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SPECIAL FEATURE
ACTIVIST OF THE MONTH |
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Don't Accept It, Fight It!
 
Are you tired of dealing with men saying things to you on the street? Ever thought about doing something about it? Well, Cisnell Baez, 17 and Ashley
Cotton, 17 are two teens who decided they were fed up with street harassment in their neighborhood and started raising awareness about the issue and making
positive change in their community.
Many people think that sexual harassment is not a serious issue. As members of the Youth Community Organizers of the Hyde Square Task Force and the Youth Affairs
Committee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, we believe that sexual harassment should be acknowledged by our communities as a social problem. We decided
to take action and raise the public awareness of street harassment.
The Campaign Against Sexual Harassment derived from ongoing complaints from many young females who work or volunteer for the Hyde Square Task Force. The
office is located on Centre Street, one of the main avenues of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. The street is always alive with people walking
or hanging around the corners, cars passing by with their music blaring, and people walking in and out of the busy shops. This vibrant atmosphere attracts
many visitors all year round. But that same atmosphere also threatens and discourages some of us from walking down Centre Street. The reason lies in the
constant remarks by some men directed at the young women walking down the street. The harassment is often so confrontational that it intimidates, scares,
and offends the women who have to pass by. Sexual harassment on Centre Street has always been a problem here, but it has never been really treated seriously.
Like many other people, we accepted sexual harassment because it was something we grew up witnessing and assumed it was acceptable, regardless of how we felt.
We were not aware of sexual harassment until recently, but now we have realized that it is not something we have to accept. No one should ever have to feel
uncomfortable walking down the street in their own neighborhood.
This harassment does not only happen in the streets; it also happens in school. We should never have to take longer routes to work or school in order
to avoid confronting sexual harassment on the way. We go to school to learn, not to be harassed.
We should not have to fear being whistled at or stared down by a group of creepy old men that are the age of our fathers and uncles. We also should never
have to hear comments about our body parts and requests for sexual favors, and get this unwanted feeling as a result. Sexual harassment has made it almost
impossible for girls to feel safe and comfortable walking the streets of our own community.
As part of our own education on the issue we took part in trainings that explained what sexual harassment is and how to deal with it. Then we participated
in theater workshops, which helped us deliver our message in a creative way to others in our community. We also created cards and distributed them to people
in our neighborhood. In the summer of 2005, we held a very successful press conference in Boston where we spoke out about sexual harassment. We are currently
working on placing posters on local businesses to make our message more visible to the public.
These activities helped us make others understand how serious sexual harassment is. Most importantly, our actions let the harassers know how we feel and, at
the same time, let them know that their behavior will not be tolerated.
We are working to bring awareness into our area and have it enforced. We know that the root of our dilemma is in the lack of awareness in our community.
If we who felt harassed did not understand what was going on before becoming educated on the issue, it's easy to imagine how other people who still don't
understand it feel. We also understand that most of the people who harass are not aware of how their wrongs are affecting women.
Spreading awareness, communicating our discomfort, and creating a community that is aware of this problem and is ready to eliminate it is the goal of our
campaign against sexual harassment.
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Are you a teen activist or do you know any teen activists? Contact
Teen Voices and share your story.
Don't Just Imagine
Marina Tharathattel, 16,
New York
Suppose everything
you dreamed of
came true.
Just suppose
for a split second
that you can have
things your way,
The right way.
Just suppose
you had the power to change
places and
conflicts,
the power to make
a difference.
Now,
don't just suppose
anymore.
Take action!
Past Activists
of the Month
November 2005:
Stephanie Nyombaire
December 2005:
Kaley Rosinski
January 2006:
Kyla Carpenter & Erika Chase
March 2006:
Shelby Knox
April 2006:
Cisnell Baez & Ashley Cotton
May 2006:
Makalay Tarawally
June 2006:
Becky Marks
July 2006:
Geneva Johnson
August 2006:
Rachel Powell
September 2006:
Liz Funk
October 2006:
May Lan Dong
November 2006:
Karoline Evin McMullen
December 2006:
Maggie Astor
January 2007:
E. Jane Handel
February 2007:
Ana Slavin
March 2007:
Shaina Patel
April 2007:
Amity Paye
May 2007:
Evelyn Eng-Nol
June 2007:
Ava Lowery
July 2007:
Chela Élan Counts
August 2007:
Alexandra Pates
September 2007:
Alexandra Abend
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