Stronger

The photo from Stronger series. It is part of my long-term photocycle Stronger, for which I take photos of ordinary people who have been through something extraordinarily difficult, which has made them stronger. The heroine of this story is Katka (Cathy), a victim of domestic violence. Katka was 18 years old when her mother died tragically, and she had to take care of her younger brother. Her then husband, father of her son, was supposed to support her. Instead, he turned out to be a rapist, and Katka was forced to flee with her son. Her husband found her and one January afternoon he fired two shots at her. After that, he turned the gun on himself.
Having undergone several operations, Katka survived. Gradually, she began to live a new life with her new partner, who became her second husband later. She was getting rid of fear and gaining self-confidence. Many years later, though, the marriage broke up and they got divorced. A couple of months later, her ex-husband committed a suicide by shooting himself. Ironically, he killed himself with the weapon he had once bought to protect Katka.