TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual Assault, Rape, Abuse and Sexual Violence

In their own words, Everyone’s Invited is a movement ‘committed to eradicating rape culture’. In June 2020, Soma Sara shared her experience with rape culture on Instagram, in response to which she began receiving messages: both from people who her story resonated with, and from people sharing their own experiences. Immediately, Everyone’s Invited was born.

According to the NHS website, sexual assault is ‘any sexual act that a person did not consent to, or is forced into against their will’. Consent, as defined by section 74 Sexual Offences Act 2003, is only present if the person agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. Consent is not a one definition fits all: it may be given by someone for one thing, but not for another thing; It may be given then taken away; It may be fluid depending on the situation. If consent is not present, and the ‘suspect’ (the person accused of sexual assault) is found to have acted without a person’s consent, then they have committed sexual assault.

The inflexibility of this definition infers a discernible polarisation when recognising sexual assault, but it is much more complex. Today, we are entangled with ‘rape culture’: ‘when sexual violence is condoned and normalised through societal attitudes, actions and structures’. Consequently, our society risks being segmented into two juxtaposing perspectives: the perpetrators who maintain the toxicity fuelling ‘rape culture’ and the victims, who consequently face difficulty when understanding, recognising and reporting ‘sexual assault’. As shown by the testimonies on Everyone’s Invited, this is not a new problem.

The ‘Survivor Testimonies’ section on Everyone’s Invited has pages and pages of submissions, from people sharing their personal experience with sexual violence and assault. To be precise, there are 13,933 submissions. Scrolling through each page, the breadth and depth of each submission vary – reports from a young age, from primary school, from senior school, from university. People are coming together, sharing their experience, gaining strength in numbers.

But there shouldn’t be numbers, there shouldn’t be pages, there shouldn’t be variety in all of these people who have experienced sexual assault and/or sexual violence. Everyone’s Invited is an invaluable movement and is the first step to try and begin changing the numbers. Education is a prominent step in this.

Combatting sexual assault and harassment in schools is a crucial step in installing the correct values into the future generation. The normalisation and tolerance surrounding the phrase ‘boys will be boys’, in line with misogynistic stereotypes, which is seen and repeated in schools must be addressed; action towards this is overdue. Yet sexual assault and sexual violence is not gendered, and this myth must be broken too. Boys are also victims.

In response to the testimonies on Everyone’s Invited, the NSPCC has been commissioned by the DfE to set up an independent helpline for ‘children, parents and professionals to seek expert, sensitive advice from the NSPCC and safely report abuse that has happened or is happening in educational settings’.

This helpline is: 0800 136 663 and runs Monday to Friday 8am – 10pm or 9am – 6pm on the weekends.

The change we need to see is possible; it is important; and, crucially, we are on our way to making it.

You can find the site here: https://www.everyonesinvited.uk

Words By Hannah Emery

The post Everyone’s Invited: The Movement Destroying Rape Culture appeared first on Voir Fashion.

The country’s devastated by the disappearance of 33-year-old Sarah Everard over the last week, and it’s certainly struck a chord with so many women. The hashtag #SarahEverard has trended overnight, as women take to the internet to show their thoughts and share their own stories. If there’s one thing we can take away from this devastating story, it’s that it’s only one of too many to count.

When the thing we’ve feared since becoming teenagers can happen despite taking every precaution, it becomes clear that provision isn’t enough.

When Sarah walked back from a friend’s house at 9 pm last Wednesday, she took the precautions we’ve always been told to when we feel threatened walking at night: she stuck to main roads, wore bright colours, called her boyfriend, but that wasn’t enough. We could make a list of all the measures you could take to protect yourself, but that wouldn’t help as much as stopping these men’s mindsets would.

In fact, sometimes the pressing of these precautions and their reinforcement can begin to feel like a tool for victim-blame: any woman who forgets to do these things, or doesn’t do enough of them to ward off an attacker, might be seen as the reason it happened, not because a man made the active choice to threaten her.

Just a simple scroll through socials will tell you how hauntingly common these things are and how every walk down an alley, bus ride in the dark, or taxi ride at night can be such a stressful thing for any and every woman. What’s more, the discussion proves the conversation needs to be redirected, it’s no longer about making women less vulnerable – it’s about making these men less barbaric.

The Guardian recently shared the statistic that 97% of young women in the UK have been sexually assaulted, an unbelievable percentage that’s actually pretty believable. Deniers will say “not all men”, an unnecessary phrase that acts as an excuse for individuals or a means to end or antagonize discussions about rape, violence, and systemic oppression against women. But this phrase in itself is stopping men from being educated, stopping people from learning the harsh truth that so many women have to deal with when going anywhere alone.

We need to change our attitude to this problem because something that is proven time and time again is that blocking the shot doesn’t stop the gun from firing. 

Until we can feel as safe alone at night as men can, there is no equality, and we’ll remember Sarah Everard as a catalyst of this realisation.

These are links to petitions, activists, and sites for any information or help that might warrant change:

Safe Spaces Now: Reimagining Public Spaces To Keep All Women Safe 

The Damaging Impacts Of Street Harassment 

Make Public Sexual Harassment Illegal In The UK 

By-Stander Intervention: Stand Up Against Street Harassment 

Words By Daisy Greetham

The post Sarah Everard: We’re Tired Of It Being A Woman’s Problem appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Awards show season has officially begun with the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards. Historically an exciting part of any red carpet is the incredible fashion, and the 2018 ceremony saw the stars make a group stand.

With the unveiling of Time’s Up, an action plan that aims to tackle the sexual harassment and the industry’s power imbalances, Hollywood’s most powerful stars opted for a bold fashion statement. Many attendees chose to wear beautiful black dresses and Time’s Up pins to stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault and harassment.

Among the stars wearing black were Reece Witherspoon, Eva Longoria, Meryl Streep and many more. The men also showed their support for the movement, with Justin Timberlake, among others, participating in the fashion blackout.

This powerful move has made an impact for the start of the awards season, and we wonder what future red carpets will bring.

The post All for One and One for All: Golden Globes shows solidarity. appeared first on Voir Fashion.