OGDEN, Utah — Weber State University students hosted the exhibit to help raise awareness about sexual violence, and not to blame the assault on the survivor, or what they were wearing.
According to junior student Ashlynne Rollins, the "What Were You Wearing" exhibit debunks myths around sexual violence for sexual assault awareness month.
"It does shut them down, make them insecure, makes them feel more powerless than they already do,” said Rollins.
She hopes to pursue a career in victim advocacy.
The exhibits were created by students, sharing real stories of survivors and displaying the outfits they described they wore. According to senior student Madi Mansfield, the outfits varied from a wedding dress to t-shirts, and even included a hospital gown.
"It’s very difficult to look at the children’s outfits, because you don’t think that a child is going to be sexually assaulted or anything like that,” said Mansfield. "I have someone very close, actually two people in my life that have been affected by sexual violence and it’s very hard to hear their stories. So that was a drive for me to take this class, learn about this and put together this exhibit."
From walking a mile in someone else's shoes to resources that can help, the exhibit explored so many facets of what sexual violence can look like.
"Being able to see it all together and have all these people with their stories, it’s encouraging for other victims, to speak out and speak out about their stories,” said Rollins. “It is a very sad and somber moment."
People who visited the exhibit also signed a pledge to believe survivors, with all their names filling a board.
"There were so many people here, to say we're here for you, we're here to advocate for you,” said Mansfield.
