Naked image exposes harsh cuts truth

Ian Macrae

A disabled woman has volunteered to be photographed naked to highlight the impact on disabled people of the Government’s programme of benefit cuts.

Kaliya Franklin, who blogs under the alias Bendygirl, was photographed on a deserted beach not far from her home.

The picture, with its accompanying strap line “Left out in the cold” is part of a campaign against benefits cuts by web and social network based group Broken of Britain.

Speaking to Disability Now, Kaliya Franklin said: “We were trying to think of ways to make mainstream media pay attention.

“There aren’t many things that will shake mainstream media up. One of those things, unfortunately, is nudity, and female nudity in particular.”

Speaking about the experience she said: “It was very cold and I did whinge a lot. I didn’t know the photographer as he was someone we found through Twitter. I’m not sure who felt more weird, me or him.

“I did feel vulnerable, but that was more when we made the decision that we had to personalise it and put my name out there with it.”

Now that the picture has been published she accepts that there is a risk of it presenting an image of disabled people as vulnerable.

“That’s very much a risk, and very much a struggle that we’re all having to deal with. We at Broken of Britain feel that, although rights should be absolute for disabled people, that’s not universally accepted.

“We believe that there’s a big lack of understanding among the public that the benefits that are being cut are those you pay for all your life.”

Kaliya admits that, in a crowded news agenda, pick up of the image and its underlying message has been disappointing.

”It’s not been as good as we’d hoped, but we were competing with Libya, Japan and Prince Andrew.”

And her hope is that the picture will make a wider point too.

“It’s a very beautiful photo and part of the point was to show disability as a normal part of life, with normal expectations, hopes and dreams.”

The Broken of Britain group is planning similar attention-grabbing actions for the future. Kaliya says: “In particular we want to show the kinds of difficulties people with mental health problems are facing. Our next participant is already lined up and something will probably appear over the summer.”

• More information about Broken of Britain at thebrokenofbritain.blogspot.com