The Wall of Silence was conceived of by photographer Donna Ferrato as a platform for provocation and education—a place to confront the realities of gender-based violence and to stand up for those who’ve been criminalized for defending themselves against their abusers. Surrounded by New York City’s highest courts, it asks to be seen and for you to see yourself within it.  

A place for all of us to reflect on whom the institutions were built to protect, especially for those who work within them — police, judges, lawyers, prosecutors, psychologists… While claiming to uphold justice, the system has consistently allowed perpetrators to use it as a weapon and too often incarcerates those who fight to stay alive.  

Black and Brown and gender diverse people are more often criminalized for their survivorship. These survivors are deprived of their liberty and many survivors of gender-based violence have their voices hushed, diminished, and dismissed.

The voices of the people who have been incarcerated, forgotten, or ignored must be heard. Their traumas understood. Action, taken. It’s time for the legal system to own up to its mistakes and live up to its promise of “justice for all.” Women, girls, transgender, and gender non-conforming people deserve to be treated with equanimity and dignity.  
Together, we must end the criminalization of gender-based violence survivors in our lifetime.  

About the Artist

Donna Ferrato is an internationally-known documentary photographer. Her gifts for exploration, illumination, and documentation coupled with a commitment to revealing the darker sides of humanity, have made her a giant in the medium. Shedding light on the injustices of the patriarchal system and supporting survivors of domestic violence has been her life’s greatest work.

Ferrato first received critical acclaim for her work that captured the horrors of family violence. Her photographs of domestic violence and its aftermath have become landmark essays in the field of documentary photography, challenging social attitudes and putting a spotlight on the devastating impact of everyday violence. Her iconic book, Living with the Enemy, published by Aperture in 1991, is considered the first clear visual journey into the dark heart of domestic abuse.

In 1990 Ferrato lived with criminalized survivors of gender-based violence in a Missouri prison. One night she overheard two women whispering through their cell bars:

Carol Willians: "If a man leans on you, you're supposed to take it right?" 
Donna Ray Read: "You're supposed to because if you fight back…"
Carol Williams: "That's BS. If a man hits me I'll fight back." 
Donna Ray Read "Then you'll be doing 30 years like I'm doing. You're supposed to be able to say 'I'm going to leave,' but it's not always that easy or simple. He always had a sad story. And I always had a big heart. Now I wished I never had a heart at all…"

Ferrato continues to work on assignments and personal projects that illuminate stories of the feminine spirit. Her most recent book Holy received the Lucie Foundation award for best independent Photobook of 2021 and has been shown as an exhibition at international art galleries.

Photo: Donna Ferrato, Women at the Renz Correctional Prison. "When people kill their abusers it's invariable a last resort to protect themselves and their children from further harm," Superintendent Goeke. Christmas Day, 1990