Believe -I know it- Campaign
Art
Design
Activities
The "Believe - I know it" campaign focuses on publicizing the dismal state of national legislation regarding sexual violence in Japan, and encouraging women to participate in the conversation. It was launched in Autumn 2016 by Tomorrow Girls Troop, Shiawasenamida, Chabudai-gaeshi Action, and Advocacy Group calling for the empowerment of sexual abuse victims.
The Origin of Believe
In Japan, victims of sexual violence often feel isolated because people don't believe that the abuse happened and suffer from a lack of understanding. As a result, not only does it delay recovery, but also it creates more serious damage to them. We feel that the current Japanese penal code is based on the disbelief of victims' words and deeds. We named our campaign Believe because, to solve the problems of sexual abuse, we think that it is important for society to show support to them first.
Tomorrow Girls Troop conducted a series of actions to reach the issues of sexual abuse to the young generations through design of the campaign logo and website, production of the art performance Believe March, and participation of Socially Engaged Art Exhibition.
In June 2017, the penal code (sex crime) was finally revised at the end of the Diet schedule. However, the revision is not enough to protect victims, therefore it is necessary to continue making our voices heard.
Tomorrow Girls Troop marks this campaign as an art piece and continues to raise the problem of sexual violence in Japan by exhibiting it nationally and internationally.
Social Activism and Arts Design
The Believe campaign has become a rare example in Japan, where artists' engagement in social activism led an expansion of outreach, and successfully raised public interests.