A photography project shows that many times the pen is mightier than the sword.

The photographer Richard Johnson, with his new photography project “Weapon of Choice”, creates a series of photographs intending to show that verbal and emotional abuse cause the same damage as physical abuse.

It is a project which includes portraits of people … marked with bruises, scars and cuts. Words are engraved upon the wounds, such as “stupid”, ” dump “, “bitch”, ” faggot ” and other insulting comments towards adults and children.

“The main aim is people to understand that bullying and verbal abuse cause great damage and our society must begin to realize this even more. And we must understand that there are three people – the perpetrator, the victim and the witness who sees it,” the photographer said.

See here some of shocking photos