A Girl Fight with Merit
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Chicago Sun-Times
May 11, 2005
A Girl Fight with Merit
By Cindy Richards
The statistics are enough to make parents of girls never want to let them out of the house: The
age at which females are at the greatest risk of being raped or sexually assaulted is 14.
One in five high-school girls is physically or sexually abused by a dating partner. Of the
incidents of sexual harassment during the 1999-2000 school year, 127,568 occurred on school
grounds. In addition, 628 rape or attempted rapes and 4,261 cases of sexual battery occurred on
school grounds that year.
Those horrifying statistics were reported by Girls Inc., the national nonprofit organization
formerly known as the Girls Clubs of America. The New York-based organization, which is
dedicated to improving life for girls, is shining a spotlight on these statistics as part of its 2005
Girls Rights Week focus on violence against girls.
Today, six high school and college-age women are in Washington meeting with members of
Congress. Their goal: to expand the federal Violence Against Women Act to include funding for
programs that fight violence against girls.
“We know that violence against women starts as violence against girls,” said April Osajima,
director of public policy for Girls Inc.
The 10-year-old Violence Against Women Act will expire Oct. 1 unless it is reauthorized by
Congress and signed by President Bush. The law was passed and first reauthorized under
President Bill Clinton.
Over the last 10 years, the U.S. government has spent more than $5.5 billion to improve criminal
justice and community-based responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and
stalking in the United States. But the vast majority of that money was aimed at programs for
women.
Girls Inc. would like to see more money spent on programs for girls who are victims of or
witnesses to violence, including programs in the middle schools and high schools aimed at both
girls and boys to fight domestic violen