Threads of Compassion is a Chicago based charity that works specifically with survivors of sexual assault. The charity supplies scarves to rape crisis workers who then pass them on to people who have undergone a sexual assault. The charity has been running a number of years and has provided scarves to many survivors.

In New Zealand, The Scarf Project: Threads of Compassion has been set up with Crisis Counselling Centre. Our aim is to let survivors know they are not alone and that there is help available to assist them in dealing with what has happened.

You may wonder, why scarves? We use scarves because everybody can wear a scarf and you can never have enough scarves.

A scarf is something concrete and tactile, something to hold, to cuddle, to feel soft against your skin. The scarves will be given to a survivor after the clinical examination, therefore it provides a contrast to what they have just been through. What this says to the survivor is that they are not alone, that there are others out there who understand what they have been through, that there are people out there who know, and that there are people out there who have survived and thrived. The scarf is a representation of the hand of kinship and friendship.

The scarves are made by survivors themselves, or by those who know survivors, or just people who care and want to reach out to make a difference. The Scarf Project provides those affected in some way by sexual violence a way to reach out indirectly to others who are also affected. It is a way of connecting to other survivors without having to be directly involved.

For some easy scarf patterns, click here

For our Forum for survivors, click here