Collegiate Times

As part of The Clothesline Project, shirts with messages and illustrations raise awareness of violence against women. The Clothesline Project was displayed on the drillfield and is sponsored by The Women's Center at Virginia Tech.

The Clothesline Project, on display on the Drillfield this week, is an annual project designed to highlight the effects of abuse against women, and domestic and sexual violence.

The project, created in 1994 by the Montgomery County chapter of the National Organization for Women and sponsored by Womanspace, the Women’s Center at Virginia Tech and the Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley, is an effort to stop abuse.

“The Clothesline Project helps create an environment where people feel like they can come forward,” said Jenna Underwood, victim services outreach coordinator at Tech’s Women’s Center.

Underwood said a public display such as the Clothesline Project could help victims of violence and abuse feel safe.

“One of the things that creates an environment where violence against women can happen is silence,” she said. “Silence keeps survivors from reaching out and getting what they need.”

Susan Anderson, a Tech math instructor, Blacksburg town councilperson and the faculty adviser of Womanspace, said many victims feel abuse is their fault.

“Sometimes people are afraid of reporting an assault,” Anderson said. “Our project is all about educating people about violence and giving resources, where you can go and who can give you help.”

The shirts created for the Clothesline Project are designed to represent a victim’s traumatic experience by the color of the shirt that she or someone close to her has created.

A white T-shirt is created for women who have died from violence. A yellow or beige shirt is made for women who have been battered or assaulted. A red, pink or orange shirt is made for those raped or sexually assaulted. Blue or green shirts are created for survivors of incest or child sexual abuse. Purple or lavender shirts are made for women attacked because of their sexual orientation. Black shirts are made for women handicapped by violence.

The shirts are now on display on the Drillfield, on a clothesline to look “as though the survivors were standing themselves, shoulder to shoulder, bearing witness to the violence committed against women on a daily basis,” Anderson said.

Victims and those personally linked to victims can continue to create shirts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Women’s Center this week, regardless of gender. The Clothesline Project will be on display on the Drillfield for the duration of the week.

“I believe that when people view the line, it has a profound effect upon them,” Anderson said. “It can make people feel anger or sadness because violence has occurred. People want to stop the abuse.”