Thanks to the Chicago Tribune and Anne Sweeney for sharing the realities of girl violence in Chicago as well as Demoiselle 2 Femme, NFP as a solution. D2F has hosted several initiatives to examine the problem AND develop solutions to address the increasing violence among girls in the Chicagoland area. Don’t think the problem exists? Here are a few stats (YRBS, 2011):
– More than 10% of Chicago female high school students report that they did not go to school because of safety concerns;
– In Chicago, 45.6% of African-American high school girls and 27.7% of Latina girls report being in a physical fight one or more times during a 12 month period;
– Black girls report the highest rate of injury from physical fights (7.8%) higher than Latina girls (3.2).
Brianna Lawrence, 24, a former Fenger Academy High School valedictorian, now a graduate of the School of Social Work at the University of Chicago, poses for a photo in the lobby of the School of Social Service Administration building on Dec. 8, 2016. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
This article started out with an inquiry to Demoiselle 2 Femme, NFP about girl violence in Chicago. After speaking with us, the article shifted to celebrate one our D2F Daughters, Brianna Lawrence! Congratulations to our D2F Daughter, Brianna Lawrence for your resilience and commitment to fulfilling your goals. Brianna said it best when she stated “They (D2F) haven’t let go of me. And I am not letting go of them.” Let’s not give up on our girls…they are the birth canals to a healthy and safe community! To read the article, click here.