Parents for Prevention
working together to end sexual violence
a project of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Middle School: Activism
If we want to shift our culture to a place where sexual violence is unthinkable, we need to have conversations not only in our homes, but in our communities as well. If you have a fire to change things now, or if you see some sparks of activism in your children that you would like to nurture, you are in good company.
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Woke Feminist Men: Engaging Black Men and Boys on Sexual Violence Activism
In American classrooms, where black children are never granted the luxury of being thinkers, brainy dreamers and nerdy eccentrics, invulnerability becomes their default mode and safe space; protective armor from the criminalizing gaze of school police, administrators and teachers. Inundated with racist pop culture images of violent black masculinity and hyper-sexualized black femininity, black boys in particular often struggle to define manhood in ways that aren’t based on hardness and controlling black girls and women.
Meet the 13-Year-Old Girls Changing the Sexual Consent Conversation
Most parents who ask their kids about their middle school projects probably get an earful on dioramas of the planetary system or poster boards on Charlemagne―but not Tessa Hill's or Lia Valente's parents. Instead, they learned about how their 13-year-old daughters were busy making a documentary about rape culture for an eighth grade assignment.
Teaching Courageous Kids How to Stand Up & Stop Bullying
When you ask parents what one of their biggest fears is when they send their kids off to school – a place that is intended to be nurturing and fostering personal and academic growth – bullying and encounters with “mean kids” is on every parent’s list.
Bring on the female superheroes!
Why is it so hard to find female superhero merchandise? In this passionate, sparkling talk, media studies scholar (and father of a Star Wars-obsessed daughter) Christopher Bell addresses the alarming lack of female superheroes in the toys and products marketed to kids — and what it means for how we teach them about the world.
7 Harmful Ways Parents Often Wield Adultism Against Their Kids
In the aftermath of my article on children’s rights to consensual hugging, wherein I posited that no kid should be forced to hug someone when they don’t want to, there was quite a divide from readers as to whether or not I was the Devil. While some people were pleased with the article – usually on the “Yes! This was what I had to deal with as a kid!” side of things – disapproving responses to the article included “You have no right giving parental advice when you’re not a parent” and “I know what’s best for my child.”