#thisdoesn'tmeanyes campaign tackles rape myths
Wed 06 May 2015
A London campaign to create awareness of rape culture has garnered support and encouragement around the world. #thisdoesn'tmeanyes aims to dispel ...
A London campaign to create awareness of rape culture has garnered support and encouragement around the world. #thisdoesn'tmeanyes aims to dispel the myth that a women's choice of clothing or the way she behaves are invitations to be raped.
The Rape Crisis South London campaign recruited PEROU, a world-famous fashion photographer who had previously been seen to objectify and actively sexualise women through photography. PEROU photographed randomly chosen women in a pop-up street studio in the Braithwaite Tunnel in Shoreditch on 11 April 2015, capturing 200 women dressing and behaving however they wanted.
The campaign message says that "'this' - be it a short skirt, a low-cut top or a red lip - is not an invitation for a man to take what he chooses. It is a woman's personal form of expression, and her right to express it."
#thisdoesn'tmeanyes encourages women to participate by posting their own photos on Instagram using the campaign hashtag, which will be exhibited on the campaign website.
Red My Lips, a United States based campaign, has also garnered support from around the world, including New Zealand women. The campaign, which aims to raise awareness about sexual violence and speak out against victim blaming, asked supporters to wear red lipstick during April (Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the USA). This was to demonstrate solidarity and support for survivors and to tackle rape myths and victim-blaming by holding conversations.
The campaign message says "The problem does not lie with tight or revealing clothes, makeup, or 'letting your guard down'. The problem lies with one person's DECISION to overpower and violate the body and spirit of another. And until we acknowledge and address this reality, the worldwide pandemic of sexual violence will continue."
The Red My Lips campaign can also be followed on Facebook.
Media
Power links sexual harassment and sexual violence, Opinion: The Dominion Post, 07.05.2015
Women's right to walk alone, Opinion: Otago Daily Times, 07.05.2015
Lena Dunham reveals rape made her feel powerless, Stuff, 26.04.2015
Campaign tackles myth of women 'asking for it' through clothing, behaviour, NZ Herald, 21.04.2015
The Reddit question no one should ignore, Stuff, 13.04.2015
Kapiti women see red over rape culture, Kapiti News, 08.04.2015
Red My Lips: Kiwi women don red lipstick to fight victim blaming, Stuff, 08.04.2015
Feature: Tackling rape culture in NZ, Radio NZ, 07.12.2014
Rape Culture Is Real, Time, 27.03.2014
We weren't violent so it wasn't rape, insist jailed abusers of girl, NZ Herald, 25.01.2015
Bob Jones: Rape culture is a serious problem, PRNG, no date.
Image: Always Kiss Me Goodnight by Courtney Carmody Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Image: Courtney Carmody