Clothesline display provides a voice for local victims of abuse
By DIANA M. LARTIGUE
Article published on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005  |
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![[Image]](/content_images/092805_pco-01-a.jpg) |
| Photos by DIANA M. LARTIGUE |
| One abuse victim artistically portrays her desire to stop the abuse. |
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ST. PETERSBURG – Line by line, shoulder to shoulder, the shirts will all be hung.
Each shirt will represent an individual victim of sexual, physical or mental abuse. They are united as one voice with a message to be heard.
More than 1,200 shirts will be on display, hanging from a continuous clothesline throughout Crescent Lake Park on Saturday, Oct. 1, symbolizing the abused women and children in the local area.
Known as the Clothesline Project of Tampa Bay, this powerful visual display allows the public to bear witness to the violence that remains prevalent within our own communities. This display is especially eventful because October is “National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.”
Established in 1990, the Clothesline Project emerged when the Cape Cod’s Women’s Agenda learned that during the Vietnam War years, 58,000 American military personnel were killed. During that same time, the same thing was happening to 51,000 women in the United States, at the hands of men they trusted. Wanting to memorialize these women, the symbol of a “clothesline” was chosen to create a strong visual impact representing the statistical numbers of victims, while providing a catalyst for current victims and their families to express their intolerance of these devastating acts.
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![[Image]](/content_images/092805_pco-01-b.jpg) |
| Photo by DIANA M. LARTIGUE |
| Shirts hung at last year’s display commemorate abuse victims from the Tampa Bay area. A similar display will be at Crescent Lake Park in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Oct. 1. |
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Chapters of the nonprofit Clothesline Project exist nationwide, however, each chapter hosts its own events and displays. The Clothesline Project of Tampa Bay operates independently without being under the umbrella of another organization such as a shelter or counseling center.
Dale Shade, director of the Clothesline Project of Tampa Bay, became involved six years ago.
“This is a way to unite and speak out in solidarity, to speak out and say we will not accept violence any longer. We need to break the silence and begin the healing,” said Shade. “Creating these shirts is a way for victims to acknowledge their pain and move on from the denial process. It promotes healing while allowing victims to stand up to their perpetrators through an effective visual medium.”
Recently, the Clothesline Project of Tampa Bay had a shirt-making session at the Family Services Centers in Clearwater. Clients from the center and women from other associations attended the workshop. A few women heard about the workshop from their yoga instructor, Faith Erika Aust, founder of General Yoga for Trauma Survivors at Yoga Moves Studio. With beads, glue guns, paints, sewing notions, and other craft materials, personal messages were created in the form of words, phrases, artwork, and symbols.
The only restriction is that participants cannot include the full legal name of their perpetrator on their T-shirt unless the perpetrator has been convicted in a court of law for that crime.
Maria Sanchez-Masi, a rape crisis counselor for the Family Service Centers, said that the center partners with the Clothesline Project of Tampa Bay at least once a year.
“The display is amazing,” said Sanchez-Masi. “People just can’t ignore it. I’ve had victims tell me that after making a shirt years ago, they are touched to discover they still can find their shirt hanging in each year’s displays.”
Enduring years of sexual abuse by her stepfather and biological father, a client of the Family Services Center attending the workshop said the display is effective.
“It will be out there,” she said. “It raises the awareness that this violence is happening. It speaks for the women that aren’t ready to speak out. This is their voice, too.”
Proud to share her message, she spoke the words written on her shirt: “The Survivor is Ready to Fight.”
Both perpetrators in her case have been convicted. Her shirt, as well as the others made at the workshop, will be added to this upcoming display.
Throughout the year, the Clothesline Project of Tampa Bay hosts about 30 workshops, presentations and displays at various shelters, counseling centers, schools, and other outreach programs. Clothesline Project displays on a smaller scale (about 250 shirts) are exhibited at numerous college campuses and other locations. The University of Tampa will host one of these smaller displays Oct. 5-6. Another full display also will be held in March during National Women’s History Month. The location has not yet been determined.
The Clothesline Project will be displayed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Crescent Lake Park, 22nd Avenue North between Fifth and Seventh streets. Tents and supplies will be available for women to create shirts at no cost.
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Article published on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005
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