The Clothesline Project (CLP) was founded in 1990 by a group of women from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The goal of the Clothesline Project was to address the issue of violence against women by breaking the silence and educating the public to the magnitude of the crimes. The women devised a unique way for victims of violence to tell their stories of physical, sexual, verbal and emotional abuse.
History of the Clothesline Project
Taking a cue from history, the core group for the Clothesline Project based their idea about an era when washing clothes was considered "women's work." A clothesline is symbolic of the days when women would hang laundry outdoors. After the laundry was hung, the women would meet at the backyard fence to chat. Each would give an update on what was going on in her life.
What does hanging clothes have to do with assault and/or abuse? For women that have managed to survive violent assaults by a spouse, boyfriend, father or other assailant, CLP founders concluded that a shirt hanging on a clothesline was the ideal way for a woman to tell her story. The Clothesline Project was born.
Women were encouraged to express their personal stories of violence by decorating shirts with words and drawings. Taking an active part in the project proved to be a positive step in the healing process for victims. But women weren't the only victims of violent crime; men could participate in the Clothesline Project, too.
How many women have lost their lives to violent acts? The national website, The Clothesline Project, offers statistics on the page titled, "History of The Clothesline Project" (no author or date given): "According to the Men's Rape Prevention Project in Washington DC, 58,000 soldiers died in the Vietnam war. During that same period of time, 51,000 women were killed mostly by men who supposedly loved them."
How Does The Clothesline Project Work?
Organizations, employers, service groups, and individuals that would like to join the fight against violence toward women and men are encouraged to hang a clothesline. Female victims of violence, surviving family members, advocates and friends are invited to decorate a shirt and hang it on the line for everyone to see. Clotheslines have been erected in healthcare facilities, community centers, participating businesses, colleges, universities and many other places.
Participants may choose any color shirt to decorate, but some individuals prefer to choose shirts color-coded for different types of violence:
- White: women who were murdered
- Yellow or beige: women who have been battered or assaulted
- Red, pink or orange: women who have been raped or sexually assaulted
- Blue or green: women who are survivors of incest or child sexual abuse
- Purple or lavender: women attacked because of sexual orientation
- Black : women attacked for political reasons
- Blue jeans: women attacked because of their race or ethnicity
How to Start a Clothesline Project
To participate or to start a Clothesline Project, call the National Network Office phone number (508-385-7004) and ask for the contact name for the nearest Clothesline Project. To sponsor shirt-making sessions and coordinate their display, contact the National Network Office at the same number for organizer packets.
Thousands of women and men across the United States and across the oceans have come forward to participate in the National Clothesline Project, each to tell her (or his) story in her own unique way. Others participate, making shirts to remember those women who didn't survive an unspeakable act of violence. By actively taking part in the Clothesline Project, many women have found a way to heal the wounds caused by assault, rape and incest. Silent victims still suffering can see the shirts and know they are not alone.
The visual display of decorated shirts hanging on a clothesline is symbolic of a woman's strength and will to survive. The display is empowering, offering encouragement to others suffering from abuse. Women make up the majority of victims, but the Clothesline Project includes anyone who is a survivor of domestic violence or sexual abuse.
Mary King - Mary King is a Suite101 Topic Editor for the Caregiver Support and Home Management sections. She has authored 5 teen-based novels.
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