The Rogers Park Young Women's Action Team (YWAT) was a group of primarily

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

high school females in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

who took action on social issues. They started out as a group of high school females working to end

street harassment Street harassment is a form of harassment, primarily sexual harassment that consists of unwanted sexualised comments, provocative gestures, honking, wolf-whistlings, indecent exposures, stalking, persistent sexual advances, and touching by str ...

. Their primary mission was "''to end

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

and girls''" and to "''empower women to take action on issues that affect their lives (particularly issues of violence against girls and young women).''" They primarily advocated for low-income women of color under 21 years of age. The group disbanded after completing its final project in 2011.

Work

Because of the problem of street harassment in

Rogers Park, Chicago Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is commonly known for its cultural diversity, lush green public spaces, early ...

, a group of high school students decided to come together to end street harassment. According to the YWAT, they directly educated over 5,000 youth and adults about street harassment, healthy relationships, and in general about violence against girls and young women across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. They gathered data primarily through surveys. They primarily gathered information about

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

asking questions such as ''do you personally know a woman who has experienced male violence?''

Suspension stories

Suspension stories was an initiative resulting from the collaboration between the YWAT and

Project NIA Project NIA is an American advocacy organization that supports youth in trouble with the law as well as those victimized by violence and crime, through community-based alternatives as opposed to formal legal proceedings. This project is aiming to en ...

br>
that collect stories about students involved with unfair Suspension (punishment)#Academia, Suspension and

Expulsion Expulsion or expelled may refer to: General * Deportation * Ejection (sports) * Eviction * Exile * Expeller pressing * Expulsion (education) * Expulsion from the United States Congress * Extradition * Forced migration * Ostracism * Persona non ...

primarily through videos They have also filmed and gathered information from

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

s and other school personnel

Engaging men

In June 2006, The YWAT started a project called ''Engaging Young Men as Allies to End Violence against Women and Girls.'' The beginning of the project consisted of a film. The film included interviews with young men, primarily African American and White. Young women who were personally impacted by male violence were also interviewed. A YWAT's male alley and classmate, collected over 45 surveys from young men. Another alley from ''Between Friends'' collected over 120 surveys. In total, the YWAT collected 226 surveys from young men ages 12–22. they summarized the key findings. * 58% of young men respondents said that issues of violence against women and girls are ‘‘very important’‘ to them. * 50.9% of survey respondents said that between 1 and 5 of their ''male friends or family members would be interested in getting involved in taking action on issues of violence against women and girls''. * 64.2% of young men surveyed ''have ever asked someone to stop using derogatory or negative terms to refer to girls and women'' (i.e. slut, ho, bitch). * 52.7% respondents said that they had ''intervened during a physical confrontation between a boy and girl''. * 56.6% of young men who were surveyed ''personally knew between 1 to 5 girls and women who have experienced male violence''. * 52.2% said that ''1 to 5 male friends or family members would suggest that women provoke the violence that they experience at the hands of men''. * 18.2% survey respondents ''have considered joining or working with organizations that actively confront sexism and take steps to prevent violence against women and girls''. They asked young men surveyed why they thought that more men are not involved in working to end violence against women and girls. Their answers was: *28.9%: Not important/not our issue *7.6%: Not enough time *23.1%: Never asked to be involved *40.4%: Don't know enough about the issues

Members

*Shauniece Armstead, Von Steuben Metropolitan High School *Shannon Bittner,

Stephen Tyng Mather High School Stephen Tyng Mather High School (commonly known as simply Mather) is a State school, public 4–year high school located in the West Ridge, Chicago, West Ridge neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1959, Mat ...

*Renee Braggs, William Howard Taft High School *Karia Campbell,

Roger C. Sullivan High School Sullivan High School is a public four-year high school located in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Sullivan is a part of the Chicago Public Schools district. Opened in 1926, the school is named ...

*Ronnett Lockett,

Lane Tech College Prep High School Lane Tech College Prep High School (often shortened to Lane Tech, full name Albert Grannis Lane Technical College Preparatory High School), is a public 4-year selective enrollment magnet high school located in the Roscoe Village neighborhood on ...

*Lillian Matamni,

*Jasmine Martinez, Gale Community Academy *Christine Rene,

*Daphne Rene,

*Jackquette Smith

Chicago Vocational High School Chicago Vocational High School (commonly known as CVCA, Chicago Vocational Career Academy or CVS) is a public 4–year vocational high school located in the Avalon Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened i ...

*Jonnae Taylor,

*Joyce Taylor,

*Crystal Villanueva, St. Scholastica Academy *Ashley Ward,

*Emilya Whitis,

*Geri Whitis,

http://www.rogersparkywat.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/YWAT-zine.pdf

References

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External links