ACT NOW Hand out

ACT NOW! CHALLENGE ATTITUDES THAT SUPPORT VIOLENCE. LEARN NEW BEHAVIORS TO SUPPORT SAFE, STRONG, AND VIOLENCE-FREE RELATIONSHIPS.
	ABUSE IS UNACCEPTABLE. Say it loud. Say it everywhere. Say it when it means taking risk. Say it when it means speaking the unspeakable or calling the police. Say it in your home, at your work place, in a letter to the editor, in a postcard to the President. Say it with your pocketbook: "I will no longer buy your sexist magazines." Say it over and over and over. Say it for as long as it takes.
	CHALLENGE MEN'S BEHAVIOR AND SEXISM. Challenge degrading jokes, comments and actions toward women by men. Be non-sexist role models to your children. Support sons to respect and value women as equals. Support your daughters to be self-loving and powerful. Men: If you are abusive and violent, get help for your behavior by attending Marin Abused Women's Services Men's Program. Challenge other men on their sexist behaviors and attitudes. Develop a support system of men who are committed to living free abuse in relationships.
	TEACH CHILDREN EARLY. Call the school nurse nearest your home or attended by your children. Insist that education on sex-role stereotyping be an ongoing part of the school's curriculum. Put this on next month's PTA agenda as an ACTION item. Teach your children that they have a right to be safe and live free of abuse and violence in their lives. Take action if you know a child who is being physically and/or sexually abused.
	NO MORE MALE VIOLENCE AS A FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT. Create a policy in your home that no TV shows or movies depicting men's violence will be watched. Refuse to attend movies that glorify this violence and/or stereotype women. Write the networks and studios every time you boycott their products.
	ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE. Believe you can make a difference in creating a violence free world for women and girls. Find five others who believe the same. Share your vision with youth and encourage their activism. Develop a strategy to create change. Expand out to a smaller or larger existing group. Influence their agenda. Say, "This group cannot do another thing until we figure out a way to make this community safe for women and girls." Be creative. Be outrageous. Be persistent, direct, and determined. Learn from your mistakes. Celebrate your success and remember that by creating a safe world for women and girls, transformation will happen for all.
	WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN. Identify three women you can talk with about your own experience of abuse within relationships. Check out with them if your current relationship is abusive. Attend together a support group at Marin Abused Women's Services (MAWS) or educational forum to learn more about the issue. Spread the word in your neighborhood. Make contact with the women who live within the immediate area of your home. Tell them you believe abuse is unacceptable and that you are a resource if they ever need to talk. Tell them about MAWS. Volunteer your time to the organization to support other women who are abused or at risk of abuse. Do all of the ACT NOW steps in support of women.
MARIN ABUSED WOMEN'S SERVICES 1717 5th Avenue, San Rafael, CA 949O1~ Women's Hotline: 415-924-3456 Men's Hotline: 415-924-1070