April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. In a partnership with the city of Las Cruces and local law enforcement, New Mexico State University’s Department of Criminal Justice is publicly displaying the “Clothesline Project,” created last fall.
In October of 2023, more than 200 T-shirts were displayed in New Mexico State University’s Corbett Center. Each shirt tells a story, as they were each decorated with hand-written messages from survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence. Survivor voices were amplified as the community gathered to connect and share these stories.
The “Clothesline Project” is an interactive exhibit, displaying anonymous stories of many forms of interpersonal violence. The displayed shirts are color coded with 11 different colors: yellow representing domestic violence and assault; red, pink and orange represent survivors of rape and sexual assault; blue and green represent survivors of incest and sexual abuse; and white represents someone who died because of violence.
This week, the project has been on display in NMSU’s Activity Center and Aggie Health Center on campus. Its next stops include Las Cruces City Hall, the Las Cruces Police Department and the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s important to have this project displayed around the community so people know this does exist more than they realize,” said Angie Rodriguez-Navarrette, coordinator for the DASO victim assistance unit for the last 14 years. “We all know of someone that was a victim of sexual assault done by a family member, teacher, caregiver or someone close to them. Education about these issues helps stop the violence. I try to be the voice for those victims that can’t voice their pain, but it takes a village to stop these cycles.”
The project will be on display from April 8-12 in Las Cruces City Hall, 700 N. Main Street. Between noon and 3 p.m. Friday, April 12, visitors of City Hall will have the opportunity to create their own T-shirts to be added to the display.
“Projects such as the NMSU “Clothesline Project” provide not only awareness to the many types of abuse happening right here in our own neighborhoods, but it most importantly lets the community know their traumas are heard,” said Grace Telles, community liaison for Las Cruces City Hall and an NMSU criminal justice alumna. “By sharing one’s story, through voice or writing, we bridge humanity, creating contagious compassion which unites us all. This is community.”
NMSU’s “Clothesline Project” will be at the LCPD offices at 217 E. Picacho Ave. from April 15-19 and at DASO at 845 N. Motel Blvd. from April 22-26.
The public is invited to join faculty and students from NMSU’s criminal justice department at the Child Abuse Awareness Month Event from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 24 on the Plaza de Las Cruces on Main Street. This event is hosted by the Children, Youth and Families Department of New Mexico, Dona Ana County District Attorney’s Office and Families and Youth Innovations Plus.
Ahram Cho, criminal justice professor and organizer of NMSU’s “Clothesline Project,” is grateful for the support the project has drawn from the community and campus.
“I want to thank Ahram and all the volunteers for their hard work and dedication to this very worthy cause. This has been one of the more successful public service projects from NMSU over the past few years,” said Dennis Giever, NMSU criminal justice professor and department head. “We had more than 1,000 individuals visit this display last October in Corbett Center. It is outstanding that we are able to take this out into public locations around Las Cruces and Dona Ana County to increase public awareness of this serious problem.”
For more information about the “Clothesline Project,” please visit https://theclotheslineproject.org/. Resources for survivors are available at https://ohp.nmsu.edu/ or call 575-646-2813.
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CUTLINE: New Mexico State University’s “Clothesline Project” will be displayed in multiple locations throughout Las Cruces during Sexual Assault Awareness month in April. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)