– The Clothesline Project at UJ Oct 23

Jamestown(CSi) October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and communities across the state will be hosting events to bring attention to ending domestic violence. Safe Shelter, CAWS North Dakota, the state dual sexual assault and domestic violence coalition, along with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program – North Dakota National Guard will be displaying the Clothesline Project at University of Jamestown’s Reiland Fine Arts Center on October 23, 2015.

On Thursday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, SAFE Shelter, Prevention Coordinator, Mary Thysell said, The Clothesline Project is a T-shirt display that bears witness to violence against women and aids in the healing process for survivors and the loved ones of victims.

University of Jamestown, Vice President of Marketing, Tena Lawrence also adds, “The University of Jamestown welcomes the Clothesline Project on campus as visual reminder that domestic violence affects people of every level of education and in all socio-economic classes.”

One in four women will be the victim of domestic violence at some point in her lifetime. In 2014 there were 5,181 incidents of domestic violence reported to crisis intervention centers in North Dakota. Throughout October, communities across the country will mourn for those whose lives were taken by domestic violence, celebrate the tremendous progress the violence against women movement has made over the years, and connect with one another with a true sense of unity to end domestic violence.

Mary adds, “Domestic violence and sexual assault are still ongoing problems in our community for women, children and men. The t-shirts in the Clothesline Project are testimony to the long lasting impact of that violence on us as individuals and as a community.”

The clothesline is representative of the days when doing laundry was considered women’s work and neighborhood women exchanged stories over backyard fences when hanging their clothes out to dry. The original Clothesline Project began with 31 shirts hung in Hyannis, Massachusetts in October of 1990. North Dakota had its first Clothesline Project display in 1995 at the Great Hall of the Capitol Building during the legislative session. There were 114 shirts on display at that time.”

The Clothesline Project will be on display in the Reiland Fine Arts Center, University of Jamestown from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on October 23^rd, 2015. At 7:00 p.m. a 15 minute video entitled “Telling Amy’s Story” will be shown. The display and video screening are free of charge and open to the public.