Art is powerful. Social change is powerful. People’s
voices are powerful. And along those lines, our language is
powerful. If we want our art and our voices to provoke change, we
must first begin with our language.
The amount of recent dialogue surrounding the issue of sexual
assault has been amazing and inspiring … never enough, but a step
in the right direction. In preparation for this week’s
Clothesline Project display and Take Back the Night march and
rally, I want to take this opportunity to articulate how this
dialogue has infused me with hope and satisfaction, but has also
made me cringe.
Sexual assault is the ultimate form of stripping someone of
power and agency and is unmatched in our society in its ability to
degrade and isolate its “victims.” And referring to
them as victims is raping them of their agency a second time. In
accordance with the National Clothesline Project, we at UCLA
differentiate between victims ““ those who died as a result of
or during sexual assault ““ and survivors, the countless
individuals at varying stages of their healing process, taking back
their lives.
The UCLA Clothesline Project is a student organization committed
to raising awareness about sexual violence in our community. By
offering survivors various outlets to voice their experiences,
which our culture actively attempts to silence and ignore,
survivors reclaim their power through their voices and stories.
Crucial to this process is referring to them as survivors rather
than victims.
The judicial system calls survivors victims of a crime. It also
widely under-prosecutes this crime and justifies a difficult and
humiliating process to indict the perpetrators.
The project attempts to separate itself from this process. Our
job, and the job of every ally, supporter, counselor and friend, is
not to place blame or prosecute, which we must leave to the police
and lawyers, but to focus our energy on each survivor’s
individual process of healing. This process is dependent on
facilitating the reclamation of the power that was violently stolen
and the voice that was, and still is, actively silenced.
Change happens when voices demand to be heard, and it is
necessary to understand how the outside perception of survivors
perpetuates a culture of silence. Understanding how our language
affects that environment is crucial to facilitating an environment
that empowers survivors and makes space for their stories.
Referring to victims of sexual assault as survivors is a simple
but crucial way to give credit to the strength they possess and
exhibit. Witnessing their collective voice through their shirts is
a testament to the awareness that can be accomplished through that
strength.
White is the co-executive chair of the UCLA Clothesline
Project. For information on the Clothesline Project and Take Back
the Night, e-mail [email protected].