Denim Day '17: Youth Leaders of Color on Ending Rape Culture and Sexual Violence



YMS/WLP leaders Folarin Oguntayo, Ashley Rojas, Deaven Rector & Sidney Onyenachi

On Denim Day, April 26, 2017, 10th-12th grade students from the Women's Leadership Project (WLP) and Young Male Scholars' (YMS) programs at Gardena High School and King Drew Magnet of Medicine and Science conducted sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention workshops with over one hundred and twenty students in health, math, social studies and Advisory classes.  Students discussed the prevalence

of sexual violence and harassment on school campuses and communities, the stereotypes associated with rape and sexual assault victims, and the normalization of violence against women and girls of color in mainstream society. Despite being marginalized in  mainstream media representations of sexual violence victimization (which tend to foreground the experiences and lives of white victims), African American women have some of the highest rates of rape and sexual assault, with nearly 60% of Black girls reporting sexual abuse victimization by the age of eighteen. 

Students engaged in debate about the implications of victim-blaming and victim-shaming for sexual violence victims and survivors, as well as the often fraught issue of giving consent in a relationship.  Speaking as male allies, peer educator leaders from YMS stepped up about male responsibility for being aware that "no means no" and being conscious that sexual violence can happen across gender identity and sexual orientation.  Students were informed about the low rates of reporting among African American women

 

WLP/GHS Gardena on "victim-shaming"

 

 

violence victims, the prevalence of social media predation, cyberbullying and sex trafficking as well as recent examples of sexual harassment in sports, entertainment and politics with high profile offenders like Bill O’Reilly, Donald Trump and Bill Cosby. Students also

Markell and Markease Harris break "coercion vs. consent" down

 

 

underscored the role homophobia and transphobia play in silencing male and LGBTQI sexual violence victims and addressed the lack of safe spaces for male survivors in the dominant culture. The similarities, nuances and pervasiveness of marital rape, date rape, familial rape/incest and statutory rape were also addressed.

 

WLP coordinator Issachar Curbeon and peer educator leaders Sidney Onyenachi, Deaven Rector, Ashley Rojas, Markell and Markease Harris, Jasmine Townsend, Folarin Oguntayo, Zorrie Petrus, Eva Mancias, Lucina Ambriz, Shondrea Wooden, Dawnyai Hardy and Adebayo Ojute did

WLP King-Drew Adebayo, Drea & Dawnyai on queer youth & sexual assault

 

 

an outstanding job of debunking myths and misconceptions about rape culture while educating fellow students about resisting and protecting themselves against sexual violence and sexual harassment.   

Black Words Literature Circle 2017

Step Forward Sexual Harassment Prevention Campaign video

Students from Gardena HS' and King-Drew Magnet of Medicine and Science WLP 2015-2016 program discuss the impact of sexual and street harassment on African American girls and women.

WLP Alumni Achievements: 2016

Congratulations to WLP alum-interns Clay Wesley & Lizeth Soria, recipients of the L.A. Urban Policy Roundtable's Spirit of the Kings' award for their work w/foster care & undocumented youth. 

Women's Leadership Project alumnus Miani Giron, will be attending UCLA Medical School in the Fall of 2016.  Miani is a 2016 graduate of Syracuse University and a 2012 alumnus of Gardena High School. Miani was president of WLP from 2011-2012 and is the first in her family to go to college. She wrote this piece about WLP for The Feminist Wire in 2012:

Coming into Consciousness

http://www.thefeministwire.com/2012/03/coming-into-consciousness/

By Miani Giron

In the three years that I’ve been involved in the Women’s Leadership Project (WLP) my awareness and outlook on social issues have been positively impacted. Before I joined I was unaware of issues like HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and de facto segregation and how they directly affect my community. I’m not embarrassed to admit that I was ignorant of the issues that have the potential to destroy my community, because it’s not my fault that no one ever took the time to educate me on these matters.  WLP has made me aware of issues that degrade women; as a result, not only am I conscious, but I am outraged and determined to actively do something about it. My participation in WLP increased my interest in talking to young women in my community to raise awareness. I’m encouraged to advocate and be active in my own school-community.

While all the social issues we discuss in WLP are of great importance to me, the issue of mainstream media and female representation really concerns me... 

WLP Kicks Off Step Up/Step Back sexual harassment & sexual violence campaign

WLP & Young Male Scholars GHS present @ Sexual violence & media forum

Women's Day King-Drew present @ Sexual violence & media forum

WLP GHS discussing Step Up campaign

WLP 2014-2015

By Issachar Curbeon

We are excited about putting together a powerful visual project to spread awareness about the sexual harassment and verbal abuse young Black women are experiencing in the LAUSD. The campaign will be developed during January-March 2016 and will include Gardena HS, King-Drew Medical Magnet and Crenshaw HS.

To provoke conversation In November 2015, during our first session with Women’s Leadership Project's Women of Color in the U.S. class, we administered a survey to gauge the self-esteem of the girls in the class. The survey was designed to find out if young women felt safe, supported and respected on campus. 

Unfortunately, we were not surprised when the survey revealed that more than half of the girls had been sexually harassed on campus or in their communities; and that more than half of the class recognized disrespect towards Black girls as a major issue on campus. 

To create a sense of sisterhood among the girls we decided to do an adaptation of an exercise called Step Forward, Step Back tailored to show them that they were not alone in their experiences of harassment on campus. 

Step Forward, Step Back is traditionally a privilege exercise where participants stand in a straight line in the middle of an empty space and respond to statements about their personal social class experiences. With each true statement (i.e ‘step forward if your parents went to college) individuals either step forward representing experiences and circumstances that have afforded wealth, education, health, and wellbeing; or step backward representing experiences that frustrate educational, economic and social advancement. 

The exercise reveals that success in our society is not an equal race, there are in fact, experiences that marginalized people face due to racism, sexism and economic inequality that act as major obstacles to resources and opportunities to succeed. 

The campaign will involve the following elements:

Ongoing 

Slogan tweets and posts (via Instagram and Twitter)

·         Descriptions of forms of sexual harassment

·         Responses to harassers

·         Images on street harassment, sexual harassment and sexual violence

·         Stats on sexual violence affecting Black girls, Latinas and other girls of color

·         Short video clip observations on what can be done to stop harassment

Short blog articles (via Facebook and WLP blog)

·         Reflections on a harassment experience

·         Poems and spoken word challenging harassment and the responsibility of men/boys to get involved as allies*

Interviews

I.                    February 23-25 (King-Drew Medical Magnet & GHS)

Hip Hop, Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Forum

·         Student-facilitated discussion on sexual harassment, sexual violence and media images in hip hop and popular culture

o   Participants:

§  Women’s Leadership Project/Women’s Day

§  Young Male Scholars

§  Media Done Responsibly

II.                  February 11-March 10th

Video piece

·         Small group discussion about images of Black women and women of color in the media

·         One-on-one interviews about WLP members’ perspectives

·         Whole group “Step up/Step Back” exercise with filmmaker Elizabeth Bayne

WLP Young Women of Color Leadership Forum

WLP Celebrates Five Years of Advocacy and Excellence

Despite an uphill battle against budget cuts, political challenges and sexist/racist public policies, WLP is still standing.  Hats off to the amazing activists, scholars and visionary leaders (the majority of whom are the first in their families to go to college) who have made WLP a strong voice for young feminist of color leadership.  The video features WLP alum from Syracuse University, CSUDH, CSULB, UCLA, El Camino College, CSUN and Southwest College, as well the classes of 2016 and 2017.