Butterfly tattoos after rape are very meaningful — they often symbolize transformation, rebirth, freedom, and healing after a traumatic experience.

Here’s how many survivors interpret them:

• 🦋 Transformation: The butterfly starts as a caterpillar, then goes through the painful cocoon stage before emerging beautiful and free. Many survivors relate this to their own journey — enduring something dark and confining, yet transforming into someone stronger and new.
• 🌱 Reclaiming the body: Getting a tattoo can be a way to take back ownership of your body — to mark your skin with something you choose, instead of being defined by what was done to you.
• 💫 Hope and survival: Butterflies are fragile yet resilient. The tattoo can serve as a reminder that you survived, that healing is possible, and that there’s still beauty ahead.
• 💖 Freedom and renewal: The wings often represent freedom — breaking free from shame, silence, or pain, and beginning again.