Stand Up Activity 4 - Why me?

Why me?

12 months. 6 activities.

1 global movement.

junior branch

Introduction The fourth Stand Up activity was created with the goal of exploring how to deal with conflict arising from discrimination. It is important to remember that not all conflict stems from discrimination, but discrimination can indeed be a form of conflict. Discrimination is often long-lasting and can spark a conflict between two or more groups. This activity explores different kinds of discrimination from around the world - both on a personal and large scale level. The activity then goes over different ways to solve these conflicts, peacefully, while looking at multiple strategies. To finish off, participants will actually get to ‘apply’ their learning in a second ‘do’ part while exploring strategies to act against discrimination they have dealt with, or experienced.

Activity’s Goal:

For participants to feel more comfortable taking action when discriminated against.

A

Attitudes

S

Skills

K

Knowledge

• Willingness to confront discrimination.

• Willingness to recognize common discrimination in one’s own culture.

• Willingness to recognize cultural differences in regards to discrimination.

• Ability to act against discrimination peacefully.

• Ability to see similarities and differences between the ways that different types of discrimination take form in society.

• Understanding of how discrimination has and can be confronted by movements and individuals.

• Understanding of different forms of discrimination.

• Understanding of how individuals can confront discrimination when it affects them.

The Activity Time: 90 minutes Recommended Number of Participants: 10-40

Materials

• Printed scenarios • Papers for groups to make notes on if they wish to gather their thoughts

Preparations

To prepare for this activity you should do the following: • Prepare each station by printing out the scenarios and questions (found in appendices) and separating the space appropriately • Prepare the definition of discrimination to show on paper or on screen (found in appendices) • Optional: Find information on what the legal grounds of discrimination are in your country

Do: 30 minutes First part, includes the whole group (5 min)

• Start with a brief introduction on discrimination (you can use the definition provided or choose another you find more suitable). If you have access to a projector, feel free to put these texts on the screen.

You’ll find the definition in the appendices as well.

Divide participants into small groups (around 5 people) Second part, ~6 min per station (25 min)

• Explain to them they are going to walk around through 4 different stations (depending on the group size you can have less stations but not more) • In each one there will be real situations/examples in which non-violent strategies were used by individuals or movements who faced discrimination.

• There are questions that each group can discuss in relation to the peaceful strategy used, and the situation

After the Do portion of the activity is finished, have everyone remain in their groups, sitting, and move on to the Reflect and Generalize portions.

Introduction to discrimination “Discrimination means treating someone differently, based on what group they belong to, rather than who they are as a person. No one likes being treated worse because of something they can’t control, and this may lead to conflict. The challenge when dealing with these kinds of conflicts, is that even though a specific conflict incident can be resolved, the structural conflict still remains until you deal with the attitudes behind discrimination.”

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The Universal Declaration is not a treaty, so it does not directly create legal obligations for countries. The grounds of discrimination vary depending on the country.

Reflect #1: 10 minutes • Do the scenarios you just learned about all portray (the same) discrimination?

–– What are the similarities between the different kinds of discrimination?

• What do you think are the causes of the differences in types of discrimination?

• Should/Could some of them have been dealt with in different ways?

• What type of discrimination did you find the most or least harmful in these examples?

Generalize: 10 minutes The Generalize portion can be done with the Reflect portion - there is no need to make the difference known between the two while the activity is being done. Ask the following questions so that each group can discuss within themselves (alternatively, you could put these questions on a big screen and have groups discuss them at their leisure).

• Do you think the way we deal with discrimination should change based on where that type of discrimination exists?

–– In what way would you change the strategy to achieve the goal?

Apply: 25 minutes In the same groups, ask the participants to do the following:

• In 15 minutes, create a short (2 minutes) skit where one person is being discriminated against by the others. It can be subtle or blatant discrimination, based on personal experiences or not, it’s up to you.

• The person being discriminated against should somehow confront the discrimination. Use the short list of ways to confront discrimination as inspiration if you want to.

• After 15 minutes, you will team up with another group and show your skits to each other.

• If you come up with an entirely new strategy, please write it down and give it to the facilitator so it can be added to possible updates of the activity.

Short list of ways to confront discrimination Here are some suggestions if participants are having a tough time thinking of strategies.

They are also in the appendices at the bottom of the document, in case you would like to print them or project them.

• • • • •

Some (but far from all) possible ways to confront discrimination: Confronting - Name the discrimination and refuse to accept it Play dumb - Ask them to explain why they’re saying/doing as if you really don’t understand Make it a joke - For example: Pretend to think the person was joking, and make a similar joke back Initiate dialogue - Do not attack back, but tell the person what you feel about what they’re saying/doing and ask them if that was their intention.

Other ideas?

Reflect #2: 10 minutes Have the participants sit down in their original groups of 3-4. One at a time, with no discussion in between, let everyone share their experience as a victim/bystander/ perpetrator.

After that, ask the following two questions with a couple of minutes in between:

• What could stop you from taking action against discrimination in your daily life? • What can you do to overcome the barriers that stop you from acting against discrimination?

Tips for the Facilitators For large groups, feel free to print several copies of each station, so that each group is an adequate size but also able to visit each station.

If a group finishes discussing before the other groups, let them talk about how that kind of discrimination can be seen in their city/country.

Explanation of Stand Up After the activity is over, please remember to present Stand Up to the group, so they can understand the educational purpose of the project and the content area of the year.

For example: Stand up aims to create educational activities for CISV’s 2015 content area, Conflict and Resolution. There will be six ready-to-run activities released over the course of the year for chapters, JBs, schools, and anyone else who wants to run them!

Take pictures!

Stand Up is an international project, part of the global movement that is Junior Branch. Let us know whenever you use a Stand Up activity in your chapter, or at any other event by taking pictures and sending them to: standup@ijb.cisv.org. Please also let us know how many people participated. These pictures will be shared on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cisvstandup

Feedback The Stand Up team is always looking for feedback about the activities.

Send any pictures you have to standup@ijb.cisv.org, along with the number of participants who completed the activity.

We would appreciate if facilitators filled out this short evaluation: http://goo.gl/S2kABi

Further reading Mosquito Methods

Mosquito Methods - Conflict & Resolution

http://www.cisv.se/fredsutbildning/mosquito-bocker/mosquitomethods/conflict-and-resolution/

– Conflict & Resolution CISV, MOSQUITO METHODS

1

Leaving on a Jet Plane

http://www.cisv.no/2015/08/04/leaving-on-a-jet-plane/

Stations:

• http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/09/uganda-first-gay-pride-rally-lawoverturned • http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/lauren-wiggins-moncton-studentwon-t-stop-fight-against-unjust-dress-code-1.3073995

The Power of Protest: 15 Methods to Make Yourself Heard http://www.highexistence.com/the-power-of-protest-methods-for-modern-protest/

Stand Up Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/cisvstandup

Instagram Updates

http://instagram.com/cisvstandup

APPENDICES

Short list of ways to confront discrimination • • • • •

Some (but far from all) possible ways to confront discrimination: Confronting - Name the discrimination and refuse to accept it Play dumb - Ask them to explain why they’re saying/doing as if you really don’t understand Make it a joke - For example: Pretend to think the person was joking, and make a similar joke back Initiate dialogue - Do not attack back, but tell the person what you feel about what they’re saying/doing and ask them if that was their intention.

Other ideas?

Rosa Parks refused to give up her sit in a public bus in 1955 which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

With this station: Definition of nonviolence (and civil disobedience) From the late 1800’s there were state and local laws in Southern U.S. states mandating racial segregation in all public facilities, such as schools, hospitals, bathrooms and public transport.

On Thursday, December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks paid her bus fare and sat in an empty seat in the first row of back seats reserved for blacks in the “colored” section, on a Montgomery public bus. As the bus traveled along its regular route several white passengers boarded until the front section of the bus was filled and some passengers were standing. Then, the driver moved the “colored” section behind Parks and told her and three other passengers to stand up, which she refused to do. For that, with Parks’ “consent”, the bus driver called the police who arrested her. This led to a mass boycott of the Montgomery Bus system by African-Americans, and in December 1956 the US Supreme Court ruled that the segregated buses were unconstitutional and had to stop. The last segregating laws were ended in 1964.

One way of performing nonviolence and the strategy Rosa Parks is often said to have used is called Civil Disobedience. Civil Disobedience is to actively refuse to obey certain laws, demands or rules of a government (or of an occupying international power), professing to do so and to without resistance take on the Jack Ohman, The Portland Oregonian, 11.07.08 consequences.

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

Parks wasn’t the first one to stand up to discrimination like this, many others before her had refused to give in and were punished as she was, without changing the system. What do you think made her arrest different?

What do you think when looking at the picture?

LGBT Pride movement In some nations, homosexuality is illegal and punished by jail time or sometimes death. In Uganda, where being gay is illegal, members of the pride movement (Ugandans who identify as an ally - someone who supports LGBTQ+ people whether or not they identify with that community) held an open celebration in August of 2014. Uganda has since gone through two rounds of legislative debate to implement a harsher law, outlawing same-sex sexual activities, and encouraging citizens to report any act of homosexuality. Prior to August 2014, engaging in same-sex sexual activities in Uganda, one could receive life in prison. Now, a harsher law is expected to come into effect which could implement a death penalty. There are currently eight countries in the world where engaging in same-sex sexual activities is illegal and punishable by death: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Mauritania, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, parts of Nigeria, and parts of Somalia.

Can large group showings of solidarity create change? Are they more or less impactful than individuals protesting discrimination?

Photograph: Isaac Kasamani/AFP/Getty Images

Gender discrimination Many schools require students to adhere to certain dress codes.

Sometimes these restrictions or requirements are targeted towards females with examples ranging from only natural hair colours allowed, to no strapless tops, to no yoga pants. These restrictions are often cited as eliminating the distraction and sexualization for boys who are also at the school. Recently, in Canada, a 17 year old girl was suspended for action she took in response to a detention she received due to her outfit choice - a long, sleeveless dress. After receiving her detention, Lauren Wiggins decided to write the vice-principal of her school a letter explaining the frustration she felt with the dress code and how she believed it contributed to rape culture.

Do you think schools have the right to tell their students how to dress? In your opinion, do dress codes like this contribute to rape culture?

Are dress codes unfairly restrictive to people who identify as women? Was the letter Lauren wrote grounds for her suspension? Are written letters like this a good tool to protest discrimination peacefully?

Letter she wrote: “Dear [Vice Principal] Sturgeon, I have a concern I would like to bring to your attention. In today’s society, a woman’s body is constantly discriminated against and hypersexualized to the point where we can no longer wear the clothing that we feel comfortable in without the accusation and/or assumption that we are being provocative. This unjust mindset towards women is absolutely absurd. The fact that authority figures, especially males, can tell young women they must cover up their shoulders and their backs because it’s “inappropriate” and “a distraction” is very uncomforting. Schools are the social building blocks in an adolescent’s life meant to teach them how to communicate and develop relationships with others and also learning about themselves and who they want to be. It’s preached upon us to be individual, to be ourselves. The double standard here is that when we try, we are then told we’re wrong. We may not truly dress, act or speak how we want because authority figures, and I use that term very loosely such as yourself, tell us we can’t. Yes, I understand there are restrictions to how much and how little of your body that shows, but that applies when people show up in their bikinis or bra and panties. Though I do believe women should legally be allowed to publicly be shirtless considering males are, it’s mindsets like yours that keep that as something that is shamed upon. So no, Mr. Sturgeon, I will not search for something to cover up my back and shoulders because I am not showing them off with the intention to gain positive sexual feedback from the teenage boys in my school. I am especially not showing them to receive any comments, positive or negative, from anybody else besides myself because the only person who can make any sort of judgment on my body and the fabrics I place on it is me.

If you are truly so concerned that a boy in this school will get distracted by my upper back and shoulders then he needs to be sent home and practice self control.

Thank you, have a nice day.”

Reaching a certain age to be allowed to vote In many countries, every citizen has the right to vote for one political party or candidate whom they want to rule the country for a certain number of years. Citizens are given that right when they reach a certain age. In most countries, that age is 18. In Brazil and a couple others you need to be 16, and in others you have to be 19, 20 or even 21.

In some countries, for example Sweden, “School elections” take place before the “normal” ones, based on the idea of helping young people understand how the elections work. In 2014, Save The Children’s youth organisation in Sweden created a campaign to boycott the “fake” school election that don’t bring actual political influence to youth, demanding real influence and the right to vote at 16 years old instead of 18 years old. The campaign asked young Swedes to post photos of themselves giving the finger to the camera to hopefully bring attention to the cause and show the 18+ population how offensive the school elections are towards youth as they saw it as mocking youth’s influence rather than allowing it.

Would you consider the idea of a voting age discriminatory? If so, in what way and to whom? What do you think of the campaign? Was it the right way to approach the issue?

“Voting ages” by Habarithor - Own work.

Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voting_ages.png#/media/File:Voting_ages.png