My voice feels like a drop in the ocean being swept away in the torrent when I see the latest statistics released by WHO surrounding exploitation of women. Sexual exploitation is historical however it appears that it is spreading at an unprecedented rate. It has become so woven into the global landscape that it has become normalized. So ingrained that we have now given this monster the title of "Rape Culture".

WHO Stats:

Violence against women - particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence - are major public health problems and violations of women's human rights.
Recent global prevalence figures indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.
Most of this violence is intimate partner violence. Worldwide, almost one third (30%) of women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/

In my quest to understand this culture, I began investigating the underlying structures that enable this exploitation to flourish. I released a series of small collages showing my discovery which you may see under so·cial con·struct - noun: A social phenomenon cultivated by society http://trish-smith.squarespace.com/work/#/nacht/

To say the affects of rape are damaging is an understatement. The questions I raise are;

how are women surviving this global assault?
How do they remain resilient in this rising tide?
What is being done to assist the 1 in 3 women financially, physically and emotionally?

I welcome feedback as I investigate the resilience of survivors.