Global graduate, designer, strategist and entrepreneur Antya Waegemann took to the stage for Design Indaba’s 25th anniversary to share her project ‘When No One Believes You’, designed to confront the systemic failures surrounding sexual assault response systems. ‘When No One Believes You’ is an ongoing project that redesigns rape kits and the broader experience survivors face when seeking justice and medical care. Through the kit, Waegemann demonstrated how design can intervene in deeply traumatic human experiences to restore dignity, clarity and support.
Drawing from extensive research into forensic examination procedures, Waegemann explained how existing rape kits are often confusing, outdated and emotionally overwhelming for both survivors and healthcare workers. In the United States, where there is no standardised system, examinations can take hours and involve complex paperwork, inconsistent protocols and retraumatising processes. Through interviews with survivors, nurses, advocates and legal experts, she identified how poor design compounds trauma at a moment when survivors are most vulnerable.
Her redesigned system introduces six integrated interventions aimed at improving the experience for survivors, medical staff and law enforcement alike. These include clearer visual communication, redesigned evidence collection tools, an emergency support app and a tracking system intended to provide transparency throughout the forensic process. Waegemann argued that design has the power not only to improve usability, but to fundamentally reshape how institutions communicate empathy, trust and care.
Throughout the talk, Waegemann positioned sexual assault not simply as a legal issue, but as a public health and societal crisis shaped by silence, disbelief and systemic neglect. Her presentation challenged audiences to consider how design intersects with power structures and institutional behaviour, particularly in systems that routinely fail marginalised people. Waegemann’s presentation underscored the growing role of designers in addressing complex social and emotional realities.
