A display of decorated T-shirts will be on display to mark Prevention of Violence Against Women Week in Campbell River.
The display, called the Clothesline Project, will open to the community on April 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Spirit Square. The T-shirts have been created by people who have been affected by abuse, according to the Campbell River and North Island Transition Society.
They add all community members are invited to view the project and have an opportunity to decorate a T-shirt and hang it on the clothesline.
The project began in the U.S. in 1990 as a way for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a T-shirt, according to the press release.
“It’s a display of society’s ‘dirty laundry’ that aims to take the issue of violence against women out of the shadows,” read the release.
“Blue and red T-shirts represent sexual abuse, yellow or beige T-shirts represent abuse by a partner, white T-shirts represent murder, purple T-shirts represent assault because of sexual orientation and green T-shirts represent children who have been affected by violence.”
Prevention of Violence Against Women Week goes from April 10 to 16. The Campbell River and North Island Transition Society says studies show that 760,000, or four per cent, of Canadians over the age of 15 have experienced abuse from an intimate partner.
Campbell River also hosts a display called “These Hands Don’t Hurt”, where non-abusive males trace their hands on a white sheet, according to the transition society.
The society adds confidential help can be found at the following places:
- Ann Elmore Transition House: 250-286-3666
- Community-Based Victim Services: 250-287-2421
- Campbell River Women’s Centre: 250-287-3044
- North Island Survivors’ Healing Society: 250-287-3325
