Coming to Bagheria is the exhibition “How Were You Dressed? – Survivors of Sexual Violence Answer,” an installation in which clothes do the talking and shine a spotlight against the stereotypes and narratives that still too often portray women as provocateurs of sexual violence. During the inauguration, scheduled for Tuesday, November 5 at 5:00 p.m. on the premises of Villa San Cataldo, the following will speak: representatives of the FemBocs collective , representatives of the Sambaia & Trinacria Anti-Violence Network, Councillor for Education Antonella Insinga and Councillor for Social Policies Emanuele Tornatore. The installation, in fact, received the patronage of the City of Bagheria and will be curated by the intersectional transfeminist collective FemBocs and the association Bocs APS as part of the European Solidarity Corps “Social Theater” project. “How Were You Dressed?”, conceived by the Milan-based anti-violence center Cerchi d’Acqua, was first presented in Milan on Nov. 25, 2018, on the occasion of the International Day for the elimination of violence against women. Since 2019, the exhibition has traveled around Italy thanks to the support of the national association D.i.Re-Donne in Rete contro la violenza, of which Cerchi d’Acqua is a founding member. In conceiving the exhibit, Cerchi d’Acqua was inspired by the poem “What I was Wearing”© (“What I was wearing”) by Mary Simmerling and a similar U.S. exhibit titled “What were you wearing?” (“How were you dressed?”), which the anti-violence center repurposed for the Milanese reality. The exhibition consists of some 20 pieces of clothing similar to those worn during the violence and accompanied by the testimonies of survivors. The goal of the project is to deconstruct some stereotypes about sexual violence, chief among them the idea that clothing may be the cause and that the woman’s attitude and behavior may have provoked it. All too often, in fact, those who have experienced violence hear themselves asked, “How were you dressed?” a question that implies a accusatory overtones, as if to say, “You kind of brought it on yourself….” This question is part of a larger mechanism by which the public tries to justify violence by blaming the one who suffered it and not the one who acted upon it. Thus, the woman who has experienced violence experiences “secondary victimization” and is blamed for provoking the violence or for not being careful enough; conversely, the one who acted the violence is justified for following a natural impulse or being driven by excessive love, jealousy, or a rapture of madness.
In an effort to offer a representation closer to the reality of the facts and to respond to one of the most pervasive prejudices in our society, “How Were You Dressed?” showcases the clothes that are so often discussed, inviting the audience to reflect on and question the patterns through which gender-based violence is thought, narrated and represented.

Useful information:
Opening hours: Nov. 5 to 14, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Mondays).

Location: former chapel of Villa San Cataldo on Pope John XXIII Street.
Free admission.