A display of painted t-shirts symbolizing society’s “dirty laundry” is planned for Thursday, April 18 at Spirit Square.
The event is called The Clothesline Project, and it is a powerful display of decorated t-shirts created by people who have been affected by abuse. Locally it is put on by the Campbell River and North Island Transition Society (CRNITS).
The Clothesline Project has its roots in the 1990s, where it began in the United States as a way for women affected by violence to express themselves. The shirts are hung on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against women.
“It is a testimony to raise awareness against violence on women and every shirt represents a woman that has face some kind of violence and abuse in her lifetime,” said CRNITS Outreach and Safe Home Coordinator Hayley Burkitt.
The project takes place in communities around the world. Decorated T-shirts may be a statement against any kind of violence, or a statement of hope for the future. Blue and red T-shirts represent sexual abuse, yellow or beige T-shirts represent abuse by a partner, white T-shirts represent murder, purple T-shirts represent assault because of sexual orientation and green T-shirts represent children who have been affected by violence. Throughout Prevention of Violence Against Women Week, T-shirts will also be displayed on the balconies and public areas of Rose Harbour.
The Clothesline Project and Prevention of Violence Against Women Week (April 14 - 20) is an opportunity for our community to take a stand against violence against women. Living violence-free is every woman’s basic human right, but studies show that 760,000 or four per cent of Canadians over the age of 15 have experienced abuse from an intimate partner. Women are more likely than men to experience severe and frequent violence from a spouse or someone they are dating.
If you are in an abusive relationship, or know someone who is in an abusive relationship, confidential help is available at:
Ann Elmore Transition House: 250-286-3666
Community-Based Victim Services: 250-287-2421
Campbell River Women’s Centre: 250-287-3044 North Island Survivor’s Healing Society: 250-287-3325
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