We think that the culture of silence around sexual violence has a huge impact on stigmatising victims/survivors. It works to the benefit of perpetrators and prevents victims/survivors from accessing the support they need.
We want to drag sexual violence OUT from under the rug.
You can choose to be a part of blacking out the silence! We would love to see students - and everybody! - across New Zealand getting involved in raising awareness! This includes wearing black clothing on Thursday to support survivors on your campus; taking selfies of yourselves and friends in black and using our #TIBNZ hashtags; and engaging with our content on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
We think the greater visibility our campaign has, the stronger our message is that the current climate is not good enough and that we demand change. This can make a huge difference in putting pressure on our institutions and our government to improve responses and support for survivors of sexual violence. We demand a culture of accountability about this issue.
Events are also a huge part of encouraging community engagement and doing that awareness raising work. We have great volunteers at every campus planning and running events.
If you are involved with TIB on your campus, get creative with the campaign. Run the events that you want to take part in. It can, and should, involve your own personal touches as individuals and as institutions. What does the issue of sexual violence mean to you? What does it mean to particular communities? What does it mean to your campus as a whole? If you want to get involved with TIB at your institution, contact your students' association or click here to send us your deets!
The mahi of raising awareness supports our 5 Areas of Intervention that will prevent and address sexual violence. You can read more about these here.