Exhibition opening in Cologne, Germany: meeting with abuse survivors at the Filmhaus
The Cologne-based association ‘UMSTEUERN! ROBINSISTERHOOD e.V.’, together with the Swiss ‘Justice Initiative’, organised the exhibition ‘Shame – European Stories’ at the Filmhaus in Cologne. The exhibition – consisting of numerous large-format portraits of victims of abuse from all over Europe – opened March 10, 2023. Present at the event – sponsored by Jochen Ott – were several survivors as well as Guido Fluri, the initiator of ‘Justice Initiative’.
The exhibition is part of a Europe-wide campaign calling for appropriate treatment and compensation for victims, as well as preventive measures at the level of European states. “The protection of children and their rights is a political task, ultimately a task of society as a whole. We must all look at and focus on those affected,” said Jochen Ott.
The images by award-winning photographer Simone Padovani and the experiences of the survivors illustrate the different facets of violence and at the same time the dignity and courage of the people in the pictures. After stops at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, the Venice Biennale, Bucharest and Bilbao, Cologne also hosted the exhibition.
At the same time, the organisers spoke out in favour of the #safeforkids petition to make the internet safer for children. “Working with survivors of childhood sexual violence has shown me that we need to put all our energy into making sure that children grow up safe and secure. Our association UMSTEUERN! ROBINSISTERHOOD supports the #safeforkids petition. The goal is to collect 500,000 signatures across Europe so that EU states initiate a law recognising child pornography images and identifying their creators,” said ‘UMSTEUERN!’ board member Maria Mesrian.
On March 9, after sunset, large-scale images of the exhibition on the Hahnentorburg and St. Michael’s in Brüsseler Platz were projected to draw attention to the exhibition and the objectives of the campaign.
