As a stark reminder of the violence committed against women each year, bright red “silent witnesses” have been placed around Iowa State’s campus as part of Week Without Violence.

The “silent witnesses” are life-sized, bright-red silhouette of a woman’s body.

Across the chest of the woman, there is a shield which gives her name, her age and the sometimes gruesome manner in which she was killed by her husband or partner.

The women range in age from 19-years-old to middle-age, and the common denominator is each of their murders was committed by their husband or partner.

Several, including Krista Rankin, who died last year from domestic violence, were ISU alums.

According to information from the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the primary sponsor for Week Without Violence, the silent witness project is a traveling memorial honoring Iowa women who were killed in acts of domestic violence.

The exhibit was conceived by an ad hoc group of women artists and writers in Minnesota called Arts Action Against Domestic Violence.

Julie Wooden, co-chair of Week Without Violence, said she believes the silent witnesses help get out the key message, which is to “raise awareness about all kinds of violence.”

“A lot of people stop to look at the silent witnesses,” Wooden said, adding several people have called the YWCA asking about specific female victims.

Wooden said she thinks the issue of domestic violence is considered taboo because “people see domestic violence as something that happens within the home.”

“The silent witnesses’ stories are violent, but they wake people up,” Wooden said. “If you’re at the library, and you read about a 19-year-old girl who was killed, it makes you think.”

The silent witnesses often evoke very powerful emotions for those who stop to read their tragic stories.

“The silent witnesses do emphasize that this was a living person,” Lori Wildeman, sexual-assault-awareness programmer for the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center, said.

“People can read their story, which is a strong reminder of the person,” Wildeman said. “The story usually includes whether or not that person had children, and whether the children witnessed the murder. It shows the person will live on in the minds of their family.”

Wildeman said the Women’s Center has used the silent witnesses before for such programs as “Take Back the Night” in the spring.

“[The silhouettes] are empowering for us who do this kind of work,” Wildeman said. “When we have to hear these same kinds of stories again and again, they help us to remember why we do this kind of work.”

Wooden said every state has a silent-witness exhibit. She said there are 30 to 40 silent witnesses in Iowa.

The locations chosen for the silent witnesses around campus were chosen because they were prominent areas where people would have an opportunity to view them.

The locations on campus for the silent witnesses are the Sloss House, Lied Recreation Center, Parks Library, Beardshear Hall, University Book Store, Friley Depot, YMCA office in Alumni Hall and outside the Student Union booth in the Memorial Union.

The two off-campus locations include the Ames Public Library and Youth and Shelter Services.

The silent witnesses will be taken down on Friday with the conclusion of Week Without Violence.