Survivors of sexual violence and supporters came together at Long Beach City College in the E-quad courtyard in honor of Denim Day on April 27 to bring awareness, educate and help with the healing process.
Denim Day is significant because it’s about a woman’s rape charge that got overturned by an Italian Supreme Court. The court believed she must have helped take her jeans off because they were too tight. In solidarity, women came together wearing denim jeans to protest erroneous assumptions surrounding sexual violence.
Sexual assult, rape, and sexual abuse are all under the umbrella of sexual violence.
Participants designed T-shirts for the Clothesline Project and Denim Day sponsored by YWCA of Greater LA.
The Clothesline Project, working in conjunction with Denim Day, is a visual display of T-shirts made by survivors and supporters, so it may help alleviate pain and turmoil by using creativity to get the story of abuse and violence out and begin healing.
Veronica Jurado has recently just been able to open up about her own sexual violence. She said going to a couple workshops this month helped her realize that the blame is not on herself.
“This took a lot of courage for me to open up but knowing that there are resources and support out there for me really helped,” Jurado said.
Paula E. Ulloa Perez just learned about the event on that day and she thought it was interesting that the school is putting on this event because there needs to be more education and support for survivors.
“I wish I knew of something like this that could have helped me out when I was a kid,” Perez said.
The colors of the T-shirts also represent different meanings for the survivors. To name a few, pink, red, and orange represents sexual assult and rape, where blue and green means child sexual violence and incest.
Bri Pinkerton really enjoys using art as a healing method. “Doing art really helps me get out of my head,” Pinkerton said.
Dr. Alisia Kirkwood explained, “Everybody goes through the healing process very differently, so it’s important to be patient and non-judgmental.”
According to Rainn.org, “Every 68 seconds, an American is sexual assaulted. And every 9 minutes, that victim is a child.” Victims can go through emotional, psychological and physical distress. The best way to help is listening without judgment and help them find resources to cope with their pain.
Victims of sexual violence can experience an array of feelings from depression, anxiety, dissociation and even suicidal thoughts.
One of the places survivors can go to for help is the National Sexual Assult Hotline 800-656-HOPE or to get more information, go to Rainn.org.