Long Red Line leads to safety, healing
Her fear, her triggers, her insomnia, her lack of trust, it’s like, ‘Oh, God, do I get that.’ ”
She was inspired to crochet the scarf as a series of sections, each measuring 2 feet in length. She didn’t realize the symbolism until she was showing the scarf to women at the Crisis Center one day.
“I realized the 2-feet sections represent women being able to stand on their own two feet,” she said.
The first time Thorne was assaulted, she had started the evening at a freshman mixer. She and a fellow student made eye contact across the room and eventually began to chat.
“We talked about our majors and how we were both into music, and I told him how excited I was about my new stereo. He said, ‘You want to come over and see mine?’ And I was like, ‘Sure!’ ” she recalled. “After he assaulted me, he threatened to kill me if I told anyone. As I walked back to my room, I thought and thought and thought about whether to tell somebody, and I kept hearing him say, ‘I will find you and I will kill you.’ I was there on a scholarship and didn’t feel that quitting and going somewhere else was an option.” So she stayed quiet. “If I could go back in time, I would march right into the student health center and say, ‘I was just raped,’ ” she said.
But we can’t go back. We can only go forward. And Thorne wants to change this world into a safer place for all of the people who need to speak up.
“In doing all the hard work in counseling and facing the demons from the assaults and the silence and the lack of support at the time, my hope was always that I would get to the other side,” she said. “That’s what keeps me speaking out, rather than just moving on and putting it behind me. I want to help other women get to the other side.”
The Long Red Line event takes place from 2-3:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at The Centre of Elgin, 100 Symphony Way. For more information, visit To find other related events, visit