We have to get beyond the shame’: Women of the World launches festival against sexual violence Favorite 

Gender equality charity Women of the World (WOW) is launching a one-day festival of activism that invites people from all generations, genders and backgrounds to take part in conversations around sexual violence.

The festival, created in partnership with Birkbeck, University of London, will see national, international and grassroots organisations and charities join forces with local artists and leading voices to address the global crisis of violence against women and sexual assault.

Earlier this year, figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, carried out by the Office for National Statistics, showed that nearly a quarter of women have experienced sexual assault or attempted sexual assault since the age of 16.

The survey revealed that more than 773,000 adults aged 16 to 74 were victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault in the year ending March 2020. Of these, 618,000 were female victims, and 155,000 were male.

The incidents ranged from indecent exposure and unwanted groping to rape and assault by penetration.

A festival gives people the chance to learn and hear stories

Katie Russell, a national spokesperson for Rape Crisis England & Wales, said that the figures “confirm that the prevalence of sexual violence and abuse remains very high, that women are disproportionately impacted by these traumatic crimes, and that the majority of victims and survivors don’t feel confident to report to the police”.

The Shameless! Festival, which is set to take place on Saturday 27 November at the Battersea Arts Centre in London, hopes to give the public a safe space to discuss, educate and learn about all forms of sexual violence and eradicate the shame that is often attached to the issue.

Speakers will include model Emily Ratajkowski, author Winnie M Li, founder of Black Mind, Rachel Nwokoro, author Professor Joanna Bourke, activist Payzee Mahmod, founder of Everyone’s Invited, Soma Sara, poet Tanaka Mhishi, and WOW’s founder, Jude Kelly.

Kelly told The Independent that the festival format allows people to approach the issue of sexual violence in a non-intimidating setting, giving them the chance to explore and learn without feeling ashamed.

“A festival gives people the chance to learn and hear stories and work out whether it reflects on their own experiences and to understand things from others’ perspectives,” she said.

“It also gives them the chance to hear about lots of different subject matters, even the ones that are most difficult and hardest to digest, in a vibrant and even joyful atmosphere.”

Being able to have these difficult conversations openly is key to confronting and changing attitudes towards sexual violence, added Kelly.

In the past two decades, and particularly in the last 10 years, conversations about the prevalence of sexual violence have been growing. However, the weight carried by sexual violence survivors hasn’t shifted, she said.

“It’s something society has begun to talk about and it needs to, but you can’t get away from the fact that we’ve done a very good job of making victims feel like they have to carry the shame.

“We have to get beyond the shame and ask, is there something systemic that can be changed about the way sexual violence is used to coerce and abuse people?”

We want to send the message that these things can be discussed without a shadow over it that says they are difficult topics

The Shameless! Festival also aims to address the global crisis of domestic violence. According to data from the World Health Organisation and partners, one in three women across the world are subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner. This is equivalent to 736 million and the figure has remained largely unchanged over the past decade, said the WHO.

“The festival is working specifically with medical evidence and academic knowledge and we want it to be something that people feel is theirs to own,” said Kelly.

“The reason we call it ‘Shameless’ is because we want to send the message that these things can be discussed without a shadow over it that says they are difficult topics. We have worked through the taboos of mental health and lots of other things, but we haven’t gotten away from the taboo of sexual violence.

“Everything from healing to the way care is offered, to what the law is doing to support victims and groups will be part of the festival. We want to show that we are free to discuss these things.”