Am I Guilty?

Name: Am I Guilty?
Start: 2022-12-29T15:00:00+06:00
End: 2022-12-31T20:00:00+06:00
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Schedule

Thu Dec 29 2022 at 03:00 pm to Sat Dec 31 2022 at 08:00 pm

UTC+06:00

Location

Dhaka, Bangladesh | Dhaka, DA

Visual representations of clothes worn by rape victims will go on display at an exhibition in Dhaka aiming to dispel the "stubborn myth" that provocative dress is a factor in violent sexual crimes.The ‘AM I GUILTY?’ exhibition aims to promote awareness about sexual violence.The exhibition features recreated outfits that represent the ones people were wearing when they were assaulted. A T-shirt and jeans. Khakis and a dress shirt. A dress. A bathing suit. A child’s dress. Each silently answers the same question, and each begs patrons to see that no matter how much skin the clothing covered, the result was the same.Too often, those victims brave enough to report sexual crimes committed against them are asked “What were you wearing?” It appears to be a question reserved for crimes against women, as emphasized by a male participant Victims begin to question themselves (“Did I do something to cause this?”) and with that questioning comes shame. With that shame, fewer victims report sexual assaults and suffer alone, which leads to less rapists being brought to justice. All this blaming and questioning of victims simply feeds rape culture.There’s no set of qualifiers for categorizing an act as a sexual assault other than lack of consent. We cannot condone conversations where a victim is scrutinized: “Oh, you were sober, wearing baggy clothing, and assaulted while walking to church? Yes, then we can call that rape. You are officially a victim.” That’s not how it works.Society needs to recognize that the only question to ask a victim of sexual assault is “What can I do to help?” Asking a victim what they wore when they were attacked is irrelevant, damaging, and ignorant. Exhibits like “AM I GUILTY?” help eliminate the notion that a victim is in any way responsible for their attack. Removing blame and shame from the dialogue will empower victims to report their attacks and begin their recovery, without shame or fear.