The “O” in the “NO” from the NO MORE campaign’s new symbol represents a zero and an end to sexual assault. The buttons pictured are modeled after the pink breast cancer and red AIDS ribbons. (Summer Delaney/Medill)
WASHINGTON—Christine Mau spent her childhood trying to be “invisible” because when people saw her, bad things happened.
It was only when she reached college that she began confiding to classmates her history of sexual assault by her father and her boyfriend. With encouragement from others, she finally realized the abuse was not part of normal relationships and spoke up.
“I took that knowledge, and that knowledge became empowerment, and empowerment turned into action,” Mau said. “I was able to transition to leave that relationship (with her boyfriend) and to build a life.”
Mau, now married with two children and a brand designer director at Kimberly-Clark Corp., was part of the team that designed a new symbol for the No More campaign against domestic violence and sexual assault. In fact, the symbol is the main focus of the campaign.
“What we really needed in the area of domestic violence and sexual assault was to galvanize all the voices, create a symbol that was louder than life itself, that was undeniable,” Mau said.
The No More logo is the words “NO MORE” in black except the O is blue and represents a zero — an end to sexual assault. It has been in the works since 2009 when a group of leading creative professionals in advertising and communications executives teamed up with abuse counselors.
“For the first time, nearly every organization that is working to change the haunting statistics behind these preventable crimes—whether the organization’s focus is on women and girls, men and boys, teens, children, rural or urban communities—has come together and they move united under one symbol: No More,” actress Mariska Hargitay said last week at the National Press Club’s No More Day luncheon to unveil the logo.
A neglected conversation
Every two minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted, Justice Department statistics revealed.
According to a study released in March by GFK Public Affairs & Corporate Communications for the campaign, 51 percent of all 15 to 22-year-olds in the United States know a victim of dating violence or sexual assault. Yet, the same study found that 53 percent say it would be hard for them to help a victim and 40 percent say they would not know what to do.
Rob Schreiner, an executive medical director at Kaiser Permanente, believes that not enough education and knowledge is available for both victims and those trying to help them. Nearly two-thirds of Americans agreed that talking about the issues of assault and violence would make the process of intervening and helping victims easier.
“From a public health strategy standpoint and a public health financing standpoint, I don’t think that we have applied the appropriate magnitude of resources and attention to this public health scourge,” Schreiner said. “[Attention] will help reduce the shame and stigma that surround domestic violence and sexual assault, making it easier for all Americans to discuss, prevent and intervene.”
One in three young people are afraid they will be physically hurt if they intervene, according to the survey.
However, 19 percent of those surveyed said they would not intervene because they believe domestic violence is a private matter.
“If one of the reasons [people do not intervene] is people do think it is a private matter or because they think that they might lose their social capital as a result of it, we have to really think about how we can make it cool to talk about these issues,” said Marjorie Gilbert, executive director at Break the Cycle.
“Seventeen” magazine featured the No More campaign in the March issue that revealed some warning signs of abusive behavior and prevention tips. Additionally, Twilight’s Ashley Greene spoke at the Capitol on No More Day to unveil the study’s findings.
“If we want to encourage bystanders to become up-standers, it’s essential that young adults are educated early in the teen years so they know what to look for and what to do.” Greene said.
Zeroing in on the results
Hargitay who plays a detective on the television show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit believes No More will be as successful as the AIDs campaign which was in the 90s, “an issue that nobody wanted to talk about” due to the sexual stigma.
“When people started wearing the AIDS ribbon, it moved the issue out into the open,” Hargitay said “Ultimately, it contributed to a better place for policies, for progress and for most importantly combating the illness.”
Hargitay met with Vice President Joe Biden. President Barack Obama earlier this month signed into law the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act earlier.
“[Sexual assault] now has it’s own symbol, it’s sign, it’s beacon,” Hargitay said. “No More is not an initiative, it’s not a campaign—it’s a call to action, it’s a movement to stand up and to speak out.”
