#50Stories Book Club

Introduction:

Stop Street Harassment’s new book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers offers creative, entertaining, and empowering techniques and strategies for readers to consider trying out on harassers. What better way to consider tactics you want to try out than by discussing them with your friends?

Bring this book to your book club – or to a group of friends – to discuss the stories, share your own experiences, and brainstorm tactics you can use in your own lives. I guarantee many of the stories will have you laughing and high five-ing — and who better to do that with than your friends 🙂

Plus, there is strength and healing in story-telling and there is power in our collective brainstorming. It’s time to #makeadifference.

Suggested Steps for Holding a Book Discussion:

1. Pick a Location: Pick a quiet and safe location to hold the discussion, like your house or the house of someone else who will attend, or a public library’s quiet room.

2. Select a Date/Time: Select a date and time. Suggested time is 90 minutes to two hours. You may want to check in with a few of the people you plan to invite to see when they will be available. Schedule the space as applicable.

3. Invite People: Decide who to invite to the discussion group and then invite them!

Sample message:

Hey friends! Street harassment is a problem in our community and it’s something I deal with regularly, as I’m sure many of you do, too. It’s not okay. We should have the right to safe public spaces! I want to do something.

The organization Stop Street Harassment has a new book out with 50 stories from people around the world who were able to stop their street harasser. I’d like to invite you to a discussion group at XX on YY date and time to talk about the stories in the book, share our own stories, and brainstorm strategies we can use in our lives.

SSH will send us signed copies of the book and a discussion guide if we each donate $11 to help fund their programs. If you’re interested in joining this discussion, please make the donation – or give me cash and I can make it – and then let me know by XX date that you’ll attend so I can order the books. I hope you can make it!

5. Donate to SSH: Ask each person to donate at least $11 to Stop Street Harassment before the event (the money goes directly to funding SSH’s work).  Visit: www.razoo.com/story/Stop-Street-Harassment or mail cash or a check to Stop Street Harassment, P.O Box 3621, Reston, VA 20195. You can always pay the amount up front and have them bring you cash for their portion.

6. Order Books: Complete this form to request signed copies of the book and SSH stickers and postcards for each person in the discussion group (value $11 per person).

7. Discussion Materials: Feel free to use any of the information in the discussion guide.

8. Hold Your Event!. Many of the stories in the book are quite humorous and can help make the discussion a mixture of seriousness and laughter. This can be a fun and empowering event!

Optional Ideas:

1. After your event is over, send SSH’s founder Holly Kearl a photo of your group and some of the favorite stories/tactics discussed and she’ll post it on the SSH blog!  hkearl@stopstreetharassment.org. You can also post it on Instagram and tag @stopstharassmnt.

2. Tweet stories and ideas using the hashtag #50Stories.

3. For groups that donate at least $20 each to Stop Street Harassment, you can request to have Holly do a Skype or Google+ chat with your discussion group to answer questions and share her favorite tactics for dealing with harassers. (This option is available via this form: http://tinyurl.com/50StoriesDiscussion).