250 Forced Tattoos, One Woman's Fight to Reclaim Her Skin

A man bought a tattoo machine from AliExpress. Then he used it to mark his partner's body approximately 250 times with his name, his initials, and phrases like "property of Hans." By the time it was over, the markings covered roughly 90% of her body, including her face, her back, and her breasts. He reportedly chose each location deliberately, targeting areas he believed had been "touched by other men."

Her name is Joke. She lives in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. And for a long time after she got out, she couldn't stand in front of a mirror. "It's not just ink," she explained in a video that would eventually reach millions of people. "It's a constant reminder of the pain he caused."

How It Happened

The tattooing took place across repeated sessions. During that period, Joke was struggling with substance misuse and, by her own account, felt unable to defend herself against the coercion. She had already lost her home by then. She and the man, known publicly as Hans, were living together in a caravan. He had manipulated and extorted her over an extended period before the tattoo sessions began.

When Joke eventually sought help from authorities, the case ran into a wall. Her ex-partner claimed she had consented to every marking. Without clear evidence to the contrary, prosecutors found it legally difficult to move forward. No charges were pursued.

The Campaign to Remove Them

A Dutch foundation called Spijt van Tattoo stepped in. They launched a crowdfunding campaign titled "Uit je Hart, uit je Huid" which translates directly as "From the heart, from the skin." The goal was to raise the roughly 30,000 euros needed to cover the full cost of Joke's tattoo removal treatments.

Within three days of launching, the campaign had already raised more than 22,000 euros. By the time wider international attention arrived, the total had climbed past $35,000. The foundation was clear about what Joke's story represented. In their own words: "Joke symbolizes a larger group of women who have experienced humiliation, manipulation, and abuse. She is taking this step while still in the midst of her own recovery process."

A Larger Pattern

Joke's case is not isolated. According to Spijt van Tattoo, an estimated 350 women in the Netherlands may have experienced similar forms of forced tattooing or branding by intimate partners. The same foundation notes that roughly 1 in 3 women in the Netherlands will experience psychological violence from a partner or ex-partner at some point in their lives.

Forced tattooing sits at an extreme end of coercive control, but the dynamics that enable it, isolation, financial dependency, substance misuse exploited by an abuser, are not rare. They are part of a recognizable pattern. Joke's visibility has made that pattern harder to ignore.

Where Things Stand

The removal process is ongoing. The tattoos on Joke's face, the ones she saw every time she looked at herself, have already been cleared. The rest of the work continues. She has said she hopes to be completely tattoo-free by the end of 2026.