Drawn from Her Silence: Reclaiming Voice through Visual Storytelling
Salute Her UK is proud to have received funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to deliver a pioneering six-week creative storytelling pilot course, designed specifically for women veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST). This virtual evening programme created a safe and supportive space for participants to explore their personal journeys through the powerful medium of comic-making, transforming lived experiences into a visual narrative that could be both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Importantly, the course also welcomed women whose service was marked by the injustice of the military gay ban and subsequent purge, those who endured discrimination, forced discharge, and the erasure of their contributions simply because of their sexual orientation. For many, this was the first time their stories had been invited into a space where they could be told without fear, judgment, or censorship.
Over six weeks, participants learned how to translate memory into imagery, layering words and art to reclaim their narratives. Some comics became acts of quiet defiance, others bold declarations of identity and survival. The process allowed women to confront painful chapters, honour moments of solidarity, and celebrate the resilience that carried them through.
In sharing their work with one another, the group built a tapestry of interconnected stories, different in detail, but united in themes of courage, dignity, and the right to be seen. For women who had been silenced by trauma or policy, the act of creating and sharing these visual stories was more than art; it was reclamation, healing, and a statement that their service, their truth, and their lives matter.
Led by one of Salute Her UK’s trauma-informed project facilitators, alongside a professional comic artist, the course provided a safe and structured space for eight women to reflect on their stories, both the painful and the empowering. Each session was carefully scaffolded to support emotional safety, creative agency, and peer connection. Participants were invited to decide which parts of their experience they wished to explore, honouring their autonomy and boundaries throughout.
The comic artist offered a tailored 1:1 session with each participant, helping them bring their characters to life using gentle, trauma-aware techniques. These sessions focused on visual symbolism, character design, and emotional pacing, allowing each woman to shape her narrative in a way that felt authentic and manageable. Whether depicting moments of resilience, loss, transformation, or hope, the comics became a canvas for reclaiming voice and identity.
“I didn’t realise how much power I still had until I saw myself as the hero in my own panels,” said a participant. “It made me realise that if I keep thinking I am worthless, I will stay worthless.”
The course ran virtually in the evenings to accommodate participants’ schedules and energy levels, with each session lasting two hours. Wraparound care was embedded throughout the programme, including access to therapeutic support, grounding rituals, and follow-up check-ins for those who found the process emotionally triggering. Facilitators were trained to hold space for complex emotions, and participants were encouraged to move at their own pace, with opt-out options available for every activity.
“For years, my story felt too heavy to speak out loud, I was ashamed ”, shared one woman. “But turning it into images gave me a way to hold it differently, like I could finally breathe.”
By the end of the six weeks, each woman had developed a first draft of a personal comic page, some humorous, some raw, all deeply meaningful. The outcomes went far beyond artistic skill: participants reported increased confidence, emotional clarity, and a renewed sense of connection to themselves and others.
“I never thought I’d tell my story like this,” said one participant. “But seeing it on the page, drawn in my own style, made me feel like I’d taken something back.”
Salute Her UK is now exploring opportunities to expand the programme, including follow-on sessions with illustrators, collaborative anthologies, and public exhibitions. This pilot course has shown that when creative expression is paired with trauma-informed care, healing becomes not only possible, but powerfully visible.