Meet the Artist Creating Space for Victims of Sexual Violence
Trigger Warning! This article talks about sexual violence, and some of the images in this article are graphic.
I first heard about the word rape the summer before I went into the 7th Grade. I had spent that entire summer copying out of the dictionary. Not because I was in trouble, but because I wanted to be a wordsmith and know more words than my classmates. I remember finally making it to the R's two weeks before school was about to start. I started copying and memorizing, and there it was: R-A-P-E, a word that would go on to haunt me forever. I remember asking God right then and there that whatever happens in my life, that I never ever get raped, unfortunately for me that prayer was never answered.
For many survivors of sexual violence there isn’t a place besides therapy where you can talk about your experience openly, and in away that will feel cathartic to you, and your experience. But that is no longer the case thanks to Maren Curtis. The founder of a website called Kill Your Rapist. A website where victims can submit writing pieces, poetry, art, and more regarding their experience with sexual violence. Curtis gives these works a platform on the website and a place for communal healing to those who visit. “Visual art and writing is the closest we can get to killing our rapists. Take the metaphor to heart, use this space to let shit go. This is a place where you are believed.” The name Kill Your Rapist is so shocking but shock and curiosity are such a great way to get a conversation going. “Shock is a great tool to get people to look at something.”
“I strongly believe that giving space for any emotion surrounding sexual violence, but especially rage, is an instrumental part of justice - thus the name of the website.”
I was so pleased when I got the chance to speak to the artist, our conversation lasting over an hour as I not only thanked her for being brave enough to create something so bold and in-your-face, but also validating each others’ experiences (something that many survivors like myself need). Curtis’ site is a place where one can seek solace and refuge after something so violating like rape has occurred.
Maren Curtis is an artist originally from Marin County who’s currently attending the Rhode Island School of Design, and is in her second year of her masters degree program studying illustration. Curtis has spent the last five years using her art to talk about her experience with rape that occurred her freshmen year at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Even though I had a less than great experience there, I left with really fantastic friends and my fiancé.” says Curtis.
“I have been wanting to make something that has a framework for people talking about rage for a long time.” The timing of the class and her long standing ambition to create led her to start the website and it came together rather quickly for Curtis. Curtis started thinking of making Kill Your Rapist as an idea for one of her classes, then an idea of maybe creating a book - a knitting book to be exact for survivors “Knitting for me when I was dealing with PTSD and the symptoms that come with that, it was hard to sit with myself, and knitting helped me with pick up a [meditative] practice without having to sit there in silence and still be able to process things… It’s a great craft for people who have PTSD from any situation whether it be coming back from war or leaving a domestic abuse situation.” The Knitting book is something that Curtis plans to attach to the project down the line.
Curtis launched the site on September 19th and “the general response has been fantastic. I mean I really didn’t expect people to resonate with it that much.” explains Curtis. “Knowing that saying something happened to me can aid other people is so great.” Kill your Rapist is now taking submissions, people are welcome to submit their work anonymously or not. Submissions do not have to only be about Rape, but submissions about work place harassment, the experience of being watched, or the inherent dangers of being a woman. All subject matters are welcome. “This website is meant for all types of experiences with sexual violence,” She hopes to receive many more submissions.
Despite the website being so young, the positive response has been encouraging. ”My biggest hope for the website is that as many people use it as possible just so we can have this breadth of stories and people really describing how it felt because it’s everywhere; Theres nowhere that Rape culture isn’t a pervasive part in society unfortunately… to not have someone edit you… I wish I had something like that when I was 18 and it happened.”
You can find the website here:
https://www.killyourrapist.net/
and the rest of Maren Curtis’ work here:
https://marencurtis.com/
National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-4673