Content Warning:
Every shirt on display reflects the personal experience of its creator and may contain graphic material including: swear words, explicit violent or sexual descriptions, drug references, or other statements surrounding the trauma the individual faced.
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Raise Awareness,
Honor the Survivors,
Break the Silence,
This is where we came from, this is who we are, this is what we stand for.
The History of the Clothesline Project
The first Clothesline Project originated in Hyannis, Massachusetts, in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women. It is a means for people affected by violence to express their emotions and share their stories by decorating a shirt. They then hang the shirt on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against women. Fast forward to the present day and SUNY Brockport has been holding an Annual Clothesline Project for over 10 years. The project has historically been a collaborative effort between the Department of Social Work and the Center for Women and Gender but has had a variety of support from other units, departments, and clubs over the years. Most notable the Student Social Work Organization, Center for Select Respect, & Title IX. The event has always been held in April as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Since the first clothesline project in 1990, people all over the world have responded and created their own clothesline projects—turning it into a worldwide campaign. Though it might look a little different this year the concept is the same.
The two main goals of this project are and have always been to give survivors and victims their voices back by providing a safe place for their story to be shared and witnessed. And to allow those impacted, whether it be survivors or loved ones of victims, to begin their healing journey.
Support goes much further than just saying, “I hear you and I believe you.” While that is an important first step, the work shouldn’t and doesn’t end there.
The Purpose
The Clothesline Project affirms that violence occurs all around us, and in all forms. It is a visual reminder of statistics that we often ignore. Those who have been silenced can now speak through the means of a t-shirt telling their story and display it for others to bear witness to the violence. The main goal of this display is to motivate people to take action.
Our Mission
To bear witness to the survivors as well as the victims of sexual, gender-based, power-based, and intimate partner violence.
To recognize and analyze the ways in which prevention and response services uphold the systematic oppression of those who often have their voices erased or silenced.
To help with the healing process for people who have lost a loved one or who are survivors of this violence.
To educate, document, and raise society’s awareness of the extent of the problem of violence against people of all genders.
To provide a nationwide network of support, encouragement, and information for other communities starting their own Clothesline Projects.
COVID-19
Due to the pandemic, an in-person event was not able to be scheduled for this year. This website was designed by undergraduate social work students as part of their Macro Project in order to continue to give a voice to the experiences of survivors, their families, and their friends, while also creating a platform to bring about awareness of the impact of interpersonal violence and offer information and resources as needed.