PUHI — With messages like “There is no excuse for violence,” “What about the kids?” and “My body is mine,” dozens of hand-decorated T-shirts will hang from clotheslines throughout Kaua‘i Community College’s campus next week. Each shirt will share a
PUHI — With messages like “There is no excuse for violence,” “What about the kids?” and “My body is mine,” dozens of hand-decorated T-shirts will hang from clotheslines throughout Kaua‘i Community College’s campus next week. Each shirt will share a message from KCC students, staff members and community members who have been affected by or wish to prevent domestic violence.
The display is part of the Clothesline Project, a 21-year-old national program that raises awareness of violence against women.
Members of the community are invited to decorate a T-shirt from 9 a.m. to noon Monday or Wednesday in KCC’s Learning Resource Center Lobby.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and KCC has partnered with the YWCA of Kaua‘i to stretch the YWCA’s annual “Week Without Violence” into a second week. This past week, the YWCA of Kaua‘i hosted its annual “Love is Respect” Candlelight Vigil and has displayed life-size cutouts of survivors in public areas as part of the Watch for Silent Witness.
When we talk about the Clothesline Project, it’s a good visual that it impacts the entire family,” said Renae Hamilton, executive director of the YWCA of Kaua‘i. “Often times, kids may be forgotten or not thought about as primary victims of domestic violence, because they are not being hit. But all that residue sticks to them.”
The project honors women survivors along with victims of intimate violence, according to the Clothesline Project website. It gives women a voice and serves as a healing aide for those affected by intimate violence. It is also a way for women who are silently suffering from violence to see that they are not alone.
“As young adults, our students can stand up against violence and say ‘enough is enough,’” said Frances Dinnan, a counselor at KCC and coordinator of the Preventing Violence Against Women task force.
For Dinnan, part of raising awareness is engaging in sensitive and supportive communication with victims of sexual assault.
“People say, ‘It doesn’t happen on a small campus like this,’ but it only takes one incident,” Dinnan said.
One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, according to findings from the National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Women between the ages of 20 and 24 are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“I think everyone knows (domestic violence) is here,” Hamilton said. “I think because of the shame involved, having limited options and living in a small community makes it tougher to deal with. It makes it hard in some ways to hold batters accountable.
“So often people ask the question, ‘Why does the person go back to that abusive relationship?’ I’m tired of that being the first question. The first question should be ‘Why do they continue to batter?’”
On Oct. 28, the YWCA of Kaua‘i and KCC PVAW Task Force hosts a free screening of “Miss Representation” at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in the KCC Performing Arts Center. The award-winning documentary explores women’s under-representation in positions of power in mainstream media.
Visit http://kccmissrepresentation.eventbrite.com to register for the screening or visit the YWCA office at 3094 Elua St. in Lihu‘e to pick up a ticket.
For more information about next week’s events, call Dinnan at 245-8381 or the YWCA at 245-5959.
The YWCA of Kaua‘i is the sole provider of domestic abuse services on Kaua‘i. The organization has a 24-hour crisis hotline, residential housing for women and children and various outreach programs.
“It’s fantastic to partner with college and young adults and have two weeks without violence,” Hamilton said. “Going a day without violence in our community and homes, that is the dream.”
