Clothesline Project puts personal pain on the line

The Clothesline Project was designed as a way for survivors of sexual violence to “air out their dirty laundry” – a way for survivors of a crime that is often kept silent to let their voices be heard.

The Clothesline Project began in 1990 when members of the Cape Cod Women’s Agenda hung a clothesline across the village green in Hyannis with 31 shirts designed by survivors of assault, rape, and incest.

Since that first display the project has grown to 300-plus local Clothesline Projects nationally and internationally, with an estimated 35,000 shirts. Lines have been displayed at schools, universities, state houses, shopping malls, churches, and women’s events.