First Lady opens an exhibition in Kyiv dedicated to domestic violence issue

On the starting day of the "16 Days Against Violence" campaign, on November 25, First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in the opening of "The Thing Is…" exhibition dedicated to the problem of domestic violence.

The Office of the President reports.

The exhibition presents 16 household items related to actual cases of domestic violence. Next to them are QR-codes. By scanning them, you can hear the stories of people who have suffered or witnessed domestic violence.

The exhibition is also available online at www.richutim.rozirvykolo.org.

"Until recently, the topic of violence was unacceptable and inconvenient. After all, if you dare to talk about violence, it means you acknowledge it. Today we have gathered here to emphasize once again: violence is not the norm, it has no excuses. It's difficult but necessary to talk about it," Olena Zelenska said during the exhibition's opening. "In order to draw public attention to the problem of violence once again, and show its terrible scale, today we open a thematic exhibition "The Thing Is…"

It presents 16 household items familiar to each of us, quite safe at first glance: a toy, a bank card, a diary, a towel. But all these objects are direct participants, tools in actual cases of violence: physical, psychological, and economic.

The most horrible thing about domestic violence is its mundaneness. We have to admit: violence is not the norm! It has no excuses.

The norm is zero tolerance for violence, and it is within the power of each of us," Olena Zelenska stressed.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs organized the exhibition together with international organizations working in the field of combating domestic and gender-based violence.

It will be available to the public on Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv from November 25 to December 10, 2020.