ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and there is one group of survivors who sometimes get overlooked—our military veterans.
Lisa Shoemaker, Sexual Trauma Coordinator at Bay Pines VA, started the Clothesline Project back in 2010.
“It's 200 feet of shirts right now. Hopefully, I’ll get even more every year and really can have that impact, one shirt to one veteran, and really get that message, this is not an isolated instance,” said Shoemaker.
Every shirt draped across the clothesline represents a veteran from Bay Pines who is a survivor of sexual trauma.
“We know that one out of three female service members and one out of 50 male service members have disclosed to a VA service member that they have experienced military sexual trauma. Those are astronomical numbers,” said Shoemaker.
From colorful artwork to motivational sayings, the shirts represent an array of emotions from sad to anger to resilience to hope.
“Certainly, for the veterans who are creating a shirt, it’s one of the opportunities that they have to have a voice in what it is they have experienced,” said Shoemaker. “From the time they were in the military to coming to the VA more often then not they weren’t heard, they were silenced in the military.”
Nancy Ross is one of those survivors who says her career in the navy was cut short due to circumstances beyond her control.
“I tried to tell someone, but I was kind of shut down, and it wasn’t too long after that that I had to leave the military, which I wanted as a career, but this stopped me in my tracks,” said Ross.
Ross said the Clothesline Project is a great reminder that she is not alone.
“The words that pop out—'don’t call me a victim, I’m strong, you had no right to do this, I’m not ashamed’—all these powerful statements hit my heart,” said Ross.
USF St. Pete is the first of several locations where the Clothesline Project was on display throughout the mouth. Bay Pines VA hopes to be a voice in a community that needs to be heard.
“I think viewers one, need to recognize that this is happening within our military, and for those service members who don’t realize they are eligible for care at VA, that they can reach out to me and I can get them connected,” said Shoemaker.
For more information, go to ptsd.va.gov/mobile.
