There was group of four girls from the same neighborhood in Taiz who undertook the Youth Leadership Course together. They had all been experiencing sexual harassment by a particular man in their neighborhood, but they all felt powerless to do anything about it.
However, they were really impacted by the advocacy component of the Youth Leadership Course especially when they heard that “silence is agreement”.
The following day after this session, the girls went as a group to the military authorities in their neighborhood. Hanaan, acting as a spokesperson for the four, explained what the man had been doing and asked them to intervene on their behalf and stop his actions. The authorities visited the man the following day and addressed him personally.
He stopped harassing the girls and they reported that there were no further or negative repercussions from people in their community. They said this event and its positive resolution has really emboldened them to advocate and approach their local authorities next time there is an issue.
