The Clothesline Project Using T-shirts as the canvas for artistic and heartfelt expression, victims and their loved ones break the silence and strengthen their voices through The Clothesline Project a compelling visual display that bears witness to the many forms of violence against women and children. Breaking the silence, healing the painThe Clothesline Project comprises T-shirts designed by survivors of abuse and those who have lost loved ones to it. The shirts are hung on a clothesline during a public display to:
When and how it beganThe Clothesline Project originated with 31 shirts in Hyannis, MA, in 1990 through the Cape Cod Womens Agenda. A small group of women, many who had experienced violence in their own lives, designed this project to help transform staggering statistics about violence against women and children into a powerful educational and healing tool. They decided to use a clothesline after discussing how many women in close-knit neighborhoods traditionally have exchanged information over backyard fences while hanging laundry out to dry. Project expansionSince 1990, hundreds of Clothesline Projects have emerged nationwide and abroad, resulting in hundreds of thousands of shirt designs. Local programs in the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) network have worked with battered women and their children to create shirts for community-based Clothesline Projects throughout the commonwealth PCADV has also displayed The Clothesline Project twice at the State Capitol in Harrisburg. Putting it all on the lineThe Clothesline Project attempts to document the toll in lives and the extent of violence against women and children. Creating and hanging a shirt on The Clothesline offers survivors an opportunity to leave behind some of their pain and move to the next phase of their lives. For families and friends of women and children who have died, designing a shirt offers a way to express their loss and demonstrate how their lives have been changed by a senseless act of violence. They find comfort in knowing The Clothesline Project honors the memory of victims while teaching others about the devastating impact of violence against women and children. The laundry listShirts that hang on The Clothesline represent a wide spectrum of abuse. Although each shirt is unique, a common color-coding is generally used to represent the different dimensions of violence against women and children:
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