Catwalk4Consent: A Reflection

FEMINISM

#Catwalk 4Consent:

A Reflection

On the 21st of February, we at the Feminist Society held our annual #Catwalk4Consent. The aim of the event is to dispel the myth that clothing equals consent.

Students and those in the wider community submit their accounts of sexual assault and violence and describe what they were wearing when the incident occurred.

We then find clothing similar to the clothing described and call out for volunteers to model, do makeup, hair and collect money for Yellow Door.

Yellow Door is a local charity in Southampton that does incredible work. They specialise in supporting people who have experienced or are at risk of domestic or sexual abuse, and much more. Last year when I was social secretary, I did light work for the catwalk preparation. I didn’t have the opportunity to read any of the submissions due to the fact I was modelling.

This year as President, I actually had the responsibility of going through the submissions and was utterly stunned. Sexual misconduct is a serious problem in the UK and UK universities.

Research from The Guardian concluded that “more than half of students say they have experienced unwanted advances and assault, ranging from explicit messages to rape.”

Along with this a lot of students don’t actually understand what consent is and constitutes sexual harassment and violence, highlighting a significant failure in our sexual education teaching in lower school.

The aim of this yearly event is to provide some much-needed clarity on what consent is and is not.

That it has nothing to do with what a person is wearing, and never will.

I didn’t really feel comfortable submitting an incident that happened to me when I participated in the catwalk last year, but this year I did, and I’m so glad I did it.

It was a massive step forward for me, and I hope everyone else who submitted felt the same way. If you missed the Catwalk this year and would like to get involved, make sure to keep up with Femsoc next academic year around this time!

Or volunteer at Yellowdoor volunteering@yellowdoor.org.uk. We are still taking donations for Yellowdoor and you can donate at this link, we appreciate every penny: tiny. cc/Catwalk4Consent

WORDS BY HALIMA JIBRIL IMAGES BY GEORGIA DE VITA