On 6 December 2021, I successfully completed my viva voce at Loughborough University, in which I discussed and defended my PhD thesis, titled “Contesting Abortion Stigma Through Contemporary Visual Art”. My internal examiner was Professor Craig Richardson, and my external examiner Dr Carrie Purcell (University of Glasgow). They allowed me to pass without any corrections.
I am extremely grateful to my dad and my sisters, as well as to all my friends, who continued to support me throughout this endeavour. Also, my sincerest gratitude to my two wonderful supervisors Dr Kathryn Brown (Senior Lecturer in Art History and Visual Culture at Loughborough University) and Dr Rachael Grew (Lecturer in Art History and Visual Culture at Loughborough University), who masterfully guided my throughout this project. A warm ‘thank you’ also goes out to everyone at LUNA, the umbrella organisation of abortion centres in Dutch-speaking Belgium.
Hence, from now on, I am indeed a doctor, and whoever is interested in reading my actual thesis can do so via this link:
https://doi.org/10.26174/thesis.lboro.18998393.