Item SH 920487 Badge - Scream from Silence, 1986

Summary

Badge, alternatively known as a button, made by Patrick Bros circa 1986.
It is part of collection of buttons assembled by donor while active in left-wing politics at University of Melbourne 1979 - 86. It was produced for the Australian Union of Students Womens' Department as a response to sexual harassment. It implores women to 'Scream From Silence'. This slogan is a response to and a rejection of the long held idea that sexual harassment had somehow been invited by its victim and so silence and shame were the most appropriate response. The badge and its message can be seen as another facet of the Womens' Liberation Movement which had begun in earnest in Australia in the early 1970s.

Physical Description

This is a circular button. It has a light aqua background. There is a illustration with blue petals ringing a yellow inkblot-shaped centre, containing the slogan in blue ink.