These viral images of a Colombian model’s shocking facial injuries after allegedly being beaten by her abusive boyfriend have prompted a full investigation.
Camila Alfaro, 24, shared the images on Instagram for her 287,000 followers where they quickly went viral.
She posted images and details in two posts on Tuesday (14th December) that have been viewed 7 million times and 1.4 million times respectively.
Naming her ex-boyfriend as Sebastian Valencia Medina, Alfaro claimed he physically and sexually abused her for months.
In a video, posted after she was advised she could “publicly expose the story by experts on issues of violence against women”, she said she met Valencia Medina in 2019 and that they became an item a few months later.
She said the violence started when they had to spend much of last year in COVID-19 lockdown in the same house.
She said they attended a small party with a few friends on 15th November in the municipality of La Calera in the Colombian department of Cundinamarca that led to him trying to throttle her.
The model said they left early because she was feeling uncomfortable with her boyfriend’s behaviour and that at one point during the drive home, he told her to get out of the car.
When she refused, he allegedly started punching her in the face, causing severe bruising and bleeding.
She recounted another incident on 20th July this year when Valencia Medina allegedly raped her, adding: “I told him to stop, I let him know many times that I didn’t want to, but he grabbed me even tighter.
“I cried while he raped me and I felt that seeing that weakness in me gave him more pleasure.”
Alfaro said she first reported her partner to the public prosecutor’s office on two occasions in 2020, but they did not take any notice until now.
After her posts went viral, leading to support from several Colombian celebrities and activists, the public prosecutor’s office announced through its Twitter account that an investigation is now underway.