BY TAMAR LERER

In print | Published April 20, 2006 — Updated December 05, 2008 10:03

Thirty percent of all women who are murdered in this country are killed by their husband or boyfriend and 60 percent of all rapes reported to rape crisis centers are committed by acquaintances, according to clotheslineproject.org. The project was founded in 1990 to “develop a program that would educate, break the silence and bear witness to one issue — violence against women.” From April 24-28, Swarthmore will participate in the national event as part of Sexual Awareness Month.

Haley Loram ‘08, a leader of Swarthmore’s Voices for Choice, believes that the project acts as “a wake-up call. You can go through the statistics but bringing it home to people … is a lot harder to do because it’s a silent problem”. Raising awareness is one of the main purposes of the project. “I would guess that the number of people affected by sexual violence is a lot higher than anyone would guess,” Nicole Belanger ‘08 said in an email. “I think everyone on this campus probably knows someone who has been affected by sexual violence and just does not realize it.” Veronica Lim ’07, another organizer agrees. "It’s important to know that a community like Swat isn’t exempt from sexual assault, just because we’re in this ‘perfect’ environment for learning doesn’t mean sexual assault doesn’t happen," she said.

The Clothesline Project seeks to raise awareness by having those who have experienced sexual violence or are loved ones of those who have experienced sexual violence decorate a t-shirt with “words and pictures as a method of speaking out and healing,” according to the handout given by the organizers. The approach is unique and has garnered much support in Swarthmore. “What the t-shirts do is that they’re human, as opposed to painting or putting out flowers. It’s very painful to tell your story, so being able to tell it without fear of retribution is important. Most survivors I’ve talked to find it very cathartic. People don’t know how to react, though, so the t-shirts put a mediating step between the survivors and everyone else,” Loram said. Survivors are encouraged to come forward and participate in the project, no matter when the sexual assault took place.

“There are things like SMART and Sexual Health Counselors at Swat, but in terms of something visible that would sort of involve the community, there hasn’t been something like that in my time here and I think that’s important,” Lim said. “I think that it’s important letting people know that sexual violence is not just about perpetrator and survivor — it’s a community issue.”

Different colors have different meanings, and those decorating can anonymously express their experiences by selecting the one that relates to them. White represents murder, red rape or sexual assault, blue incest or sexual abuse, yellow domestic violence and purple violence because of queer and trans identity. Though the national project was founded for women, the organizers at Swarthmore decided to extend it to men and to queers at large instead of just lesbians “because men aren’t excluded from experiencing sexual violence,” Lim said.

Even though it is important to the organizers to raise awareness and visibility, those who have not been directly affected by sexual violence cannot directly participate. “They can be supportive of the project, but from the way I interpret it they have to be people who have experienced sexual assault or whose loved ones have, to give voices to that,” Lim said. “But that doesn’t preclude other people from being involved. They can come out and see it, they can not judge.”

In order to protect anonymity, T-shirts can be perfected up from Upper Tarble, near the back bleachers, Dean Hentry’s office, and Worth Health center, up until April 21. The clothesline unveiling will be April 24 to 28. For more information go to www.clotheslineproject.org or contract Veronica Lim, Nicole Belanger or Patrick Rock.

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