Social evil on display at Fiji Museum
Clothes of sexual assault victims tell of horrifying moments.
We need to be vigorous about addressing sexual assault and sexual violence issues in the home, says Reproductive and Family Health Association of Fiji director Matelita Cadravula.
Ms Cadravula was speaking at the “What Were You Wearing?” rape survivors clothing exhibit, which was launched at the Fiji Museum on Monday.
The exhibition is a first of its kind to be held locally and features stories of sexual violence and representations of what each survivor was wearing at the time of their assault, along with a brief narrative from each survivor.
Ms Cavudrala said too often when people hear of incidents of sexual violence, the first question they ask is, what was she wearing? Where was she?
She said the exhibition aimed to eliminate the notion that a victim was, in a way, responsible for their attack because of what they wore. She said the project was about encouraging survivors to speak out. “It is also looking at empowering survivors so that they can see that they are not alone,” she said.
“It is also trying to dispel the myths around what we wear. We want people to see that it is not about what they were wearing. It is about power and abuse of power.” One of the exhibits showcases the clothing a female survivor was wearing inside a popular Suva nightclub when she was sexually assaulted. Ms Cavudrala said the survivor narrated how no one cared about her when she was sexually assaulted because she was inside a club. “We need to dispel those myths and really talk about sexual violence and assault. It is not about blaming the survivor, it is about addressing the real issue and that is power,” she said.
Ms Cadravula that the exhibits also included representation and stories from male survivors. She said this proved that it was not about gender. “How can you justify the sexual assault of a four year old or six year old? You cannot even justify that by the clothes they were wearing,” she said. Ms Cavudrala encouraged members of the community to assist rape survivors by relooking at patterns of upbringing in the home.
“The family is the first place where a child will learn the rules of society because it is in the family where a child learns his or her role,” she said.
“We need to address gender roles. We need to change how our children socialise.”
“We need to tell them that no one has more power over the other and that everyone is equal.”
She said the church also played a role in addressing gender issues.
“Fiji is a patriarchal society and as long as it is man-dominated that power play will always be in place,” Ms Cavudrala said.
The exhibition will continue at the Fiji Museum until April 25, 2018, which will be marked as Denim Day.
The exhibition is a first of its kind to be held locally and features stories of sexual violence and representations of what each survivor was wearing at the time of their assault, along with a brief narrative from each survivor.