Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1491153
NEWS 16 PHOTOGRAPHY (C) THERESE DEBONO maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JANUARY 2023 True. Athletic. Grit. ELITE, on MaltaToday Facebook, Mondays 5pm MATTHEW VELLA "WHEN I found out about Em- ma's rape, I felt helpless," says photographer Therese Debono (pictured, below) who as her lecturer had supervised Em- ma's dissertation, and in May will be shooting her wedding. This portrait of Emma is now the winner of the 'People' cate- gory for professional photogra- phers in the Julia Margaret Camera Awards for Women Photographers, and is short- listed for the Hellerau Portrait Award among 32 others from 20 countries. But it is Emma who is the star of the show, whose exposure of her story as a rape victim commu- nicated the power of a survivor to a Maltese audience, beyond the a s - y e t - u n f u l - filled justice in the case against her rapist. Debono did not post this August 2022 photo of Emma on social media up until her birthday a month later. "I was stuck and had no idea how this portrait could help Emma. Then I posted it, and suddenly the public com- mented on the photo and pri- vately messaged me about it – I realised then, that the power of the image is coming through. By the time I posted the image, Emma had been waiting nearly six months to get a court hear- ing, and posting her portrait on social media got her story out again." Too many victims of rape and domestic violence are still awaiting justice, Debono says, but her former student is not shutting up about her ordeal with the Maltese justice system. "Together we came up with a hashtag: #shut- tingupisnotok. This hashtag is impor- tant because peo- ple have actually told Emma to shut up, to stop pursu- ing justice, that she has taken this too far – basically, they told her to forget about it and move on. Howev- er, how can one move on after abuse? How do we expect to just continue our life as if what happened was nothing? Why are we normalising rape? Em- ma refuses to shut up. Instead, Emma draws her abuser and anything related to her story every day." Emma's Instagram handle, @personifikazzjoni, also de- tails her experience in getting through the trauma of rape. Debono hopes her portrait spreads Emma's story around the world, and – with a Hel- lerau award victory – use the prize money for a documentary about Maltese rape victims. "Emma represents all the vic- tims still waiting for justice, who are scared or weary to fight or speak up. Emma soldiers on and keeps drawing about and talking about her abuse. "I want her and others to get the justice they deserve. I want their stories to keep coming up in the media because we cannot forget them. And the law courts cannot just postpone such cas- es." Award-contending portrait of Emma, a rape victim, is photographer's bid to fund documentary