Hard-Hitting Sexual Assault Exhibit Seeks to Educate and Empower

Assault Survivors Contribute to 'What Were You Wearing?' Presentation Hanging alongside a young boy's orange T-shirt commemorating an elementary school field day are the haunting words from its owner: “I always felt it was wrong, but whenever I tried to tell someone, they said I’m a liar. They said my dad was a great guy.” PICTURED: The orange T-shirt is featured in the foreground among other items in the Quaker Heritage Center's exhibit titled "What Were You Wearing?" That T-shirt and articles of clothing from others cover the walls of the Meriam R. Hare Quaker Heritage Center at Wilmington College, which is hosting a hard-hitting exhibit featuring clothing and testimonials of sexual assault survivors. The presentation is titled “What Were You Wearing?” and is open weekdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through May 11. WC's organization known as We Care is sponsoring the exhibit. Sarah Martin, the College’s survivor advocate, said, too often, when persons speak out about rape or sexual assault, they are asked what they were wearing, which implies they invited those acts of violence based upon their attire. “The purpose of this exhibit is to help break down the ideas behind rape culture and to educate and empower individuals,” Martin said. “Brave people from the community have graciously donated their clothes and stories to speak out against sexual assault — and make a change.” Statistics bear out the story of the girl with the orange T-shirt, as a parent constitutes 80 percent of rape perpetrators. Another part of the exhibit features a red and white cheerleader’s uniform and the all-too-frequent narrative: “He was a football player, but he had too much to drink and I was just trying to be nice and not rude. I found myself in a bedroom of the house and overpowered by his strength.” A heart-wrenching story depicted a boy who was sexually abused by his mother’s husband. He ran away at 14 and lived with a neighbor, who bought him a car and got him a job. In looking back on the boy’s life, his sister recalled, “We thought this man was a father figure to our brother. We had no idea (my brother) was being abused,” she said, noting he turned to alcohol beginning at age 10. “He drank alone in the dark of the night and didn’t tell anyone about his pain.” He died earlier this year from alcohol-related maladies. Other pieces of the compelling exhibit feature a beach blanket, sand and a young girl’s swimsuit; military uniforms (80 percent of women on active duty in the military experience sexual assault or harassment); an item of women’s lingerie and her story of being raped by her husband shortly after giving birth by C-section. Finally, a college coed’s pair of shorts and T-shirt were accompanied by the words: “I was excited to make new friends when I got to college. He took my friendliness for flirting and didn’t take the rejection very well.” We Care is a sexual assault and gender-based violence awareness program at Wilmington College. It is funded through a grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in response to federal mandates that colleges and universities provide students with these types of resources in the event they are needed.