In the wake of Brock Turner’s release on Friday 2nd September, and after serving a pitiful three months in prison (only half of his already shockingly low six months) a number of campaigns have emerged focused on raising awareness of sexual assault.
‘Know No’ is a campaign which aims to educate people on the importance of consent. On their website they explain that, after realising the lack of clarity around the concept of consent – particularly when victims are intoxicated, unconscious (as with the Brock Turner case) or know the offender – they wanted to make the concept simple for people to take on board.
They placed ‘sleeping’ dancers throughout Chicago with a sign in front of them that read ‘If I can’t say no, I can’t say yes.’ The idea was that bringing the issue out ‘in the light of day’ meant there was no gray area: it would be clear to see.
As well as that, the website has a ‘quiz’ with questions such as ‘If someone consents to sex on one occasion, is that consent for any later occasions?’ and ‘If someone does not specially tell you “no”, is that consent?’ as a way to help educate people.
Lana Mazurkevich, 20, is a photographer who was driven by Turner’s early release to create her own photo series on sexual assault called ‘It Happens’ in collaboration with Current Solutions, a platform promoting sexual assault awareness and gender equality. Writing on her
, Mazurkevich describes how ‘this photo series aims to continue the conversation on sexual assault, as well as to raise a huge finger to Turner and his 3-month jail time.’
Talking to Buzzfeed News she said that ‘the inspiration behind the series was an accumulation of personal experiences and experiences that my friends have been through.'
And that it was her way of saying ‘Look. Look at this and don’t even try to ignore it because it’s right there in front of you to stare at.’
Posting the photo series on the
initially, they said how the photo series demonstrates that ‘sexual assault can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, without warning and without reason.’
She had previously created a photo series with Current Solutions called ‘Dear Brock Turner’.
You might also be interested in:
Brock Turner Is A Reminder That It's 2016 And We Still Don't Understand Consent
Why Is The Issue Of Consent At University So Difficult To Grasp?
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.