Melissa — Chicago Taskforce on Violence Against Girls & Young Women

Reporting on Rape and Sexual Violence

This new Media Toolkit provides concrete facts about the issue of violence against girls and young women; suggestions about issues to be covered regarding violence against girls, including the Taskforce’s recommendations of how to end violence; and information about key organizations.

Featured, Policy Recommendations

Teen Dating Violence: Data

In 2009, a staggering 18.5% of Chicago youth surveyed reported that they had been hit, slapped or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Learn here how Chicago statistics compare to Illinois and national data on teen dating violence.

Data

Sexual Violence

If we are to end sexual violence against girls and young women, we will need to change cultural norms and address multiple and intersecting oppressions. The Taskforce’s starting point was to expand our understanding of sexual violence.

Featured, Sexual Violence

Reproductive Justice & Violence: Key Data

Here you can read data from the Status of Girls in Illinois report on girls’ reproductive and sexual health, as well as 2009 data from surveys of middle school students.

Data

Violence & Education: Key data

This excerpt from the Status of Girls in Illinois report provides data on Chicago girls’ experiences of violence in school.

Data

Recommendations for Chicago Public Schools

Schools are sites of violence against girls and one of the central places in which girls could access support. The Taskforce believes that schools need to build a culture of safety, and we have several recommendations for Chicago Public Schools.

Policy Recommendations

Violence & Criminalization: Key Data

It costs over $80,000 per year to incarcerate a young person in Illinois. Here you will find data about girls’ arrest rates and commitments to juvenile detention in Cook County and Illinois.

Data

Reproductive Justice & Violence: Issues & Needs

Young women lack access to reproductive health care and information, and this intersects with other forms of violence they experience. Here is information on young women’s reproductive justice needs, issues to be addressed, and opportunities for collaboration.

Issues & Needs

Recommendations for Cook County

Our policy recommendations for Cook County focus on making the Cook County Bureau of Public Health more responsive to the needs of young women who are sexual violence survivors, and supporting young women in juvenile detention.

Policy Recommendations

Teen Dating Violence: Issues & Needs

For too long, anti-violence advocates have developed our approaches to ending teen dating violence based on an understanding of adult women’s experiences and needs. The solutions that we offer violence survivors – for example, domestic violence hotlines, or protective orders – are not solutions that youth can or will access. The central need, then, is to develop solutions that work for youth. Here are some factors to keep in mind.

Issues & Needs

Articles By: Melissa