Cerritos College hosted the Clothesline Project on Oct. 11 & 12 from noon to 2 p.m. at Falcon Square in honor of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The Clothesline project is a creative display of violence statistics that are often ignored.
During the event, Cerritos College students were able to decorate a shirt in honor of a survivor or someone who has lost their life to violence.
The event started in Massachusetts and became a national event which is designed to raise awareness about violence in communities.
Angel Gray, a campus victim advocate, said, “I bring this event to campus for every awareness, so I’m in charge of domestic violence awareness month, human trafficking and stalking in January and sexual assault awareness month in April.”
“Since it’s an event that’s meant to raise awareness about violence in the community it fits for those awareness months which is why I bring this to campus,” Gray said.
Gray shared her thoughts on why it is an important event for Cerritos College students.
“Violence in the community is a bad thing and I think it’s important for people to see how much individuals have been impacted by it, and that’s what we do at this event.”
Stephany Ramos, a victim advocate, said, “It gives students opportunities to share their story without having to write their name on something and it’s like therapy for them.”
“We’ll get students that are like ‘I’m not a survivor myself, but I know someone.’ ”
“It gives them the freedom of sharing something very intimate without having to confirm that it happened to them,” Ramos said.
“Our goal is to impact students, provide awareness, but also provide support without directly having to say ‘You have to do individual counseling’. This is a workshop that allows survivors to do some kind of healing.”
“Also, if you are a significant other who has been impacted because your daughter or boyfriend or someone has experienced some kind of sexual violence in the past, it brings awareness to them as well,” said Ramos.
Ramos ended by saying, “It helps them understand other people’s perspectives because every story is different.”
The victim advocate said that the event will come back in April for Sexual Assault Awareness month.
If you are dealing with domestic violence or any personal abuse, contact 800-799-7233 or visit the Domestic Violence Hotline website.
