Clothesline project hopes to start uncomfortable discussion
Maizee Zaccone, the outreach and volunteer advocate at Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe) of Butler County, wants to start a conversation about a subject many prefer isn’t discussed at all.
That’s why, Zaccone said, this April VOICe is joining with Slippery Rock University for VOICe’s annual Clothesline Project, an interactive exhibit showcasing messages from survivors of sexual violence, as well as notes of solidarity from allies, written onto blank T-shirts.
The T-shirts are displayed in common and public areas to create an artistic clothesline of hope through trauma and unity, amid pain. Zaccone said it is a good message to reinforce during April, which is designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month. President Barak Obama proclaimed the first Sexual Assault Awareness Month in 2009.
Promoted for sexual assault survivors and supporters, “Exhale: A Night of Art, Healing, and Expression,” will be from 6 to 8 p.m. April 5 in the Robert M. Smith Student Center ballroom on the Slippery Rock University campus. The function is facilitated by the University’s HOPE Center, a branch of Student Health Services that focuses on health promotion across the campus. This year, VOICe will collect additional t-shirts for the ongoing clothesline project.
Kaeleen Martin, VOICe’s prevention and education advocate, will represent the agency during the night’s activities and oversee the Clothesline Project table. Students who wish to add to the ensemble may decorate a fresh T-shirt — provided by VOICe — with encouraging messages, uplifting quotes or stories of their own.
Following the event, Martin and Sarah Dodds, a HOPE peer educator, will assemble the Clothesline Project in the student center. The T-shirts, along with other educational materials, are designed to raise awareness on issues surrounding sexual assault, including campus violence.
“We’re going to get new white T-shirts, and we’re going to have a table for people to work on them,” said Dodds. “And then on April 12, we’re going to have ‘Exhale: The Exhibit.”
The T-shirts will be strung up in the student center’s commuter lounge from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. “We’re playing this by ear, but our goal is to get all displayed,” said Dodds.
“Expression is a form of healing,” said Dodds. “My hope is to keep them (the T-shirts) and expand them. The goal is to have this be an annual event.”
Zaccone said the Clothesline Project was put on hiatus two years ago by the COVID-19 pandemic, and now was the time to restart it.
More prevalent than most realize, 13% of all college students, including 1 in 5 college-aged women, will experience rape or sexual assault. For transgender and gender nonconforming students, the rate is even higher at 23%.
Zaccone said, “Sexual assault is any sexual contact that does not include consent between two parties.”
“Sexual harassment is very common toward women,” she said. “It’s always been an issue of power and control over another person rather than sex.”
VOICe is set up to aid victims of domestic violence and sexual violence.
Nationwide, 81% of women, 43% of men, and almost half of transgender adults will report some form of sexual harassment or assault in their lifetime. For other vulnerable groups in the United States — such as the disabled community, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color — rates of sexual abuse are disproportionately high.
Free, confidential services are available 24/7 for individuals experiencing sexual violence — or any form of abuse. Those seeking help may contact VOICe’s crisis hotline at 1-800-400-8551. For more information, visit VOICe’s website, www.voicebutlercounty.org.
Zaccone said, “The most important service is the hotline. It’s free and confidential to all.”
“We also have a crisis shelter where women can come to stay for up to 30 days while they work through where they want to go next,” she said.
