This week a campus clothesline of T-shirts symbolizes the shattering effects of gender-based violence and how it impacts society.

The Clothesline Project displays T-shirts in an array of colors that stand for different kinds of violence. The shirts are on display in Virginia Tech's Squires Student Center this week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"The idea is that if students and other people can see the direct impact of gender-based violence on people from the New River Valley area, they'll be more aware of how common rape and other forms of violence are on our campus and in the surrounding area," said Larissa Schneider, a Virginia Tech student who leads the Clothesline Project.

The general color-coding for the shirts are — white for victims who have died of violence; yellow or beige for survivors who have been battered or assaulted; red, pink, or orange for those raped or sexually assaulted; blue or green for survivors of incest or child sexual abuse; purple or lavender for those attacked because of their sexual orientation; and black for those handicapped because of violence.

Victims and survivors of gender-based violence can design shirts with personal messages in a confidential space at The Women's Center at Virginia Tech through Friday, March 30.  

The Clothesline Project is sponsored by United Feminist Movement at Virginia Tech.

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