Clothesline for family violence

Warragul Library will host a display as part of Gippsland’s fifth annual Clothesline Project event.

In 1990, a small group of women from Cape Cod Massachusetts in the United States read a report that 58,000 US soldiers died in the Vietnam War, however during that same period 51,000 US women were killed mostly by men who supposedly loved them.

These women decided to take these staggering statistics and turn them into an ‘in your face’ educational and healing tool, and so the Clothesline Project was born.

The project has since spread world-wide, with a growing number of projects being run in Australia.

Locally Gippsland Community Legal Service hosts the event in partnership with Quantum Support Services.

The Clothesline Project is a vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a t-shirt. These t-shirts are then hung on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against women.

The idea of using a clothesline arose because doing the laundry was always considered women’s work and in the days of close-knit neighbourhoods, women often exchanged information over the back fence whilst hanging the washing on the line.

The Inspiring Women’s group run by Quantum Support Services is an eight week support program held during the school term which covers a range of issues relating to family violence.

During one of these sessions each woman has the opportunity to paint a t-shirt. It is the process of designing her t-shirt that gives each woman a voice with which to expose an often horrific and unspeakable experience that has dramatically altered the course of her life.

Participating in this project is a powerful step towards helping a survivor break through the shroud of silence that often surrounds such experiences.

State government data for the period July 2014-June 2015 on reported family violence incidents show rates for Gippsland have almost doubled over the past five years.

GCLS principal lawyer Kate Windmill said even before taking court action, it is vital for anyone in the community who has experienced family violence or who fears family violence, to know that free and confidential legal help is available.

GCLS provides a free and confidential service to people experiencing family violence through its outreach service in Warragul. You can make an appointment to speak to a lawyer either face-to-face or over the phone.

The display will be at the library from Octob er 17 to October 21.