“Speak with Girls, Not for Them”

Supporting Girls’ Action Against Rape Culture

in Girlhood Studies
Author:
Alexe BernierMcMaster University, Canada bernia1@mcmaster.ca

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1322-804X
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Sarah WinstanleyWomen's Centre of Calgary, Canada sarah@womenscentrecalgary.org

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2021.140104
Keywords:
consent; feminist praxis; gender-specific programs; girl activism; popular education; sexual violence; social change; victim-blaming narratives
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Abstract

Reflecting on our work with girls, we discuss what we have learned about how they experience rape culture and engage in activism to confront it. We explore how rape culture manifests in the lives of adolescent girls who are between 10 and 15 years of age in Calgary, Canada. We then demonstrate how groups of girls have moved from awareness to collective action meant to challenge rape culture and consider the impact that this action has had on them. Our aim is to show how popular education and feminist methodologies are effective in supporting girls’ activism on issues like rape culture so that others working in community with girls may gain new tools that might aid their work.

Contributor Notes

Alexe Bernier (ORCID 0000-0003-1322-804X) is a PhD student in the School of Social Work at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. She spent the last four years as a community social worker where she developed and coordinated programs with girls to engage in social change work in relation to issues that affect their lives. Email: bernia1@mcmaster.ca.

Sarah Winstanley (ORCID: 0000-0003-3920-4361) is an educator who has spent nine years working with girls. She led the creation of a range of girls’ activism programs at the Women's Centre of Calgary, and has also been a Girl Guide leader, an anti-violence organizer, and a social action network facilitator in London, UK. Email: sarah@womenscentrecalgary.org.

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Girlhood Studies

An Interdisciplinary Journal

Cover Girlhood Studies
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
17
Keywords:
consent; feminist praxis; gender-specific programs; girl activism; popular education; sexual violence; social change; victim-blaming narratives
Print Publication Date:
01 Mar 2021
Online Publication Date:
01 Mar 2021
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021

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