J.P. teenagers speak out against sex harassment

Vidya Rao

Every day girls as young as 12 years old are accosted by men old enough to be their fathers, harassed by groups of teenage boys and asked for sexual favors.

In the neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, residents say this is an all too common occurrence.

“Ever since I was 11 or 12, I have been dealing with older men coming after me, making comments about my body and asking me to sleep with them,” says Chrismaldi Vasquez, 19.

So many young women have complained about sexual harassment, specifically walking down Centre Street, that the Youth Affairs Committee, a subcommittee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, began creating an action plan around the issue about one-and-a-half years ago.

Working with the Hyde Square Task Force, youth community organizers were educated on what constitutes sexual harassment. Volunteers from the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center met with youth to train them on the effects of sexual harassment and how to handle various uncomfortable situations.

“The trainings helped [youth] explore their own sexual harassment issues and helped them express themselves and gain confidence through popular theatre,” said Jesus Gerena, the Hyde Square Task Force Program Coordinator.

Jhalil Farmer 17, who has been part of the Task Force for two years, was one of the organizers who went through the training.

“As males, it’s our role to get the message out to other males,” he said. “I thought sexual harassment was inappropriate touching. I didn’t know that just talking to someone and making them uncomfortable was sexual harassment. I’ve learned a lot.”

As part of the campaign, youth created cards that read “Please Respect Me” on the front and defined sexual harassment on the flip side, to hand out to community members and, specifically, to perpetrators.

“Awareness is key, and is the first step to eliminating sexual harassment,” said Vasquez, one of the lead organizers of the campaign. “One of the biggest problems is that people don’t know what sexual harassment is, and that’s why they do it.”

Last Thursday Vasquez and other teens held a rally to speak out against sexual harassment and to unveil the cards. Several young women spoke about their personal experiences of aggressive, harassing treatment they receive from men.

“We should be able to wear what we want without being harassed,” said 16-year-old Ashley Cotton. “Not only me but every girl I know is called names, we are asked sexual favors and men make comments about our bodies that make us feel uncomfortable. This should not be tolerated in our community.”

Throughout the rally, teens performed skits illustrating both the antagonistic nature of sexual harassment as well as the confusion that exists around the issue. At least a dozen passersby, including several parents with their young children, stopped to listen to the youth and watch the performances.

Jose Ortiz, a local resident, decided to stay and watch the rally with his six-year-old son. Ortiz said he felt it was important for his son to at least hear the message that the youth were sending. “We have to teach our sons about being respectful and about what sexual harassment is,” he said.

Community members showed their support of the teen’s efforts. Representative Jeffrey Sanchez was present at the event, and Councilor Felix Arroyo sent a statement in support of the Hyde Square Task Force in combating sexual harassment. Boston police officers were also present and pledged to enforce sexual harassment statutes and encouraged people in the community to report instances of harassment.

Sexual harassment is a larger and more pervasive issue than many people realize, and can affect young women developmentally, according to Robin Chandler, the director of the Women’s Studies program at Northeastern University. She said harassment can and often does lead to low self esteem and thus lead to engaging in premature sexual activity, as well as the abuse of drugs and alcohol.

“This type of behavior forces [a young woman] to see herself in a narrow box of possibilities in terms of social advancement,” she commented. “It relegates her to a position of being constantly objectified, and a lot of criminal behavior among girls locally, nationally and even internationally, can be tied back to sexual harassment.”

The next step for the campaign is to get local businesses to put up posters, with the same information as is on the cards, to show solidarity with young women. Youth community organizers also plan on going into the Boston public school system and getting a commitment from administrators to enforce sexual harassment policies, as well as educating students about sexual harassment.

Ashley Cotton is pleased with the direction in which the campaign is moving and feels confident that the community will stand behind her and the other youth combating harassment.

“Along the way I learned to ignore it, women have just learned to adjust and accept it,” she says. “But now it’s time for the community to step up and say ‘we will not tolerate this behavior anymore.’”