One in four women will be subjected to domestic violence in their lifetime.

However, many of the battered women who experience these horrors are too embarrassed or afraid to open up about the abuse. To combat the closed-mouth nature of domestic abuse, a group of women from Cape Cod Massachusetts wanted to find a way to shed light on the issue and break the silence.

At a rally in 1990, they introduced the concept for the Clothesline Project; survivors of domestic abuse lined up to decorate shirts, using words and pictures to share their experiences. The decorated shirts were then hung up on clotheslines with each journey and each struggle there for all to see.

The Clothesline Project gave a medium for women to express themselves and talk about their struggles that they felt they could not talk about before. Since the Clothesline Project’s grassroots beginnings in 1990, there have been projects across 41 states and 5 countries.

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Anne Arundel Community College will be hosting their 5th annual Clothesline Project display. Students will be able to decorate and hang shirts, and share their own experiences. Stephanie Goldenberg has been the project’s coordinator for Anne Arundel Community College for the past 3 years. She believes the program is important to our community.

“[It’s] important to bring awareness to the issue in a holistic way, and provide an outlet for healing…so that individuals who are impacted can get help,” said Goldenberg.

Although, the Clothesline Project at the national level is meant to be an outlet that specifically helps women, Stephanie Goldenberg said, “Our community will be more inclusive.” She added, “It’s an issue that impacts men as well. It will include domestic violence Man to Woman, Woman to Man, Woman to Woman, Man to Man, and within families.”

The students on the Arnold Campus will have the opportunity to decorate a t-shirt for the Clothesline Project on October 14th and 15th in the Dining Hall. The Arnold Campus Visual Display will take place on October 21st and 22nd in the Quad Area.

The Arundel Mills Display will take place in the lobby on October 29th from 5:30-7pm. For more information on this project visit www.aacc.edu/servicelearning/clotheslineproj.cfm.

For those interested in learning more about domestic abuse, the Legal Studies Institute will be hosting a expert panel discussion on the subject titled Domestic Violence: Legal Process and Community Resources. It will be held on October 22nd at 7pm in the CADE building room 219.