In a place on campus where there is usually silence, the voices of survivors can now be heard.
An exhibit of artwork by female survivors of dating and domestic violence, rape and incest is on display in the Art Lounge of the Michigan Union.
The display also includes part of the Silent Witness exhibit of silhouettes representing dead victims of dating and domestic violence. The exhibit is currently touring the state of Michigan.
Debi Cain, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, said the purpose of the exhibit is to make sure "the silence imposed on survivors is broken."
The exhibition, which began Monday, will continue through Oct. 31.
It is sponsored by SAPAC as part of Domestic Violence Prevention month in October.
Joyce Wright, SAPAC prevention and education coordinator, said the display provides its audience with an increased awareness.
"You get a sense of the impact that violence has on the lives of women," Wright said.
Artwork by survivors and their families includes a portion of the Clothesline exhibit which consists of T-shirts decorated with pictures, sayings and short poems.
Some of the shirts displayed in the Union berate their attackers, calling them by name. One bore a single word: "Don't!"
Observers said the exhibit affected them in a positive way.
"I really, really appreciate this exhibit because the fact that they have this shows these people as individuals," said LSA junior Ellen Wang. "Each of their suffering is different."
Another part of the exhibit includes several pieces of poetry and prose by both anonymous authors and known authors, such as Marge Piercy. Many works express feelings of sorrow and anger while others convey joy, such as one piece titled, "reflections before the speakout 1991."
"i am happy / to know that i can walk down the street with my arms swinging / freely / no more paralysis," the poem begins.
The bright red Silent Witness silhouettes stand over the lounge's occasional visitors, displaying the jarring stories of women who died in violent relationships, including a 12-year-old whose boyfriend said he stabbed her to death "because she wouldn't leave."
Visitors said the stories shocked them.
"It's the truth," said Ann Arbor resident Louis Gaines. But, "to me it was disgusting - some of the things I read."
Wright said the Silent Witness exhibit began after 1993, a year with a record number of women's deaths in violent relationships.
She said the exhibit "points out the horrors" of violence against women and shows "how this particular crime can lead to death."
AJA DEKLEVA COHEN/Daily
University student Rina Shah views the domestic violence art exhibit in the Art Lounge of the Michigan Union yesterday.