Call for Outfits + Stories

You can help The Friendship Center bring an exhibit to life for Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2026 with your anonymous stories.

In recognition of April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, The Friendship Center (TFC) is presenting what were you wearing?, a 2026 exhibit highlighting the diverse experiences of survivors of sexual violence and the need to end victim-blaming.

What a survivor is wearing at the time of an assault is never an invitation for violence. Clothing doesn’t cause an attack; only perpetrators do. In fact, survivors may have exercised little choice in what they’re wearing at the time of an assault—think of child survivors and survivors who were assaulted in a work-issued uniform. This is all to say that what a survivor was wearing at the time of an assault is not relevant. At the same time, we believe that boldly showing what survivors were wearing can open minds and shift attitudes about what sexual assault looks like.

To help us bring this exhibit to life, we are seeking stories and outfit descriptions from our own community. We are hoping to display 10-15 outfits—each representing about 3,000 survivors of sexual violence in our service region, where we can expect 33-50% of our 95,000+ residents to have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lifetime. Exhibit visitors will be able to see the diversity of survivors from both the outfits and the stories that appear alongside them, demonstrating the pervasiveness of sexual violence, and the many different experiences of survivors.

If you’re a survivor of sexual violence, we invite you to share your story for possible inclusion in the exhibit that will be on view at The Myrna Loy, March 25 - April 22, 2026. All fields of the submission form are optional and anonymous. If you are interested in contributing your story to this exhibit, check out our submission form. We're accepting responses through Friday, January 16.

You can respond using the version embedded or use the button below to open the form in a new tab.

Last but not least, The Friendship Center will be hosting a closing reception for what were you wearing? on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. All are invited to join us. Save the date and keep an eye on the event page for more details in February!

SUBMIT YOUR STORY