Recipes for political action
Why a Women's Committee?

The Beat the Street program was started in 1986 by two men who were from the streets. The idea was to have a literacy program for street people and have it run in a way that was comfortable to street people. For men and particularly white men this principle worked well.

Women on the street are abused and exploited in more sexual and violent ways because they are considered objects and not people. These attitudes towards women were accepted at Beat the Street because some male staff felt that it was just the way men were and that there was no need to interfere.

The fear that women lived with on the street made them afraid to report incidents of abuse and harassment that happened in the centre. There were no guidelines or policies for staff to follow and staff were not given training on these issues. When a woman was assaulted or harassed in the centre, the offender was often allowed to return.

The first time that women were brought together without men present was in June of 1991. The women each shared an abusive or violent situation that had happened to them at Beat the Street. During this and our second meeting a month later, we were constantly harassed by male students that did not think that we had the right to meet without them. As a result, the women chose to hold a monthly women's meeting and a weekly women's literacy drop-in night on a night when no men were allowed in the centre.

The Women's Committee has been meeting and organizing for a year now. As a result of the Women's Committee, Beat the Street has become a safer and friendlier place for women to learn.

The Struggle For Women at Beat the Street Is not Over
It Has Just Begun
Peace and Love, Robin