Clothesline project airs out abuse issue

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tania Reid
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MadDill Air Force Base, Fla. --  A clothesline of T-shirts hanging outside the MacDill Base Exchange Oct.1 may have looked like sidewalk vending to onlookers but to the survivors of domestic violence and the 6th Medical Group Family Advocacy Program members the meaning rung deeper. 

In an effort to streamline National Domestic Violence Awareness month the 6 MDG counselors hung t-shirts of different colors and sizes at their booth. The display was created in support of the survivors of abusive relationships. 

"We borrowed the T-shirts from the Tampa Domestic Violence Shelter, CASA," said Mr. John Navarro, 6MDG family advocacy outreach manager. "The survivors from the shelter wrote their story of how they were abused on the shirts letting others know that domestic violence is real." 

Not only did their writings on the T-shirts tell the violent story but also the colors.
The colors were chosen based on the type of abuse the survivor endured and the outcome said Tech. Sgt Michelle Kehoe, 6th Air Mobility Wing victim's advocate.
"Each color has a meaning," said Sergeant Kehoe. "Blue and green are survivors of incest, red, pink and orange are survivors who were raped, the black shirts are those who were disabled as a result of the attack and the white shirts were from those who did or didn't survive the abuse." 

The theme was "Violence teaches violence. What legacywill you leave your child?" which highlighted how the abuse affected the children. 

"Many times other persons are being affected directly or indirectly by violence in a relationship," added Mr. Navarro. "We try to show the patients how their children are affected," 

He said the chances of a child repeating that violence in their own relationships are highly likely. 

"Domestic Violence is about control," said Mr. Navarro. "The abusers are usually trying to control their significant other both mentally and physically, they use words that hurt as much as a slap in the face" 

However, there is hope for a survivor of an abusive relationship if detected early.
"Persons may not be willing to talk about their situation but once they do, they can start to heal," said Maj. Ernestine Harris, 6MDG family advocacy program officer. "A good strong support system may also help shorten the time that a survivor is able to recover from the abuse." 

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, more than 400 persons have been affected as a result of abusive relationships. 

"Research has also shown that a woman leaves a violent relationship at least seven times before they actually leave for good," said Mr. Navarro. "However, the departure period is considered the most dangerous time because then it hits home to the abuser that they are about to lose control." 

The members at the Family Advocacy office hope that promoting domestic violence awareness at the base can get both the abuser and the abused the help they need.
"We are trained to provide prevention control to the person being abused and the abuser, "added Mr. Navarro. "Our intention is to get the abuser to call us at the Family Advocacy Program before talking to anyone else about the violent relationship." 

The Family Advocacy Program provides several services to help prevent abuse in relationships. They include Domestic Violence Victim Advocate, Maltreatment Intervention, Special Needs Identification and Coordination Process, the New Parent Support Program and Outreach. 

The FAP counselors partnered with members of the MacDill Base Chapel, the Legal Office, Education Center and 6th Security Forces Squadron will continue their crusade around the base throughout the month to increase awareness to domestic violence.
For more information on domestic violence prevention log onto www.ncdav.org or contact the 6 MDG Family Advocacy Program at (813)827-9172.