Glossary

Activist

A person who engages in actions or other involvement as a way to achieve political goals.

Source | MelaNation Zine + BYP100 DC

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Adultification

A term to describe how adult perception of Black girls as less innocent, and more adult-like than their white peers can lead to a greater use of force and harsher punitive outcomes for Black girls.

Source | Center on Poverty and Inequality & Georgetown Law

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Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is the overarching term for a huge, complicated, personally and socially damaging issue. At the crux of child sexual abuse is the sexual use of a child by someone with more power.

Source | Generation FIVE

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Cisgender

(cis, ciswoman, cisman): “Cis” is the Latin Term for “same as.” A cis person is someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth. When one’s gender identity matches the sex assigned to them at birth.

Source | GLSEN, adrienne maree brown

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Consent

Consent takes place when someone agrees, gives permission, or says “yes” to sexual activity with another person or persons. Consent is always freely given and all people in a sexual situation must feel that they are able to say “yes”, or “no”, or stop the sexual activity at any point. Consent can be withdrawn by either party at any point. Consent to engage in one sexual activity, or past agreement to engage in a particular sexual activity, cannot be presumed to constitute consent to engage in a different sexual activity or to engage again in a sexual activity. Consent cannot be validly given by a person who is incapacitated, which includes intoxication or any other hindrance to clear communication.

Source | UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN POLICY & PROCEDURES ON STUDENT SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED MISCONDUCT AND OTHER FORMS OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE

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Dating Abuse

Dating abuse is a type of domestic violence characterized by a pattern of controlling and sometimes violent behavior in casual or serious dating relationships. It affects people regardless of race, class, gender, ability, or sexual orientation. In abusive relationships, there is a pattern of controlling and/or violent behavior that can happen over and over again, and often gets worse over time.

Source | Day One

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Domestic Violence

A pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors in which an individual establishes and maintains power and control over another with whom they have an intimate, romantic, marital, or family relationship. Perpetrators often use threats, intimidation, isolation, violent acts, and more to establish and maintain this control. It occurs in a relationship where the perpetrator and survivor know each other, and could happen both in adult and youth intimate or familial relationships.

Source | WOMANKIND

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Feminism

Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.

Source | bell hooks

Gender

Refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men – such as norms, roles, and relationships of and between groups of women and men. It varies from society to society and can be changed. The concept of gender includes five important elements: relational, hierarchical, historical, contextual and institutional. While most people are born either male or female, they are taught appropriate norms and behaviours – including how they should interact with others of the same or opposite sex within households, communities, and workplaces. When individuals or groups do not “fit” established gender norms they often face stigma, discriminatory practices, or social exclusion – all of which adversely affect health.

Source | WHO

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Gender Identity

An individual’s internal sense of their own gender, whether they identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, another gender or no gender.

Source | Gender Equity Resource Center at the University of California Berkeley

Gender Non-Conforming

This term can refer to gender identity or gender role and refers to someone who transcends what are considered to be traditional gender-norms for their assigned sex.

Source | Anti-Violence Project

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Gender Stereotypes

Generalized and/or assembled conceptualizations about people based on gender. Stereotypes depict simplified and rigid view of others and are centered on a limited number of characteristics. Stereotypes create an impression that everyone in the group has the same characteristics. Stereotypes create expectations of how males and females should look, think, feel, and act.

Source | Girls for Gender Equity

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