Circle K Puts It All Out On The Line

By: Lindsay Little
Posted In: News

Most Saturdays on the Salve Regina campus are sleepy and quiet. Students are recovering from the previous night’s fun and games. At 10 a.m. on a coveted weekend morning, most college students are not giving much thought to serious issues such as rape, incest, domestic abuse and murder. However, on the last Saturday before residential students left for Thanksgiving Break (11/22), the collegiate organization “Circle K” felt that it was time to stop turning a blind (or sleepy) eye to the horrific reality of domestic violence.

On a cool, clear morning Salve’s Circle K members, family, and supporters started their day by pinning over 100 T-shirts to clotheslines on the lawn of the Wakehurst Student Center. They then proceeded to “wake-up” all of the students within earshot. Every ten seconds a bell was rung, because statistically that is how often a woman is battered in the United States. Every minute a whistle was blown, because that is how often a woman is raped in our country. And a gong was hit every 15 minutes, because that is how often a woman is murdered by a sexual or domestic abuser in our country.

Anyone who took the time to visit the Clothesline Project on the Wakehurst lawn would have observed a sea of colorful shirts. However, the messages on the shirts were not as cheery to the mind as the colors were to the eye. The Rhode Island Clothesline Project lent the shirts to Circle K for the event. Each shirt had been designed and decorated by a survivor of domestic or sexual abuse in Rhode Island or by a loved one of someone who was a victim of murderous abuse. The majority of the shirts on the line were white. These white shirts hang on the line to tell the story of a woman or child that was killed by their abuser. They have been designed by a loved one who does not want their suffering and death to be in vain.

The second largest group of shirts on the line were red, pink or orange made by victims of rape or sexual assault. Yellow or beige shirts are for victims of battery. Green and blue shirts are designed for survivors of incest or child sexual abuse. Often a second party designs them because the child is too young to express the trauma that they have experienced. Purple T-shirts are made by women who have been attacked because they are or were thought to be lesbians. And finally, the black shirts on the line hang there for women who are survivors of pornography.

There were no new shirts made at Salve on November 22. Instead, the existing shirts of the Rhode Island Clothesline Project were hung to be exposed to the open-minded and open-hearted of the Salve community. The shirts are simply a medium for expression. The words on the shirts and the manner in which they are displayed – for all to see – is a method of healing for those who have shared their emotions on them. Each person’s shirt tells a different story, of pain, anger or even celebration of survival. Together, the shirts are a symbol of solidarity and of the cold, hard facts – that domestic and sexual abuse are real and they are more abundant and closer to you than you think.

After the clothesline and the shirts were put back in their boxes, their profound message continued to be communicated. A rally was held in the commuter lounge inside Wakehurst and 6 of the 11 people attending shared personal stories of domestic violence and/or sexual abuse. Nicole Chevrette, the Public Relations Chairperson for Salve’s Circle K, was the woman who brought the Clothesline Project to Salve. Chevrette herself is a survivor of abuse and rape and her personal account of survival will now hang on the line with the shirts of her fellow victims and survivors.

At the rally, the Director of Outreach at the Women’s Resource Center of Newport and Bristol Counties shared words of encouragement and thanks and also some staggering statistics of domestic and sexual abuse. For instance, 1 of every 3 girls is sexually abused before she reaches the age of 18. And between September 1997 and September 2001, at least 27 Rhode Islanders died as a result of domestic violence.

Also at the rally, Father John Codega, the campus chaplain, said a prayer and a blessing over the event and its participants. Father Codega urged attendees of the rally to feel comfortable speaking with him about any concerns they may have in the future, with the knowledge that he has been placed here at Salve by the Diocese of Providence and is not employed by the University. Attendants of the rally were welcomed to share their stories, hopes, prayers and concerns. Chevrette emphasized the motivation behind Circle K’s co-sponsorship (with the Women’s Resource Center) of the Clothesline Project. At the closing ceremonies she urged that the purpose of participation in the project was to break the silence that surrounds domestic violence and come one step closer to putting an end to the abuse.

If you or someone you know is being abused, there are people available to help and support you. Locally, you can call the Women’s Resource Center’s hotline at (401) 847 – 2533 or visit their website for additional information at www.wrcnbc.org. Among the resources available at the center are counseling and refuge shelter. Staff at the center can also answer any questions you have about what constitutes abuse. Do not be afraid to ask questions! If you or your loved ones are not local and need help elsewhere, you may also call the Rhode Island Coalition Against Violence hotline at 1-800-494-8100. If you would like to contact the Rhode Island Clothesline Project, call (401) 769 – 7450, ext. 19.