Tag: dress

An exhibition in Brussels is displaying  items clothing worn by rape victims at the time they were assualted, the idea behind this is to show it doesn’t matter what you wear and no one is at fault being attacked other than the perpatraotor.

The exhibition,is held  near the Belgian capital, is called “Is it my fault?” It refers to the self-doubt that many victims feel after an attack, the Flanders News website reports.

The clothes were leant to the organisers – victim support group CAW East Brabant – include track suit bottoms, pyjamas and dresses some of which are items of children’s clothing.

CAW’s Liesbeth Kennes told VRT1 radio “What you immediately notice when you walk around here: they are all very normal pieces that anyone would wear, some people assume that sexual assault victims tend to wear provocative clothing which is untrue, even if a woman is wearing what others class as “slutty” or revealing that does not give people the right to assault her.

There is even a children’s shirt with an image of ‘My Little Pony’ in the exhibition, which brings home a harsh reality, and a pink dress with the age 3-4 written in the label.

Victim blaming still remains a problem in sexual assault cases, where the victim may be questioned on the assumption that they were at least partly responsible for the sexual aggression against them.

No man, woman or child should ever be abused and it shouldn’t matter what they wear

While victims are accused of dressing provocatively,the only person to blame is the perpetrator, the victim is never to blame

The exhibition hopes to raise awareness that clothing doesn’t matter and that if you are sexually assaulted whilst wearing a short dress or skirt that is not a reason to be raped you are not to blame and a victim