UltraViolet, a national women's organization, has commissioned a series of projections to go up on buildings in Atlanta, GA; Milwaukee, WI; Raleigh, NC; Las Vegas, NV; Denver, CO; and New York, NY; in an effort to bring attention to the United States' national rape culture epidemic. With one-in-five American women assaulted in their lifetimes, and major national discussions around sexual assault happening this election season - the general public at large still doesn't know what rape culture it is or how prevalent it is in our communities.
The projections are designed to shed light sexual assault and rape culture in America's communities and highlight how survivors of sexual assault often face tremendous obstacles to winning justice for the crimes committed against them. The projections will read:
"This is rape culture.
1 in 5 women sexually assaulted
This is rape culture.
Survivors bullied, shamed, not BELIEVED
This is rape culture.
97% of rapists avoid jail
This is rape culture.
Less than 50% of rapes are reported"
"One in five American women will be sexually assaulted at some point in her lifetime," said Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet. "It is crucial that we take the steps necessary to speak up for survivors and educate people about the cultural stigma that comes with survivors coming forward with their stories of assault.
"It's on all of us to take responsibility for a culture that normalizes and excuses violence against women; for a culture that perpetuates violence against women and blames the victims of assault and rape instead of their attackers. Now more than ever we need to stand up and say 'enough! That's the message over one million members of UltraViolet are spreading today," added Chaudhary.
UltraViolet is an online community of over 1,000,000 women and men who want to take collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media. Find out more at WeAreUltraViolet.org.
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