Christmas family photo where women are gagged criticised for 'promoting rape culture'

People commenting on the photo described it as 'degrading' and 'offensive'

Photo by Hannah Hawkes Photography (Screenshot/Hannah Hawkes photography/Facebook)

A photographer and the family she made a portrait of have received a backlash after a photo was published where the female family members were pictured with tape over their mouths.

Hannah Hawkes Photography, a studio based in Louisiana, posted the image on Facebook which featured the three female family members silenced by green tape, and arms bound with Christmas lights. The father is shown holding up a sign that reads: "Peace on earth."

People commenting on the photo on Facebook described it as "degrading", "offensive" and "horrifying".

Whitney Huffman wrote: "There is nothing humorous about promoting rape culture. Ever."

Another said: "You may not have intended to promote abuse and violence, but to those who are survivors [of domestic violence], that’s EXACTLY what it looks like."

Hannah Hawkes responded to the controversy with a Facebook post that said she has “never promoted violence to women”, and claimed she had been inundated with “hateful and vulgar comments” since the image began to receive attention.

"I do not support abuse, or the degradation of women," she said. "My controversial photo was taken by request by the family, and was in no way meant to promote abuse. This photo was taken with humor in mind, and was mean as a comical Christmas photo."

The photo has since been deleted from the page.