So
let’s ask ourselves: What do we owe our youth?
We
can provide youth with concrete tools to protect themselves while we also work to build
a safer world, society, communities, and families. IMPACT Chicago currently offers IMPACT for Girls, a
program for cis and trans girls 12-15 years old. If you have a non-binary teen interested in our program,
please reach out to determine if this program would be a good fit.
In this 8-hour two-day program,
participants learn how to handle common safety concerns of parents and youth. Participants
practice projecting confidence, recognizing unsafe situations, speaking up, and
taking action when they are feeling uncomfortable. They also have the chance to
participate in frank, direct discussions about common situations and to
practice verbal and physical skills to expand their range of choices—not only
in threatening situations, but in everyday life.i
The next IMPACT for Girls program is
January 11 and 12, 2020
Glenview Park Center
2400 Chestnut Avenue
info@IMPACTchicago.org
info@IMPACTchicago.org
While
teaching youth self-defense skills, we can also create a safer environment for
young people, for example:
- press for laws that will increase
resources for those who have been victimized, such as, the 2019 Violence
Against Women Act, which has new provisions for targets of violence
who are transgender.
- support organizations trying to
change how gender is portrayed in the media, such as Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media,
working with the entertainment industry to reduce stereotypes and
expanding portrayals of female characters targeting children 11 years old
and under.
- join
efforts to increase awareness about street harassment and how to create
safer communities, such as Hollaback which raises public awareness and offers
strategies to increase safety in public spaces.
- support
children making their own decisions about with whom to be physically
affectionate, such as the Girl
Scouts' reminder to family members to tell
children that they do not owe anyone a hug—not even during the holidays.
So,
what do we owe our youth? We owe them support on both fronts: the opportunity
to learn and practice tools to protect themselves while we also owe them our
efforts to create a safer world, society, communities, and families.
Martha
Thompson
Lead
Instructor
Admin
Team Co-Chair
IMPACT
Chicago
Thank
you to Amy, Brett, Brooke, Lisa, Maple, and Rachel for their comments on an
earlier version of this post.
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