Illustrating sexual assault: High school art student gives voice to victims

Alex Wood, 17, is using her artistic talents to raise awareness about the prevalence of sexual assault. She's organized an art show that will feature her work, and the work of other creative Kamloops, B.C., residents.

"I know many people that have struggled with sexual assault in their life and I've seen how it can really damage a person," she said. "I decided there needs to be a voice for it, somebody needs to do something about that," she said.

"I'm somebody. I need to do something to help."

Though she's still in high school andhas a part-time job and exams to worry about, coordinating a show to raise awareness about such a sensitive topic, whichshe feels close to, is important to her.

Raising awareness

Wood doesn't think people realize how frequently sexual assault occurs, and from what she's witnessed, young people aren't comfortable broaching the subject.

Between 2009 and 2014, 117,238 sexual assault reports were filed with police nation-wide, according to Statistics Canada. Eighty-seven per cent of victims were female and 26 per cent of victims were 13 years old or younger.

Based on her experience, Wood thinks there needs to be more discussion at home and in schools around consent. She said if people learned about sexual abuse and assault from a young age, perhaps the prevalence of sexual assault on university campuses would lessen.

"I haven't really been taught about that," she said.

I'm somebody. I need to do something to help.- Alex Wood

So far, Wood has seen an outpouring of support from her friends, family and teachers, but she's hoping more artists will come forward wanting to contribute to the show. She's looking for diverse styles and storiesbecause she knows one type of art will not speak to everyone.

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"I find [art] is very impactful," she said.

Wood plans to have fact-sheets for people who like to learn from statistics and talking points, but she also wants to focus on the emotion that accompanies visual art.

"I am guilty of zoning out during a speech. But I have never once zoned out when I was looking at art."

The show is scheduled forJan. 13 from 12to 4 p.m. at Lansdowne Village in Kamloops.