VISUAL BLOG #3
What's it like to be sexually assaulted? : A newspaper sculpture
In women’s safety, India profoundly misses the mark. With 1 woman being raped every 20 minutes, about 90 cases of sexual violence reported every single day, and approximately 2500 cases every month. To top the terror, these are just 10% of the crimes committed against women.
What are the effects of sexual violence on the victim?
In points we can say,
- PTSD (Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder) and anxiety.
- Massive emotional trauma, self-loathing, self-blame and rage.
- Trouble sleeping, eating and focusing.
- Forgetfulness, unchecked thoughts, and emotional numbness.
But of course, no number of perfectly presented points can define the permanent emotional scars the person has to endure. Yet,
What have these thousands of haunting cases become?
Mere routine headlines in the newspapers. As regular as the morning sun and as ignored as the tiny pebbles lying somewhere under it.
That’s what captured my attention. As I open the newspaper every day, carefully avoiding all crime related headlines, my eyes never cannot fall on a sexual assault case. Because to my reoccurring disbelief, Solely the city page reports a few. What happens in the rest of the country, let alone the world, is unthinkable.
Why this sculpture?
- Even though these headlines are now a recurring pattern, each headline is a victim, both tormented and overseen. Deserving of having their stories heard and understood. And hence this sculpture, made with old newspapers, it’s my attempt to illustrate the effects of sexual assault on a victim in the simplest and minimal way.
This sculpture is part of a three sculpture series, with each sculpture exploring,
- The effect of sexual assaults.
- The psychology of the attacker.
- The society’s part.
-S. [Published on : 26/04/22]