Peace starts at home
Girl Fest Hawai‘i works to prevent violence
against girls and women
in Hawai‘i through art and education
Story and page by Nai‘a Watson
Girl Fest is changing the way non-violence movements are designed. Girl Fest isn't a one-way passing of information to a quiet, seated audience akin to a room full of obidient school children. Girl Fest is a two-way interactive experience; from live poetry-slam-styled performances to men-only seminars, and creative “how to” workshops for creating flyers and materials that get your message out to the public, the Honolulu-based festival is striving to build a generation of active, social-change oriented, conscious people.
Girl Fest is the main program of the organization called The Safe Zone, co-founded by Hawai‘i-born filmmaker Kathryn Xian, along with D.C. native Thaddeaus Oliver and Kathleen Hoganson. The organization’s main message is one of peace, and the mission of both is simple: "to prevent violence against women and girls through art and education.”
But The Safe Zone and Girl Fest Honolulu (a new chapter recently started in San Francisco) are more then vehicles for cool young messengers, praising peace and raging against violence using prose and music. As with the United Nations-based efforts, and the building of shelters for women around the world, Girl Fest supports creating change that makes a difference in the daily lives of all women––but especially those in Hawai‘i. Click here to read complete article.
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The opening night of Girl Fest attracted a large group to the Hawaiian Hut at the Ala Moana Hotel on the outskirts of Waikiki. With creative talent from Hawai‘i and the mainland, the night was filled with creative performances that received rave reviews by festival goers.
The stage hosted poets –– both women and men speaking out — while artist Dyanah Zagri painted in one corner of the stage.
Video by Jessica Hamamoto and Charlote Marten
Click on the image to view the video. |
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Junior Shannon Lee says she feels safe at the dorms as long as she is inside by 9 o'clock. She says for the most part, it is okay but that depends on what day it is. As a safety measure, she brings her cell phone everywhere and tries to avoid being out late at night as much as possible.
In a "Year of the Student Survey" conducted in November 2005 by the University of Hawaii, only 54 percent of the students said they felt safe and a Star Bulletin editorial said that UH is moving slowly in making security improvements. " However, since President David McClain's declaration of UH as a "Rape Free Zone, many campus improvements were made.
Click here to read the entire article by Rachael Manuel
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A fight to save the feminine is being fought in Hawai‘i. Some activits are saying that the Native Hawaiian people, their culture, and their spiritual relationship with the land has been categorized as weak due to its respect and support of the feminine, and of goddesses (as well as gods) such as Pō, Laka, and Pele. They feel that the U.S. military has positioned itself as Hawai‘i's "knight is shining armor" attempting to save and protect the weak natives from a life of simplicity and ignorance. Those working to better the health and welfare of the native Hawaiian community feel that the goodwill of the U.S. is a masqueraded––hiding the use of military force and agressive patriarchal behavior that is trampling an independent nation and its people.
Click here to watch the audio slideshow by Brooke Hutchins
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National Rape, Date Rape, Dating Violence
and Incest Statistics |
Links to International Organizations Working to End Violence Against Women |
Key Facts from Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network–RAINN: (click here to go to the RAINN website)
- Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
- One in six American women are victims of sexual assault, and one in 33 men.
- In 2004-2005, there were an average annual 200,780 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault.
- About 44% of rape victims are under age 18; 80% are under age 30.
- Young females are four times more likely than any other group to be a victim of sexual assault.
- While there are no reliable annual surveys of sexual assaults on children, the Justice Department has estimated that one of six victims are under age 12.
Statistics on dating violence supplied by a Campus Dating Violence Fact Sheet from the Dating Violence Resource Center: (click here to go to the Center's website)
- 32% of students report dating violence by a previous partner, and 21% report violence by a current partner.
- 39%-54% of dating violence victims remain in physically abusive relationships.
- 12% of completed rapes, 35% of attempted rapes, and 22% of threatened rapes occur on a date.
- 60% of acquaintance rapes on college campuses occur in casual or steady dating relationships.
- An estimated 5% of college women experience a completed or attempted rape in a given year.
In one year, more than 13% of college women indicated they had been stalked, 42% by a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend.
- 51% of college males admit perpetrating one or more sexual assault incidents during college.
- Approximately 1 in 5 high school girls reports being abused bya boyfriend.
- 40% of teenage girls ages 14-17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.
- Young women, ages 16-24, experience the highest rates of relationship violence.
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United Nations Population Fund
- Global Site–view all of the UNPF's initiatives.
- Online exhibit on the stories of women in various countries as well as initiatives that are creating change across the globe.
Women's Edge Coalition
- Main site–The mission of the coalition is to end poverty by helping women achieve self sufficiency through economic and educational opportunities
- Shop the cause.
White Ribbon Coalition
End Violence Against Women (ENDWAV)
Amnesty International
United Nations
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