When Margaret Humphrey became the head female residential mentor at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, she was excited about the opportunity to develop programs for students.
As a student at the University of North Texas, Humphrey participated in a Clothesline Project program. The Clothesline Project is a national program started in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women. The program is a vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a shirt. The shirt is then hung on a clothesline to be viewed by others a testimony to the problem of violence against women.
Humphrey decided to hold a Clothesline Project event as one of the two programs she could develop for ASMSA students. ASMSA’s program will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Student Center courtyard.
Students will have the opportunity to decorate a shirt with their own message, choosing from one of several colors of T-shirts. Each color represents a different kind of violence against women, ranging from domestic abuse to sexual abuse to political abuse.
Humphrey has also planned a “Love Is … Love Isn’t” wall. One large display will be a heart where students can write their definition of what love is. On another large paper display, students will be able to write what love isn’t inside a large circle with a strikethrough line on it.
Two speakers are also scheduled to hold sessions during the event. Ashley Frinkle, a licensed associate counselor, will speak about domestic violence and its effects on children and families. Dr. Crystal Rofkahr, assistant dean for counseling services at ASMSA, will speak about sexual abuse and myths associated with it.
Male students will be encouraged to take a men’s pledge to end rape and violence against women.
Humphrey has a personal connection to the event as well. While in middle school, she was involved in a relationship that became abusive. She said her boyfriend became physically abusive during the two years they dated. Humphrey said she didn’t tell anyone about the abuse. It wasn’t until she participated in the Clothesline Project event in college that she realized how many of her friends had been in similar situations.
“When I was in that situation, I felt isolated. The guy I was with was very popular at school. Everyone kinda knew it was happening, but they didn’t stand up to him. It was scary sometimes. Parts of me felt ashamed, because I was like how do you let this kind of stuff happen to you. I felt weak in that situation,” she said.
Once she realized it happened to others she knew it gave her courage to share her own story. Clothesline Project was her way to share her experience and make others aware of the prevalence of all kinds of abuse against women. She hopes it will be an opportunity for anyone who has gone through similar situations to have the opportunity to be released of the burden of shame and hurt.
Rofkahr said it’s important for people to understand that abuse is not just a women’s issue. Men aren’t just perpetrators of the violence, but can be the victims as well, she said, adding that it’s extremely important that people are informed about the prevalence of abuse.
“I don’t know if I could explain how important it is to bring the awareness that it’s not just a women’s issue. It’s an everyone issue,” Rofkahr said. “A lot of times I think when people hear ‘Oh, it’s a women’s issue’ they turn their brain off to it. They think ‘Well, that’s not me. I’m not a woman so I don’t have to pay attention.’
“I think that’s the biggest piece right now because so many people are becoming aware of violence and the different people impacted. For me, that’s why it’s so important for people to realize that [they] don’t have to be the person victimized in order to take a stand and make a change.”
Humphrey said she also will share the testimonies of three women who were victims of various kinds of violence. Two of the women are her sisters, who she did not know were victims until she shared her own story after participating in the Clothesline Project. One sister was raped and molested while the other was a victim of incest.
“If it’s that prevalent in one family, you can imagine how prevalent it is in society,” she said.
Her ultimate goal is to make sure students have the knowledge about different kinds of abuse and that there is a support system for those who may have been victims of abuse.
“Really for some [victims] they just need to hear that others survived,” Humphrey said.