Sharing experiences led the women to questions such as:

• What happens when women are sexually assaulted or harassed?
• What rights do women have?
• How will the organization respond?

The Women's Committee set about to find out what other programs had done around the issues of sexual assault and harassment. They wanted to develop a policy that would include procedures that staff would be required to follow in cases of sexual assault and harassment at the Centre. The group wanted to work with a feminist lawyer who had experience helping organizations to develop these policies. They planned to present the policy and procedures to the administration. They learned that there is a lot of resistance to dealing with harassment and sexual assault.

Not all of the women in the program were able to come to the Women's Committee. Some of the women who did not participate in the committee were angry that it existed. Many were not participating because their boyfriends felt threatened. He did not know what she was talking about and who she was talking to. It threatened his control in the relationship. Some of the women in these relationships did eventually join the group.

When the Women's Committee first started there was some violence and lots of aggressive behaviour from male students in the program. They clearly felt threatened by the Women's Committee, and would say things like, "Oh, you're going to have your women's bitch session tonight." Some men were opposed to the women's night because they felt excluded. Men also said that the women had "stolen" a night from them, because Tuesdays and Wednesdays had previously been drop-in nights for anybody. In fact, the Women's Committee began meeting on Tuesday nights because nobody had been attending on Tuesdays.

Despite this, the women in the program began to see some changes. Some men became more aware of the issues women face and even began to talk about them. A few men began to realize why women needed a time to be together and why women needed a safer environment.

The program was changed by the presence of the Women's Committee: it is a better place. Women are not mistreated in the Centre in the way that they were before women's night began. The men know that they cannot come in and grab a woman or touch her breasts. This has made it a safer, friendlier environment for women. There are still men who want to call women names and treat women badly. They may not have been changed, but they know that kind of behaviour is unacceptable at the Centre.

The Women's Committee has also made it a lot easier for people of colour or gay men and lesbians to come to the Centre. The Women's Committee tried to develop non-discrimination policies. The women feel they have learned a lot, grown, and become stronger.

What was produced

In March 1993, The Women's Committee held a book launch to celebrate Recipes for Political Action. The forty-two-page book includes stories written by the Women's Committee, photographs, and some of the artwork done by women at Beat the Street. Excerpts are included in Women in literacy speak.

" We came together to talk about our lives and write our stories.