BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech’s Clothesline Project is back, an opportunity to help people heal.
The Clothesline Project allows people to make shirts all week long to raise awareness of sexual and gender-based violence. The shirts are later displayed for everyone to see. This year’s display will be at the Squires Student Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“When people look at the clothesline and you see those hundreds of shirts side by side, you realize that you are not alone, that this didn’t just happen to you. Hopefully, it reinforces that this is not your fault,” said Clothesline Facilitator and Senior Instructor Emerita in Mathematics, Susan Anderson.
Virginia Tech reports at least 19 cases of rape and ten of fondling in 2023. There were also three cases of domestic violence and two of dating violence in 2023, according to the 2023 Jeanne Clery Act Report. This is the latest data from the university.
There were 18 rapes and attempts reported in Blacksburg in 2023, according to the Blacksburg Police Department’s 2023 Annual Report.
Virginia Tech has hosted the Clothesline Project since 1994, and more than 680 shirts have been made over the years. This year, people can make shirts throughout the week at the university’s women’s center.
The women’s center helps about 200 people each year who have suffered from gender-based and sexual violence. The center also has several resources such as crisis intervention and coping strategies.
Director of Advocacy Services Christine Dennis Smith with the Virginia Tech Women’s Center has this message for survivors: “I hope that survivors know that there are resources here to support them, whether it’s our office or other offices like the Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley. To help them in their healing process.”
10 News reached out to some of the local police departments in our viewing area for the latest numbers on sexual violence.
In 2024, Roanoke City Police reported 63 rapes, 18 cases of sodomy, two of sexual assault with an object and 34 of fondling. This year, there have been nine cases of rape and eight of fondling.
Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office and Regional Jail reports there are about 14 cases of people who have suffered from gender-based and sexual violence.