Rape has nothing to do with clothes, say these artworks

AMumbai-based photography service has come up with a project titled ‘Never Asked For It’ to silence detractors who blame victims for being raped — for their ‘provocative dressing’ or ‘their late-night outings in an unsafe area’.

The artworks, accompanied by the victim’s age, outfit and location, illustrate that it doesn’t matter what one wears or how old they are — rape is never the victim’s fault.

Divya Agrawal, co-founder, says, “Our society blames the victim instead of the culprit. We are making a point that it’s not the victim’s fault, it doesn’t matter what he or she was wearing. Even arguments like “why did they go to that area” make no sense — rape happens because someone rapes!”

She adds, “It happened to a 2-yearold, a star and an old lady. It is one’s mentality. For some cases, we didn’t know what clothes the victims wore, so we visualised them. But did it matter? No. Their clothes don’t justify rape... nothing does.”

The NYE Bangaloree mass molestation case e was the inspiration behind the project. “We studied cases, age e groups and locations, and realised that age or clothes don’t matter to a rapist.”

Our society blames the victim instead of the culprit. It’s not the victim’s fault, it doesn’t matter what he or she was wearing DIVYA AGRAWAL, COFOUNDER OF THE PROJECT

The artists have also illustrated Ranveer Singh, who had revealed that he, too, faced the casting couch