Shameless! Festival London: The Virtual Experience

Six months ago, nearly 1000 people joined the first ever Shameless! Festival of Activism Against Sexual Violence. The festival sold out and we know not everyone who wanted to be there could be, so we’re really pleased to announce a number of the day’s talks are now available to watch on the Birkbeck YouTube channel, with captions by Stagetext.

Created in collaboration by the SHaME project and WOW – Women of the World, the one day festival at Battersea Arts Centre featured high profile speakers, survivors, researchers and medical professionals, alongside performances by incredible artists, poets and musicians, interactive workshops, ‘how to’ clinics, wellness spaces and more.

Inspired by and building on the work of our team, WOW and activists and academics across the world, the festival aimed to revolutionise conversations around sexual violence; burst open inherited ideas of shame; and give everyone the chance to say to all societies, enough is enough, sexual violence must end.

You can now watch 11 of the events, panels and talks from the day here, including contributions from SHaME’s Prof Joanna Bourke, Dr George Severs, and Allison McKibban. The talks feature activists, experts and artists tackling subjects including why the UK court system is failing victims, what it is like to be a male survivor, everyday sexism and what we can do about it, and how we can all help bring about a rape free world.

The Shameless! Festival was produced by SHaME and WOW – Women of the World, and is supported by The Wellcome Trust and Birkbeck, University of London.