Club Alohomora aims to raise awareness on sexual assault. As someone who personally knows a victim of rape, I strongly feel for the cause. It is truly horrifying how many women and children are getting raped and sexually harassed. Due to society's views, most victims are too ashamed to stand up for themselves and talk about their experiences. For this very reason, I was driven to creating a club that brings awareness to an issue that is extremely important in driving the equality movement. We must rise up and help people overcome their fears.
Sexual harassment is a topic that is recognised by society but is not seriously regarded to be as big of an issue as it poses to be. Despite the equality movement and the constant reiteration of the requirement of consent, this problem prevails and the number of victims is continuing to grow rapidly. Around 35% of all women globally have experienced some form of sexual violence, and this is only the number that has been accounted for. There are so many other women who have retained their silence on their experience as society claims for it to be embarrassing and will label the victims. This unjust and unfair behaviour has caused severe turns in mental health.
Sexual harassment is a very delicate topic to deal with. Victims of rape and sexual violence can still be in the healing process and any small trigger could cause them to restart their mental healing. This required my team and I to be extremely patient and caring when handling them as we did not want to be the cause of a relapse of unwanted emotions.
As the President of the club, I needed to know my team members' strengths and weakness and how to work in their preferences as well. I was able to effectively communicate with my team members and establishing a club that was as worthy as I pictured for it to be. Initially, I was lacking the ability to take in all opinions and process them, but now, I am able to consolidate multiple views and produce the best possible outcome for a given situation or problem.
I am extremely glad that I was able to reach out to a large audience and bring about awareness to a situation that is very personal to me. It is also commendable that many people have changed their mindsets due to our club's core values and virtues. I truly appreciate all the help that I have received during this project, whether it be from my teachers or my teammates, Smriti, Aarushi and Prisha. By handling the website, social media and design of posts, they were able to get a substantial amount of workload off my back and make my vision of this club a reality. They are my best friends and the most hardworking group of people I have ever met and I am extremely grateful for their help.
My experience with this club has been a rollercoaster ride. Whether it be heavily sympathising with those who have gone through rape and sexual violence, or having fun while writing book reviews and conducting interviews, but my mind was constantly refocusing on my goal. Making these people feel happy and accepted. I learnt that I was able to achieve my goals if I was extremely passionate and genuinely felt for the cause. Without my motive, I don't think I would have been able to bring the club to the place where it is now.
My mindset has also changed over the course of time. I have learnt to keep myself safe and always seek help when necessary. There is no reason to deal with your problem on your own. It's always important to create a supportive environment around us so that we can make everyone feel welcome. I have also grown to be much more courageous. Standing up for yourself may seem like a scary thing to do, especially when you think it'll offend the opposing party, but really it's just temporary satisfaction they receive and may end up being a life-long regret for you if you don't say what you need to at that very point in time. Comfort is when you feel completely satisfied. Partial satisfaction means that you are hesitant and not entirely in agreement with your choice.
Never allow your kindness to overtake your rationality. I have let other people make decisions for me because I assumed that situation was "too small" to be bothered about. It is essential to know that there is no such thing as an "insignificant decision". Everything leads to something or the other. Don't ever let someone exploit how comfortable you are with them. It may seem like your decisions are selfish, but they will never understand why they came into place. You shouldn't feel the need to justify yourself to people who are judging you based off of a preconceived notion because that shows their judgemental nature. You should know that nobody will understand your decision no matter how many times you try explaining it to them because they can't see what you are seeing.
I wish I was able to grow my club even more but I do believe the next generation of members will take care of that.
AWARE's Sexual Assault Care Centre Details:
Helpline Support: 6779 0282 [Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.]
WhatsApp Chat: 9781 4101 (For non-urgent matters)
Email Support: sacc@aware.org.sg
Address: 5 Dover Crescent #01-22 [Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (last client at 6 p.m.)]
Samaritans of Singapore: 1800 221 4444
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