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The Clothesline Project began in 1990 when members of the Cape Cod Women's
Agenda hung a clothesline across the village green in Hyannis, Massachusetts
with 31 shirts designed by survivors of assault, rape and incest. Women
viewing the clothesline came forward to create shirts of their own
and the line just kept growing.
Since that first display the Project has grown to 300+ local Clothesline
Projects nationally and internationally, with an estimated 35,000 shirts.
The Clothesline Project has become a distinctive resource for healing
from violence and creating social change. Lines have been displayed at
schools, universities, State Houses, shopping malls, churches, and women's
events. The shirts hang side-by-side to "Break the Silence" and to bear
witness to violence against women. The Clothesline which will be displayed
at LFHS was made entirely by people living in Lake County.
Similar to the AIDS quilt, the Clothesline Project puts a human face on
the statistics of violence against women. The Project increases awareness
of the impact of violence against women, celebrates a woman's strength
to survive, and provides an avenue for her to courageously break the silence.
Families and friends of women who have died as a result of violence can
make a shirt to express their deep loss. The project focuses on providing
healing for survivors of violence, educating the public about violence,
and providing solutions through individual action to prevent violence.
For more information about the Clothesline
Project, visit
www.clothesline.org
.
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