Disney princesses in incestual embraces with their fathers. Entitled “The Princest Diaries”, the three posters in the series are designed to raise incest and rape awareness using simple imagery and characters well-known to people of all ages and nationalities. Disney fans may find the following pictures disturbing but according to the artist, this is exactly the point.

The artist, who goes by the name Saint Hoax, describes the collection on her website as “an awareness campaign targeting minors who have been subject to sexual abuse by a family member”. Fans used to seeing Disney characters as the embodiment of wholesome family values will feel shocked and betrayed by these images, a reaction which is not dissimilar to the shock and betrayal caused by this type of abuse within families of the real world.

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Saint Hoax, who is based in the Middle East, was inspired to create the posters after learning that one of her closest friends was molested at a very young age. According to the Saint Hoax website, the artist hopes the poster collection will “encourage victims to report their cases in order for the authorities to prevent it from happening again”.

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The posters feature Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, Ariel from the Little Mermaid and Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, all with the tagline, “46% of minors who are raped are victims of family members. It’s never too late to report your attack.”

By shining a light on a usually taboo subject, Saint Hoax has started a conversation. And if it makes us want to protect Ariel, Aurora and Jasmine and tear them away from these uncomfortable embraces, that can’t be a bad thing.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, you are not alone. Help is available through the Tokyo Rape Crisis Center at 81-3-3209-3692 or wsw@tokyo-rcc.org in Japan or at RAINN in the US.

Source: Kotaku Japan
Images: Saint Hoax Website