Shoppers at the Carbon Plaza Mall on Friday saw something a little out of sorts.

Between the entrances of Giant and the Zoo Health Club stood a clothesline filled with green and blue shirts that each had different messages painted on them.The messages and images included depictions of a butterfly, tree and skeleton, as well as words like self-hate, depression, love, safe and survivor.The display, put up by the Victims Resource Center of Northeast Pennsylvania, was part of the international campaign Clothesline Project to raise awareness of sexual violence in the community and promote April as Sexual Violence Awareness Month.“We like to display these shirts to let the community know that this is happening and raise awareness,” Tammy Sue Neff, counselor advocate for the center, said.This is the second year Victims Resource Center has participated in the Clothesline Project in hopes of showing that anyone can be a victim, no matter their gender or age.Sexual violence, which many believe is strictly acts of unwanted sexual contact, can be a number of things, from learned attitudes and beliefs that dehumanize and objectify one gender; to sexual harassment, unwanted touching, rape, or the extremes of sexual and genital mutilation and death.The problem is in today’s society, behaviors and attitudes and the lack of people speaking out against these behaviors are driving the notion that unwanted sexual advances are OK and are partially contributing to the number of rapes and more violent sexual abuse cases.Neff said the Victims Resource Center is there to help these victims and urged people who know a loved one or friend has been assaulted to make that first call to the center’s 24-hour hotline.The Victims Resource Center, which serves Luzerne, Carbon and Wyoming counties, offers free and confidential crisis and support counseling to victims of any crime, can accompany them through the legal process, go with them to the hospital for the rape exam, provide information and referrals and help them file reimbursement claims if they experience out-of-pocket costs as a result of their assault.For more information on the Victims Resource Center, visit

www.vrcnepa.org.To seek help through the 24-hour hotline, call 610-379-0151.The Victims Resource Center will also have their annual shoe display, which are actual victims’ shoes and their stories, at the Palmerton Area Library beginning Monday afternoon. The display will be out and available to be seen during library hours until Friday.