Photo by Erik-Jan Leusink on Unsplash
Editor’s note: Information in the following article may be triggering for those dealing with sexual abuse.
Awareness of Sexual Assault
At the turn of the millennium, the words “sexual assault” on the internet brought you primarily to stories of young women as victims being abused by men. The conversation has since evolved to include men as victims being abused by either men or women. Today, sexual assault is more openly discussed and includes all genders, sexual orientations, races, and the differently abled.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors (“quid pro quo”), and other verbal or physical harassment sexual in nature in the workplace or learning environment. In general, it is unwanted, unconsented, sexual contact or behavior.
RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, categorizes sexual assault under the umbrella of what constitutes as sexual violence. Sexual violence can be defined as either rape or sexual abuse. Unfortunately, the legal definition of “rape” varies by individual states.
The Numbers Behind Sexual Assault
Researching the numbers behind sexual assault feels as though I’m reading phone number codes between different sources:
- There’s an average of 433,648 victims of rape and sexual assault in this country (RAINN)
- 1 in 3 female rape victims experience it for the first time between 11 and 17 years old (CDC)
- 1 in 4 male rape victims experience it for the first time between 11 and 17 years old (CDC)
All too easily, we can attach faces to these statistics. For instance, I have more than three nieces in my family. How many nieces or nephews do you have? Did you grow up with a large group of siblings? To read that more than half of the victims stay quiet is unnerving, especially to think that it could be our gay brother or bisexual sister.
Origin of The Clothesline Project
The Vietnam War killed 58,000 soldiers. When a member of Cape Cod’s Women’s Defense Agenda saw that number and heard that 51,000 women were being killed in the U.S. by their male partner, the Clothesline Project was born.
Since the 1990s, color-coded t-shirts with words and/or visual artwork are displayed to reveal the voices of survivors and/or victims of sexual abuse. The visual voices come from women, men, the LBGTQ community, and the differently abled. The project moves around the country between schools to bring awareness to teenagers and college students in hopes that they speak up either for themselves or for victims they may know.
Behind the visual exhibit is the audio part of the exhibit. A gong sounds to indicate someone being battered; a whistle indicates a rape being reported (which is not heard often, as mentioned above); a bell ringing indicates one’s passing from an attack.
The Rainbow of Cotton T-Shirts
Utah Valley University has a visual display which rotates over 3,000 shirts. Years ago, The Clothesline Project visited the foyer of my own high school auditorium when I was about 15 years old. The organization shared a significant number of beautiful colored shirts—though beauty in this case couldn’t bring admiration, only sadness.
- Red, pink and orange shirts represent a survivor of rape or childhood sexual abuse
- Yellow shirts represent a survivor of physical assault or domestic violence
- Purple shirts represent someone who experienced an attack because of their sexual orientation
- Brown and gray shirts represent survivors of emotional, spiritual, or verbal abuse; blue and green represent a survivor of incest or childhood sexual abuse
- White shirts, a color that reflects all light, means that someone died because of violence.
- Black shirts, the color that absorbs all beautiful colors, means that either someone was disabled from an attack or he/she/they were attacked because of a disability
Moving Forward After Abuse
Though the white t-shirts can convey the strongest message without words or artwork, the blue t-shirts have resonated most with me. Blue is my favorite color—the color of my childhood room painted by my dad, and the color of my eyes. I am the frequency of blue.
The burn in my throat speaks the truth: I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. That was me at 13 years old. I am a statistic that I did not ask to be.
Yet, that’s just the push I need after all these years: I finally feel like a survivor, not a victim.
In college, I interviewed a member of the original Clothesline Project and showed pictures on a slide show of their display. It’s only now that I’m able to emotionally and physically sign up to make a t-shirt for myself. I made it to the other side, so why still carry shame and silence? I can change the sound of my past by rubbing the sound of safety across a singing bowl, not sounding a gong or whistle.
Perhaps this will bring awareness to my nieces, and reinforce their safety as they grow into the adolescent years.
Resources:
- Clothesline Project: http://www.clotheslineproject.info/about.html
- Making a t-shirt: http://www.clotheslineproject.info/participate.html
If you or someone you know has been assaulted and needs help here are some urgent/free resources:
- RAINN: rainn.org
- For One-on-One Chat: online.rainn.org
- The National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE
- STEP UP FOR MENTAL HEALTH BetterHelp: https://www.stepupformentalhealth.org/betterhelp/
