It shows a collection of outfits, just like these which the victims had been sporting on the time they had been assaulted, with a purpose to show that the assault had nothing to do with their clothes.
Tracy Rocca, the SVAC co-chair mentioned, “The idea is to dispel rape myths and I encourage to look at the poem What Was I Wearing. It’s a powerful poem, and I think the point is if we could only end rape by changing our clothes, if only it was that simple.”
There is all kinds of clothes and testimonies proven on the exhibit, starting from work apparel, non secular clothes, youngsters’s clothes and extra. The set up prompts the viewer to consider the connection people have with clothes. The overwhelming majority of individuals dress each single day, however the exhibit asks the viewer to think about how difficult it’s for somebody who associates this motion with ache and struggling.
Kristine Cassie, co-chair of the SVAC and CEO of the Chinook Sexual Assault Centre mentioned, “We have to have some really open discussions about what’s really happening in our communities. We need to highlight what services are available for those people that have been victimized.”
Cassie added, “We need to really call on agencies to make sure we’re doing proper training around trauma, and how we respond to trauma so that we are truly trauma informed agencies, when we’re supporting people who have been victimized.”
According a research carried out by the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Centres in 2020, 41 per cent of girls, and 17 per cent of males in Alberta have skilled sexual assault.
In phrases of what the group can do, Cassie mentioned, “We need to do some broadscale work around active bystander engagement as well, so that people aren’t just sitting back and letting things happen, but we know how to have those conversations and how to intervene if something might be happening.”
Cassie added, “I would love to see that we do some work potentially with places that are serving alcohol. We still know that alcohol is a really big contributor to sexual violence in our community that a lot of times people will apply someone with a lot of alcohol to get them drunk enough so that they can violate them.”
The set up might be on the Sandman Hotel at 421 Mayor Magrath Drive South in Lethbridge. It will run on Thursday, October 19, 2023, from 11 a.m. till 8 p.m and from 9 a.m. to three p.m. on October 20.
The exhibit will then be moved to Lethbridge City Hall to affix the YWCA for its ‘Take Back the Night‘ group occasion, held as a part of the Week Without Violence.
