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According to the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault (IowaCASA), one in three women and one in six men in the United States has experienced some form of sexual violence. Fifty  percent of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals have also experienced sexual violence.

The MeToo Art Show, showcased downtown at the Des Moines Social Club, was an idea conceived by Allison Missal, a digital photography instructor at the Des Moines Art Center. This idea was created about a year ago when the #MeToo movement began to take shape. Missal personally participated in the #MeToo movement online as well. She then reached out to IowaCASA for support of the idea, and they worked together to find a space for the exhibit.

In 1997, African-American civil rights activist Tarana Burke encountered a 13-year-old girl who had been the victim of sexual abuse. Burke felt helpless in the situation and thought hard about what she could do to help the young girl.

Burke is quoted by The New York Times saying, “I didn’t have a response or a way to help her in that moment, and I couldn’t even say ‘me too.’”

Ten years after meeting the young girl, Burke started a nonprofit organization that helps survivors of sexual violence. She called that association MeToo.

More recently, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted, write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Milano woke to 55,000 replies, and her tweet had become the top trending hashtag on Twitter. Her support of the movement advanced a worldwide awareness of sexual violence. Missal was surprised by the response in her own life.

“Seeing all the hashtags pop up from people that I knew was pretty remarkable and definitely a wake-up call,” Missal said.

She wanted to create a safe space for people who have been affected by sexual violence to talk and for those who have not had that experience to be able to reach out and learn the appropriate ways to support someone who has.

Missal’s exhibition idea was just that. The exhibition allowed a few artists the opportunity to show their work and express their feelings on the subject. Artists were also able to communicate with others who might have been affected by sexual violence or are passionate about the movement. Six artists sold their artwork on opening night.

One artist who was chosen to showcase her work at the MeToo Art show was Jessica Pleyel.

“As a survivor of sexual violence, I started making art personally and then started connecting with more and more self-identifying women for the cause who would say, ‘me too. I can relate to that,’” Pleyel said. “Creating an art space where women can come together to talk about it and get their emotions out in a creative way became something that was really important to me.”

Art is as a therapeutic medium for many, and sexual abuse victims are not excluded.

Leah Green is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. She said that she never talked about her abuse as a child so now it is important to her that people talk about the subject now. She also said art is a great form to express yourself.

“I think (art) can touch people at a different level than statistics,” Green said. “When you get to see something as a visual representative, such as art, it puts you in touch with the emotions of the survivor and what it must feel like to be a sexual assault survivor and try to heal from that. You reach them at a much more personal level.”

Many people attended opening night, and many others have been through the gallery in the past few weeks. Spectator, Trenton Seumbert, said that as a male, he felt the need to come and educate himself more on the subject. He wanted to evaluate himself and his actions and understand how he can play a part in the movement. He said that artwork, specifically, is the truest form of sending a message.

Sexual violence is something that many people in our society deal with every day, whether they share their experiences or not. The #MeToo movement is a way for survivors of sexual violence to reach out to others and support one another in their journeys.