April is sexual assault awareness month, which is why this week’s profile features a senior at Barnard College who has chosen to address this issue with her social action project for the Athena Center for Leadership Studies.
When asked why she decided to focus on these efforts, Naomi Jia responded, “although the implications of sexual assault on college campuses is widely discussed, school administrators often skirt around providing victims of sexual violence the necessary tools to cope with their experiences.”
Naomi Jia, Barnard Class of 2019
Visibility in Invisibility, Jia’s digital platform, seeks to provide a shared space where college victims of sexual violence are not only able to share their written narratives, but also able to access a support network. Also while fostering discussions of long-term administrative change regarding protocol and disciplinary actions within college Title IX offices. At the heart of the website, users can find a forum that allows them to post their own experiences and to comment or receive written support from other users. Although this platform was intended for sexual assault victims, users are not limited to victims of sexual assault–allies who are willing to continue conversations and offer support are welcome too.
With a following of over 800 Instagram users, Jia hopes to expand her project to reach a wider number of college campuses across the United States. As Naomi mentions, “those who have been affected by sexual assault are not merely statistics, and with Visibility In Invisibility, we will not be idle bystanders to their pain.”
Website: Visibilityininvisibility.com
Instagram: @visibilityininvisibility