"Jasmeen is also the founder of I Never Ask For It, a project which puts the onus of gender violence on the abuser.

As part of it, she set up the Blank Noise collective in 2003 to confront and challenge the fear that women live with.

By gathering testimonials of abuse, she has brought out a conversation that had long been hushed into silence."

Quote by Sneha Bengani. Read more

"We believe that blame leads to shame, shame leads to guilt, guilt leads to more silence and that perpetuates sexual and gender-based violence."

“The first step to confronting any fear, Patheja says, is to start a conversation around it and one of the things that Blank Noise does as part of the "I never ask for it" project is to gather testimonials from women.”

Quotes by Jasmeen Patheja. Read more

We found women often wondering about their garments. They'd say, 'I was wearing that red skirt', or 'I was wearing that pair of jeans,' or 'I was wearing that school uniform.' So it became a deliberate question at Blank Noise and we began asking, so what were you wearing,". And this does make women wonder. They wonder whether they actually asked for it. And the answer is always no. What women need to understand is that their clothes have got nothing to do with assault.”

Published in Oddnaari.com. Read more

“Most women and girls in Bengaluru and across the world can also recall the clothes they wore when they experienced any form of sexual violence. This holds mirror to the environment of victim blame; that which has long justified, excused and perpetuated sexual violence.”

Quote by Jasmeen Patheja. Read more

“How deep-rooted is victim-blaming? How are spaces of violence connected? What does it mean for you to revisit something you’ve experienced and end blame? This is about anyone who is made to feel vulnerable and is made to feel shame,"" says Patheja, who juggles many such complex yet fundamental ideas at Blank Noise, a network that seeks to transform attitudes towards private and public sexual violence.

We are in the process of co-creating a safe place together, a space that is not judging you,"" adds Patheja, who started Blank Noise in 2003 as her final thesis project at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru.”

Quote by Jasmeen Patheja. Read more

“Most women and girls in Bengaluru and across the world can also recall the clothes they wore when they experienced any form of sexual violence. This holds mirror to the environment of victim blame; that which has long justified, excused and perpetuated sexual violence.”

Quote by Jasmeen Patheja. Read more

"Organiser Jasmeen Patheja says she wants 10,000 photos of dresses and other clothing to display for a project called ""I Never Ask For It"".

It follows reports of widespread sexual assaults in Bangalore at New Year.”

Published in BBC Newsbeat. Read more