The Clothesline Project

History 

The topic I chose to highlight is THE CLOTHESLINE PROJECT. While all of the programs are very moving, for some reason this one invoked the most feeling. Something about all of these shirts with extremely person stories, hit me the hardest. The Clothesline Project started right here in Massachusetts, a small group of women from Cape Cod. Devastated by shocking statistics of the overwhelming amount of murder and abuse cases toward women, these activists set out to use these stories in a bold, in-your-face tactic, in order to educate others, as well as support victims. Coincidentally, the first ever Clothesline Project was displayed during a Take Back the Night rally in 1990, in Hyannis, MA. The idea of stringing together shirts on a clothesline was thought of by Rachel Carey-Harper, inspired by the AIDS quilt, these women knew that this would be a powerful, staggering tool, to be used in spreading their message. The vision of these women, was to create a powerful scene, that would educate, break the silence, and bear witness to the issue of violence against women. The spark that ignited these women was a horrifying statistic. The horrific tragedy that was the Vietnam War, saw 58,000 soldiers die. Over that very same period however, the United States lost 51,000 women, at the hands of people who "loved" them.  (The Clothesline Project, n.d.)

Vision and Cause  

This project aims to raise awareness to the ongoing issue of abuse towards women. Abuse toward women has been an issue for as long as history has been documented. The male species has always been viewed as the dominant sex and society has placed an expectation for men to do so, dominate. In my opinion, here is where some of the male species go wrong. Not only is the mere, idea that men should be dominant wrong, but then there are some men who have a distorted and barbaric view on what it means to do so. While society itself is wrong in suggesting men are superior to women, it does not promote physical, mental, and emotional violence toward women. However what it does lack, is the opposition of these acts. This is where projects such as this one can be a driving force in the social world. Research on the popular media's perception of domestic violence toward women showed that, while it did not promote this violence,  it did not hold men accountable. It was found that the way it is more commonly portrayed in society, is that it is the woman's fault for choosing the wrong man, not the mans fault for abusing the woman (Nettleton, 2011). That is the root of the issue, in my opinion.

Successful Programs 

Since its inception in 1990 at an annual Take Back the Night rally, the Clothesline Project has been a touching force in woman's rights rallies and movements all over the world. To date the Clothesline Project has been estimated to be represented by over 500 projects in 5 different countries. (The Clothesline Project, n.d.) The most significant participation comes from college campuses. From Rutgers to UCLA there have been schools all over the country that have held annual Clothesline Projects, in order to raise awareness for this huge issue, since the mid 90's (The Clothesline Project, n.d.).
 


Similarities with Chapters

The idea of this community intervention is to first, provide survivors and victims with an outlet to express themselves and share their stories in a creative way. However the idea also serves another significant purpose. The project itself puts off such a powerful display, that it inevitably moves any and all viewers. The awareness that is raised during these projects is unmeasurable. However it most certainly makes an impact. As mentioned earlier the Clothesline Project has spread abroad and is resonating with people all over the world. In our readings, authors have mentioned the need to raise awareness and offer services outside of the target population. As discussed earlier, it is not just the victims who need to be helped, but the entire community. Whether locally, nationally or globally, this issue and others need to be change systemically, in a proactive manner (Brown, 2007) (Homan, 2008)

Brown, Michael J. (2007). Building Powerful Community Organizations: A personal  guide to creating groups that can solve problems and change the world. Long Haul Press (pp. 335-348).

Clothesline Project. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2012, http://www.clotheslineproject.org/History.html

Homan, M. S. (2008). Relating community change to professional practice: Making it happen in the real world. Promoting Community Change. Belmont: Brooks Cole.(pp.74-95). 

Jones, A., & Gondolf, E. W. (2001). Time-Varying Risk Factors for Reassault Among Batterer Program Participants. Journal Of Family Violence, 16(4), 345-359.

Nettleton, P. (2011). Domestic Violence in Men's and Women's Magazines: Women Are Guilty of Choosing the Wrong Men, Men Are Not Guilty of Hitting Women. Women's Studies In Communication, 34(2), 139-160. doi:10.1080/07491409.2011.618240

ABOUT ME!

My Name is Scott Davenport, I am a 25 year-old college senior at Bridgewater State University. I was Born in Fall River, MA and lived there until I was 12. After that, I was adopted by my maternal aunt and moved to Rehoboth, MA. Since then, I have lived in the small town of Rehoboth, where there are as many cows as people. It is a small quiet town with an amazing school system, and nothing but a Dunkin' Donuts and a few gas stations.

Ever since I was old enough to work, I have worked with children. It started when I was 15, at a summer camp and local Boys and Girls Club, and is continuing at my current placement at a small adoption agency in Providence, RI. My siblings and I grew up in a very difficult home, experiencing abuse and neglect, but thankfully were removed and given a chance to thrive in the community. Given this experience, I have always gravitated toward helping disadvantaged people, particularly children lacking healthy permanent homes.

Practicing with communities and organizations is an interest of mine because I understand its importance in helping people, which is the sole reason I want to be a social worker. Aside form policy, which regulates the way services can be provided, practicing with communities and organizations is the most important aspect of social welfare in my opinion. The reason I say this is because of the affect communities and organizations can have on the entire population. While clinical services are what most people think of when they think of social work, it is the work with the communities and the organizations that can make the most change. Organizations have the ability to make significant change in policies, communities, cultures, and people.

This year, I hope to learn how to think with a broad scope. As of now, I believe I do a great job assessing situations and people in order to my job. However what I would like to be able to do better is think more about what can be done to prevent such situations. Whether there are systems failures, cultural issues, or whatever other reason, social workers should always be searching for ways to avoid these negative situations and improve the lives of people.

My idea of a great class is a class that is free of judgement and full of class participation. The views and opinions of students are almost always different. This does not mean that they are always opposing each other, many times it is just a different perspective that creates the different ideas. That being said, the most important part to a great class, to me, is active participation. I myself have been guilty of biting my tongue at times and not sharing my view or opinion. However, I believe that a class setting where all no thought or idea is held back, is the most rewarding class. How can people learn new things if thoughts are not shared?

If I could have one super power it would be the ability to be a shape-shifter. I would be able to shift into different forms in order to assume different roles. In my opinion, people act in very different ways depending on who is present. One of the major benefits would be to see how peoples perspectives and opinions change, if they believed I was someone else. Great change could come from assuming the roles of other people.

Four interesting things about me would be that.....I enjoy cooking, especially making ice cream. I enjoy playing golf, my favorite type of music is country, and I was born with 6 fingers on my right hand.

As I just mentioned, there are a few things that I really enjoy doing. Growing up I was a huge sports fanatic and things have not quite changed. Growing up I played hockey and football. After graduating high school I took up golf and I have been hooked ever since. That passion has led me to a part time job at a golf store, where I not only get to talk about golf, but I get to support the expensive habit due to a terrific discount! I also enjoy cooking! A few specialties being Buffalo Chicken Wontons and Oatmeal Cookie Dough Ice Cream.


If I could solve a major social problem it would be poverty. Poverty is the root cause for so many issues ranging from substance abuse to abuse and neglect of children. Therefor by eliminating poverty, many social problems would have less of an impact on the population, if not disappear altogether. Poverty has been affecting the world since the beginning of civilization, so it would not be the easiest problem to change, however if it could be done it would end so much suffering.

My dream job would be a two part job, during the week I would run an adoption agency where I would give everything I had to finding unfortunate kids healthy, loving, permanent homes. Then on the weekends I would be a professional golfer. This could satisfy my competitive nature as well as support my adoption agency.