The Power of Two

For some time now, the stretch of Morse Avenue near the L station in East Rogers Park on the north side of Chicago, has been unpleasant-if not outright perilous-for young women. Groups of young men-many unemployed and with little to do-loiter there, and have taken to teasing, harassing, and insulting young women passersby. On occasion, some have inappropriately touched women, too.

Last year, a community forum was called to invite the youth of Rogers Park to talk about their lives and challenges. The organizers expected participants to talk about school, dating, drugs and gangs. They were surprised when it became clear that more than these other things, the young women spoke about how threatened they felt while walking down this major street in their own neighborhood.

Marianne Kamba, of the group Friends of Battered Women and Their Children, decided to follow up. She asked a group of young women what they thought might be done about Morse Avenue. Most of the young women said that they thought nothing could be done, that "boys will be boys," and it was the responsibility of the girls to avoid being hurt.

Two young women, aged 16 and 18, who prefer that their names not be publicized, thought differently. Recently, they convinced six others to join them, and they call themselves the Rogers Park Young Women's Action Team. The first thing that they did was to take a survey of about 160 young women. They even gathered about 34 others for a group discussion. The result of the research was overwhelmingly alarming: nearly all of the participants reported being harassed and endangered.

The Action Team sprang into action. It took photographs of the gangways, alleys, and businesses that they identified as the worst danger zones. They wrote up a report and presented it to the police, the local city council representative, county and state officials, and the community at large. They are pushing for increased police patrols and better lighting at night. And next month, they will begin offering workshops for other women on self-defense. They are also investigating ways of reaching out to the young men offenders, in hopes of persuading them to act more civilly.

Being a peacebuilder doesn't mean lying down and taking whatever injustices come your way. In the tradition of nonviolent resistance to evil (think Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr.), the Rogers Park Young Women's Action Team is building peace by preventing violence, and showing people who may think that they are powerless that when they band together, they are anything but.

Catholic Connections

"When they [baptized people] are engaged in any activity either individually or collectively, they will not be satisfied with meeting the minimal legal requirements, but will strive to excel. They will gladly cooperate with others working toward the same objectives. Let them be aware of what their faith demands of them in these matters and derive strength from it; let them not be hesitant to take the initiative at the opportune moment and put their findings into effect. It is their task to cultivate a properly informed conscience and to impress divine law on the affairs of the earthly city."
--The Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 1965.

Reflection Questions

What is one issue affecting teen-agers in your neighborhood?

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