INTERVIEWS: "Just Yell Fire" Creator Wins Award For Teaching Girls About Self-Defense

Dallas Jessup, 20, is founder and CEO of Just Yell Fire -- a nonprofit working to empower girls to defend themselves against rape and abduction by learning Filipino Street Fighting techniques. She just won aWorld of Children Award grant to develop her organization further.

Jessup created Just Yell Fire when she was 15. Jessup has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is a second degree in Filipino Street Fighting and made a self-defense video for her all-girls school. She is currently a senior at Vanderbilt University. She has worked with professional directors and released two videos: Just Yell Fire geared at middle school and high school girls, and Just Yell Fire: Campus Life, aimed at high school seniors and college-aged girls. Her website gets approximately 1,700 unique visitors a day.

Youth Radio's Davina La'Shay interviewed Jessup about her inspiration and the project:

full interview

ARTICLES: Don’t Sexualize Girls in the Media, Say Experts

ATLANTA—Media images sexualizing and dehumanizing girls aren't just bad for girls but bad for business, said leading female business, NGO, and media leaders at the Womenetics Global Leadership Initiative Oct. 4 in Atlanta.

"Changing cultural perceptions of female worth and roles is necessary to bolster the number of women who lead," stated Elisabeth Marchant, president and CEO of Womenetics, in a press release. "This initiative has a proven benefit to corporations and to the next generation of women who will launch careers and provide breakthrough innovations."

Dr. Jean Kilbourne, an early proponent of media literacy, said images that sexualize girls and use female bodies to sell products damage society, are ubiquitous, and should be challenged.

full article

ARTICLES: UNICEF gets 'Meena' to protect girl child (INDIA)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With an alarming increase in child abuse cases in the state, mostly girls for domestic and commercial sexual exploitation, the UNICEF is set to launch 'Meena' a unique animated communication initiative for girl child protection in Kerala, in coordination with the state government.

"UNICEF has found this initiative exceedingly successful in other states and now plans to take it forward in Kerala. We have written to the state government about the strategy to protect the children through awareness creation and on strengthening the rescue efforts," UNICEF programme officer on child protection told TNN here on Friday. "Over the next two months, this unique initiative will be implemented in Kerala, she said. This communication campaign focusing on key issues relating to the protection of the girl child through animated stories from an image of an empowered girl child Meena.

full article

ARTICLES: Girls on film

Children's entertainment features too few female characters, even in bit parts, sending the wrong message to youngsters of both genders.

WHEN my niece was three years old her favourite film was Jurassic Park. Of course, she should never have been allowed to see that film at her tender age, but let's leave that conversation and its associated allegations of irresponsible babysitting aunties out of it. The point is, she saw the film and was immediately enthralled. She would beg to watch it and then sit silent and wide-eyed for two hours, before begging to watch it over again as soon as the credits began to roll. We adults tried to break her addiction with age-appropriate dinosaur books and cartoons, but she wasn't interested. It had to be Jurassic Park.

She was almost five before she revealed what it was she loved about the movie: ''Lex. She's a little girl, but she climbed the fence and fixed the computer and saved everyone.'' It suddenly made perfect sense. Books and films for kids her age were either adventure stories about boys or princess stories about girls. My niece enjoyed both of these genres, but in Jurassic Park she found what so many children crave: a character she could both look up to and imagine becoming.

full article

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS / OPPORTUNITIES: G(irls) 20 Summit

On June 26th and 27th, G20 leaders will gather in Toronto to discuss measures to promote global financial stability and ways to achieve a sustainable economic growth and development. All organizations and businesses striving for economic growth and development understand the need to utilize all resources – financial, material and human. Similarly, world leaders must recognize the importance of leveraging the world’s 3.3 billion girls and women in the search for innovative, sustainable and socially responsible solutions to global challenges.

That’s why, from Jun 16th -18th, twenty girls from the G20 countries will come together in Toronto to present, discuss and promote tangible, innovative and scalable solutions. If you are a passionate, forward-thinking, solution-oriented girl between the ages of 18-20 from a G20 country you could be one of the G(irls) 20 Summit change makers.

Apply to attend the G(irls)20 Summit and be a voice representing the 3.3 billion girls and women around the world.

more info

NEWS: Leaders aim for good media for youth (USA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., joined by Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito. R-W.Va., has introduced the Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925), a bill to improve media literacy for youth and to encourage the promotion of healthier media messages about girls and women.

"Children are consuming more media than ever, but unfortunately, the images they see often reinforce gender stereotypes, emphasize unrealistic body images or show women in passive roles. The need for more positive images of girls in the media is clear," Baldwin said.

full article

DISCUSSIONS / VOY: Beijing at 15 - online discussions

Beijing at 15 - online discussions

Do you want to influence how the world works and stop discrimination and violence against girls? The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will meet on 1-12 March 2010 in New York, and you can contribute to this process by participating in the discussion and voicing your thoughts and ideas. Beijing à 15 - débats en ligne Voulez-vous influencer la façon dont le monde fonctionne et éliminer la discrimination et la violence contre les filles? La Commission de la condition de la femme, qui se réunira du 1er au 12 mars 2010 à New York, et vous pouvez contribuer à ce processus en participant à la discussion et en exprimant vos pensées et vos idées. Beijing a 15 - discusiones en línea ¿Quieres ser partícipe de los esfuerzos mundiales para detener la discriminación y la violencia contra las niñas? La Comisión sobre la Condición Jurídica y Social de la Mujer se reunirá en la ciudad de Nueva York entre el 1 y el 12 de marzo de 2010, y tú puedes contribuir a este proceso participando en los debates y compartiendo tus ideas y puntos de vista.

Workshop impressions