Video activity - Violence against women

 Jackson Katz - Violence against women - It's a men's issue

Ted Talks 

Before you watch:

The American civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr.  once said “in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” What do you think he means by this? Find the video here or simply search the title and speaker on the web.

Watch the video once and take notes. When you finish, examine your notes and try to summarize the main idea of the speaker in a couple sentences. Watch the video agaın and answer the following questions.

1. What are some examples of “gender violence”?
2. How are gender violence issues traditionally seen?
3. The speaker has a problem with this. What is his opinion/perspective on this traditional view?
4. What is one of the key characteristics to power and privilege, according to the speaker?
5. How is “victim-blaming” defined in the talk?
6. What is “one of the powerful roles that men can play in this world”?
7. What is the basic idea behind “the bystander approach”?
8. Ultimately, who has the responsibility to take a stand on these issues?
9. The speaker wants to stop using the term “sensitivity training” and instead focus on “____________ training."

Writing: Introduce the topic and summarize only the main ideas of the author. Then, continue by reacting to the information and opinions presented in the talk. Here are some things to think about as you're developing a reaction. They are simply ways to start your thinking if you're having trouble

• Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?
• Is the author inaccurate, untruthful, or does he present incomplete information?
• Does this raise any other questions for you?
• What examples come to mind in terms of your life, your country, or society when you think about gender violence?
• The author claims that there needs to be a shift. What is it? Is it possible? Can you see it happening in your family, your school, among your friends, and in society in general? What might prevent it from happening?

Please go see this related reading and writing activity at The Prop Room. If you match these two activities you will have very thorough information on this important topic and a couple of good essays: http://theproproom.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-war-against-girls.html



Answer key:
1. sexual assault, domestic violence, relationship abuse, sexual harrassment, sexual abuse of children (0:17). 2. Women's issues that some good men help out with (0:28). 3. He argues that these are first and foremost men's issues (0:35). 4.The abilitiy to go unexamined, lacking introspection, invisible in the discourse (2:10). 5. Blaming the person to whom something was done, rather than the person who did it (4:25). 6. Men can say some things that women can't say (8:08). 7. Instead of seeing men as perpetrators and women as victims, we focus on all of us who are bystanders, not directly involved in the abuse. The idea is to not remain silent. (9:44). 8. Adult men with power should be held accountable. (13:26)