The traveling exhibition curated by Beatrix Wilmes shows items of clothing worn by 12 victims at the time of the assaults. Accompanying texts describe the experiences and make the crime and its effects public anonymously. "The exhibition was very moving and left me feeling angry, incomprehensible and disgusted," said one trainee. The main aim of the exhibition was to raise public awareness of sexualized violence and to address the issue of victim blaming. "It shouldn't matter what the person affected was wearing and thus suggest that they are partly to blame for the crime," says Equal Opportunities Officer Christiane Peulen. "In this way, the victims are condemned instead of the perpetrators. These myths and prejudices must disappear from our society and those affected must be supported."
Following the visit to the exhibition, two days of workshops on the topic of "sexualized violence in the workplace" were offered especially for the target group of trainees, accompanied by experienced experts. "The workshop offered loosened up the difficult topic somewhat with open discussions and exercises, which was good for all of us," reported the trainees from the pilgrimage town.
The workshops aimed to shed light on the topic of sexualized violence in the workplace from different perspectives and offer the trainees assistance in dealing with such situations. "I don't think many of them were even aware that even verbal comments are part of sexualized violence," reported a trainee from the pilgrimage town of Kevelaer afterwards.
Despite the difficult topic, the visit was a valuable experience for the trainees. "At the end of the day, I went home feeling more hopeful," said one participant. "We hope that such topics will receive more attention in the future and that victims will receive more support," the participants agreed.