Project raises awareness of sexual assault

Oluwaseun Omotayo Contributor A project featuring an array of T-shirts made by survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault drew attention to an important topic, this week. The Clothesline Project was organized by Trojan Outreach and set up on the Bibb Graves Quad from Monday to promote awareness for domestic violence and sexual assault. “Trojan Outreach is a community that brings situations that are not discussed to light like sexual awareness, stress management and domestic violence,” said Charslyn Patterson, a senior exercise science major from Birmingham, Alabama who is a part of Trojan Outreach. “This is to let people know they are not alone, and they have a voice.” Posters containing stories from survivors were placed around the quad. People were given the opportunity to share their stories via a form that was posted on the Troy Students Facebook page. “They had the option to anonymously fill the form or include their names,” Patterson said. Members of Trojan Outreach were available to answer questions and provide more information regarding the topic. The event was a great way for people to get a form of release and for interpersonal violence to get talked about,” Johnetta Rabb, a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Anytown, any state said. After listening to all that was said and reading stories of survivors, Rabb said she would like to help raise awareness on the topic as well. Trojan Outreach handed out purple bracelets at the event because purple is the official color of Domestic Violence Awareness month. Interpersonal violence is divided into two categories by the World Health Organization (WHO). They are family and intimate partner violence and community violence. “Most of the stories we got were related to sexual assault and reading the stories hit me,” said Adarius Wesley, a senior psychology major and sociology minor from Montgomery and a member of Trojan Outreach. He said he experienced a change of heart on the topic since he never thought much about it. According to Patterson, Trojan Outreach will have other events catering to social issues and all students are always invited to attend.