Final Project

Fight Against Sexual Violence

Tiarah Forester

      My Project is centered around Sexual Violence. According to recent statistics given by The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), “Nearly 1 in 5 women (18.3%) and 1 in 71 men (1.4%) in the United States have been raped at some time in their lives, including completed forced penetration, attempted forced penetration, or alcohol/drug- facilitated completed penetration.” This is only a rough estimate because not all survivors of sexual abuse have come forward or reported the incidents. If Sexual abuse is such a major issue all over the world then why is it treated as a taboo subject? “Most female victims of completed rape (79.6%) experienced their first rape before the age of 25; 42.2% experienced their first completed rape before the age of 18 years.” Why is our youth forced into silence for the heinous acts performed against their will? Why are we not doing enough to make sexual abuse survivors comfortable in speaking out or reporting these inhumane acts? These are the questions that fueled me to dominate this project. So that I too can make a difference and fight against this social issue.

My Project

        The goal I have is to comfort many who have been affected by sexual violence. I plan to show these survivors that they are not the only ones, showing them that it's okay to speak out. I created a collage of famous men and women’s faces from around the world. Celebrities that we see daily and many that we idolize, who have also been subjected to sexual violence. Faces of celebrities such as Terry Crews, Lady Gaga, Viola Davis and so many more, form the words “I Survived”.


      We are not victims but survivors and I want to make that extremely clear. The word victim only feeds into the feeling of not being brave or strong enough to speak out! I want all who come into contact with my piece to see how many lives are affected by Sexual Violence. I want those afraid to speak out to view my piece and see that they are not alone. Even those we idolize most, are going through this trauma. Hopefully, those impacted by my piece will see it's not as taboo of a topic as we think

      I created this poster digitally due to quarantine and lack of supplies. In order to reach a broad audience I posted this visual on my Social Media Platforms such as facebook and Instagram and tagged Sexual violence awareness promoters. I also used famous hashtags such as #MeToo in order to reach as many people as I can possibly reach. My hope is for my post to blow up all over social media through reposts and engagement. For the Facebook post I also attached a donation link to a famous sexual awareness organization. This quick link allows anyone who comes in contact with my post to make a donation to aid in the funding for huge campaigns, protests that relates to sexual violence awareness as well as survivor support funding.


Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_kYLSShGtl/?igshid=uh2uqsc2tfc1


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100004479612918/posts/1560558474103458/?d=n


      Post quarantine, I plan to have an outlined handprint on a corresponding poster board. This poster board will be located on campus, if approved, With the title "I pledge to fight against Sexual Violence". Next to this poster will be a teal (The color for sexual abuse awareness) paint tray in which students can Place a handprint anywhere on the poster board. Wipes will be handed out to those following this procedure. So even when they wipe their hands there will still be that slight stain of teal. To remind them throughout the day of their pledge. I also plan to go straight to the city where Sexual Abuse is at an all-time high, New York. This is where I will bring a duplicate poster with a handprint outline and film a video, asking those to pledge. I will post that video on YouTube and ask my community and peers to broaden sexual violence awareness. Our survivors don't have to suffer in silence.

Inspirational Quotes

“These activists focused on political realities like gentrification, the prison-industrial complex, and immigration”(Thompson, 46).

      This quote stood out to me mainly because it made me realize that not all activists focus on the same issues. It wasn't until now that I realized that the prison industrial complex is a huge issue in today's society. I always knew it was an issue but when bring up issue in society this did not cross my mind.



“Veterans would warily circle the project trying to smell out its politics. Was it a political campaign or a marketing ploy? Generally, after about an hour, they would walk up to Harvey, begin asking some questions, and end up staying all day, unloading sorrowful stories”(Thompson, 52).

      I pulled this quote mainly because it shows how much art has such a powerful impact. To hear the soldiers transition from being skeptical and closed out almost to then being so open and willing to share. It shows how much the art pieces reached out to the soldiers. It connected with them. There is nothing more beautiful than art that connects to a human being. This piece inspired me to create a piece that would give my targeted audience the same feeling. I want all sexual abuse survivors to come across my project and emotionally connect to it.



“The Mobile Intervention Units (M.I.U) are built onto lightweight trailers as a set of

aluminum parts. When pieced together they produce a temporary refuge for sleeping.”


       I pulled this quote because looking at this picture you would never believed that it was made out of aluminum. I saw that even the most simplest materials could make a huge impact. This inspired me to use simple materials and design it to have a huge impact. Which is why I chose a paintings and pictures of famous celebrities. Two simple materials that together creates a beautiful message.

Inspirational Projects & Artist

      This portrait is known as "Faun and a girl" it was created by an artist named Max Slevgt. This was one of the many portraits I came across during my research and had to include in my project. It is such a powerful painting because you can feel the pain and reality of sexual abuse within one glance.

       This painting is known as "Nymphe enlevée par un faune" was created by an artist named Alexandre Cabanel. This portrait is strong. It is another human representation of sexual abuse. The picture displays a beautiful setting but it is an ugly deed taking place. Which makes it stand out even more. Sexual violence is never beautiful no matter who is involved or where it takes place.

       This painting by Valerie West-Rosenthal is call "Trauma", as you can see this painting has very deep meaning. It shows how sexual abuse causes so much trauma. Many Survivors never feel safe or the same after the act. Many develop anxiety and ptsd post abuse. Sexual violence is very damaging.

       This picture by Mark Anderson speaks in volumes to me, not many people really believe that men get sexually abused. It so happens that many men get sexually abused and are scared to come out due  to the belief it will decrease their "masculinity". We should definitely work on our perception of men so that they are able to be more vulnerable and comfortable to report the hennish acts performed against them. Their pain matters just as much as a women. The trauma is just as grand. Sexual abuse can happen to anyone and we should be more aware of that.

       This painting was uploaded by Syed Ali Wasif is known as “Nightmare of a gang rape victim”. Just like the title this image is graphic. He we see a women’s body literally being disformed by multiple men. It really gets deep into the emotional and physical affects that these survivors are forced through. I believe the ghostly like view is to show that even after the act is done, the women still under goes the pain from the trauma. This image caught my eye immediately the use of colors even feeds into the sadness the image is displaying. Very powerful piece.

References

Brown, Pamela. “WCSU Hosts Art Exhibit to Raise Awareness about Sexual Assault.” NewsTimes,        News Times, 20 Apr. 2019, www.newstimes.com/local/article/WCSU-hosts-art-exhibit-to-raise-          awareness-about-13780884.php#photo-17259869.



Michele, et al. “National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report.” CVR
    Repository Home, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 Jan. 1970,                 
    ncvc.dspacedirect.org/handle/20.500.11990/250.


Morley, Nicole. “Sexual Abuse Survivor Explains Why It's Vital Male Victims Have a Voice.” Metro,
     Metro.co.uk, 12 Dec. 2019, metro.co.uk/2017/02/10/sexual-abuse-survivor-explains-why-its-vital-
     male-victims-have-a-voice-6433636/.


Palermo, et al. “Undercounting, Overcounting and the Longevity of Flawed Estimates: Statistics on
     Sexual Violence in Conflict.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization, World Health
     Organization, 1 Dec. 2011, www.scielosp.org/article/bwho/2011.v89n12/924-925/en/.


“Sexual Violence Is Preventable.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease
      Control and Prevention, 13 Apr. 2020, www.cdc.gov/injury/features/sexual-violence/index.html.



“Statistics.” National Sexual Violence Resource Center, www.nsvrc.org/statistics.


Thompson, Nato. Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the 21st Century. Melville House, 2015.


Vagianos, Alanna. “30 Alarming Statistics That Show The Reality Of Sexual Violence In America.”
      HuffPost, HuffPost, 6 Apr. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/sexual-assault-
      statistics_n_58e24c14e4b0c777f788d24f.



“Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics.” RAINN, www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence.



Wasif, Syed Ali. “Nightmare of a Gang Rape Victim.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 9 Feb. 2007,
      www.flickr.com/photos/syedaliwasif/384361725.