Sexual Assault
A charcoal drawing designed evoke empathy for survivors sexual assault and call attention to the need to strengthen services.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), sexual assault is very heavily prominent in present day society. In a 2015 NISVS report provided by the NSVRC, 25.5 million women, which accounts for 21.3 % of the female population in the United States have reported rape or attempted rape. 81.3% of these women (20.8 million women) have had these experiences before the age of 25 (NSVRC). To reduce the amount of sexual assault cases in the United States, there needs to be more funds allocated to create more convenient clinics and health centers that specialize in sexual assault support in both secondary and tertiary preventions, including minority communities. These interventions will help awareness, erase stigma, and give women the medical and long-term support. By strengthening this support for young women, this would reduce the economic burden of both the victim and society. At the same time, this would help to respond to the disproportionate prevalence of rape among minority women.
Artist
Renneanna Dillen (2020)
Artist Lens
This piece of art was used to express the agony and pain that comes with women who are being sexually assaulted. The young woman’s hands are pressed against the surface as if she were trapped inside a box or pressed against glass. The darkness around her shows a very lonely place in which she is alone in fighting her demons, as women who have suffered from sexual assault often suffer from mental health issues. Her eyes are closed, and her face is both motionless and desperate. This charcoal piece is designed to target all the people who haven’t experienced sexual assault or do not know someone who was sexually assaulted. It helps those people gain perspective in that even though women may come forward, they suffer consequences that last way beyond the time of the assault. These young women experience long-term mental and physical problems following an assault. I decided to use charcoal in this piece because it was a very dramatic medium, hoping that this piece would stand out and capture someone’s attention immediately. This piece is meant to evoke a very strong reaction from onlookers. The dark nature of charcoal helps illuminate the everlasting dark nature of sexual assault. I think that piece is successful because it displays the raw and real emotion and struggles (in terms of physical and mental health) from the woman's standpoint.
Media
Charcoal