The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™
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The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™
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Dr. Denise Fraser-Vaselakos started
the The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ in
1993 modeled after the original Clothesline Project which was started in Hyannis, MA. The
project was started when women noticed that during the same time period that 58,000 men
were killed in Vietnam, 51,000 women were murdered in the United States by the men who
said they loved them. These women asked, "Where is the wall for these women
victims?" They then decided to form The Clothesline Project to call attention to
these unseen soldiers - women survivors and victims of violence.
The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ educates the public about violence against women (e.g.., rape, sexual abuse, batter, hate crimes). During the viewing of the displays an audio tape plays three sounds at spaced intervals. A whistle blows to remind viewers that about every 10 seconds a woman is battered, a gong sounds to indicate that more than I woman every I minute is raped in our country and a bell tolls for those 4 women a day who are murdered by partners who supposedly loved them. The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ dedicates itself to providing education and to facilitating change. Violence is increasing and we must look at both individual and systemic causes for this increase. The American Medical Association has declared domestic violence an epidemic. The March of Dimes lists battery as the number one cause of birth defects. Of the reported rapes in our country, over 60% are women under the age of 18 and the perpetrator is most often someone they know. We feel this violence must be challenged through recognition and restitution, through awareness and action. The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ facilitates recognition of violence by displaying shirts designed by women survivors of violence and friends/families of a woman victim of violence. The display allows women survivors to speak out safely and anonymously. Each woman tells her experience on her shirt. Each shirt displayed in The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ calls attention to the great and noble lives of courageous women. Shirt after shirt, "Breaks the Silence" of abuse, announcing, "I am free I have survived". Restitution begins when viewers of The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ display learn about violence and how to demand changes. In May of 1996, The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ and other Illinois Clothesline Projects displayed over 700 shirts made by women in Illinois at the capital building in Springfield to call attention to violence against women. The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ displays and accepts shirts year round. The displays are held at universities, rallies, libraries, art galleries, theaters, colleges, churches, hospital, professional organizations, workshops and conferences. For example, displays have been held at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University Medical School, A.R.C. Gallery, University of Chicago Hospitals, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, St. Mary of Nazareth-LULAC sponsored, Northeastern Illinois University, Roosevelt University, University of Illinois-Chicago, Midwestern Osteopathic College, Moraine Valley Community College, Chicago's Daley Community College, Northern Illinois University, Lucent Technologies, Great Lakes Naval Training Center-Family Services, AAUW, Regina Dominican High School, Elmhurst College, Y-Me, Prairie State College, Aurora College, Chicago State University, North Park College, The Family Institute Conference, Illinois Psychological Association, Blue Shield/Blue Cross Conference, Provena, Mercy Medical, College of DuPage, Lake Forest College, VOICES International Conference and the YWCAs Week Without Violence Rally at the State of Illinois Thompson Center. Many of The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ displays are in conjunction with a symposium or workshop dedicated to issues of violence against women. The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ has been invited to Northwestern University Medical School as part of an effort to educate patients, medical students, and physicians on recognition, assessment, and treatment issues of trauma related to violence. LULAC, at St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital and the University of Chicago Hospitals invited The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ to further educate their institutions about the extent of violence against women. Regina Dominican High School and the University of Chicago invited The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ to help educate students about date rape and sexual harassment. The feedback from Northwestern, LULAC, University of Chicago Hospitals, Midwestern Osteopathic Hospital, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, and Regina Dominican, as well as all the other display sites has always been positive and affirming. For example, The Alumni Association of The Family Institute wrote after a display that "...the display was one of the most beneficial parts of the entire conference, second only to the keynote address." The display may be utilized in many ways. The shirts may be displayed alone, in conjunction with a workshop or utilized in the healing process. Often shelters, churches, universities, counseling centers, and therapists utilize the shirt making as part of the healing process for women survivors. Completed shirts are sent to The Clothesline Project Chicagoland & Suburbs™ office in Orland Park, IL to be added to the project which has displays year round. Please feel free to call our office should you have any
questions, wish to make a donation,
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Please use the following address to send
shirts, donations or to request more information:
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