Empowering Survivors: Visit the Lincoln University of Missouri Clothesline Project Exhibit April 23

The Clothesline Project exhibit showcases t-shirts designed by survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. Visit the exhibit on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, from 5:15-7 p.m., in the SUC Ballroom.

Join us in recognizing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) and the opening of Lincoln University of Missouri’s Relationship & Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) Center by attending the Clothesline Project exhibit on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, from 5:15-7 p.m., in the SUC Ballroom.

Lincoln’s RSVP Center is committed to ending intimate partner violence on campus through education, prevention and response to domestic/dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the RSVP Center will take place at 5 p.m., and representatives from the RSVP Center, Engage, LU Pride and LU Counseling, along with LU President Dr. John Moseley and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Stevie Lawrence, will be in attendance.

The Clothesline Project is a visual display of violence statistics that are often ignored. Each shirt is made by a survivor of violence or by someone who has lost a loved one to violence.  

The Clothesline Project exhibit will showcase t-shirts designed by survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. Attendees can also learn about the RSVP Center’s services and how to support survivors as they seek hope and healing.

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is April 21-27, 2024, with the theme — How would you help? Options, services and hope for crime survivors. NCVRW was established in 1981 to raise awareness about victims’ rights and services.

The varying t-shirt colors represent different forms of violence.  

What is the Clothesline Project?

The Clothesline Project originated in 1990 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, when a member of Cape Cod’s Women Defense Agenda discovered that during the same time that 58,000 men were killed in the Vietnam War, 51,000 women were killed by domestic violence. Motivated by this statistic, the women’s group decided to create a program that would reveal the issue of violence against women. Group member Rachel Carey-Harper thought of hanging color-coded shirts on a clothesline to promote awareness.

The shirt above will be displayed at the Lincoln University Clothesline Project exhibit on April 23. 

Since 1998, the Clothesline Project has been displayed at Utah Valley University, accumulating over 2,000 shirts in total.