A two-day exhibit at Winkler Arts and Culture this week tackled a topic that is a source of shame and stigma for victims of sexual assault.
“What were you wearing?”
Genesis House Sexual Assault Intervention Coordinator Taylor Goerz described the display.
"The exhibit is called 'What were you wearing?' And it's really to break down a lot of those stereotypes that sexual assault happens because of what that person was wearing. Our exhibit shows an array of individuals, men, children, and women, and a variety of clothing. It has happened in workplaces. It's happened at bed(time). It's happened in religious settings, and we want to be able to depict that sexual assault doesn't just happen in one place and in one way."
Goerz admits it's a heavy topic.
"I'm hearing about how emotional it is. How heavy it can feel when you're walking through the room. What I felt is (it’s) important to really recognize is how empowering it has been for some of the clients whose clothing is on display. It's really helped strengthen their voices and build a lot of confidence around that it's ok, this happened."
Because it wasn't their fault
"Shame breeds in silence. The more that we can talk about this happening in our community, I hope the more people will come forward and that we can have a movement towards less sexualized violence and eventually no sexualized violence in our world."
Related stories:
- What were you wearing? Art display dispels sexual assault myths through clothing
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Shifting the focus away from the victim
"I think those who are perpetuating the violence are getting away with it because society is focusing on the victim rather than the perpetrator of the crime. We're focusing on what the woman wore rather than saying, 'Hey, she said no, and that's enough.'"
Local victims represented in this exhibit
"These are as local as you possibly can get right now. These are our client's stories and they're not actual clothing, but replicated clothing, to really show that it's everyday wear. It doesn't matter what the person is wearing."
Exhibit Reflections
"I hope people are taking away from this that it's ok to talk about it and that there is no shame in what has happened and that there are services and resources available for people out here in our community."
The next exhibit will be on display at the Morden Police Station on July 2nd from 10:30 to 4 pm.
