Combat Zone: Campaign HQ Against Domestic Violence was a multifaceted project that offered a dynamic and immediate response to the “war zone,” in which battered women live. Occupying the ground floor of a building in SoHo from October through December of 1994, Combat Zone was designed as a political campaign headquarters, ready to fight all forms of domestic abuse.

The HQ was complete with counseling, self-defense workshops, lectures, a hotline, online services, photographs, videos, posters, and an art installation by Mary Beth Edelson. Enlisting the collaborative talents of artists, social workers, activists, performers, and students, Combat Zone provided a new model for community activism and brought attention to a long silenced issue.

Photograph by Tom Brazil

Mary Beth Edelson

Combat Zone: Campaign HQ Against Domestic Violence

Manhattan

1994