Speak Up!. Laura Coryton

that you want to challenge? And who are you to be leading this fight? You are you.

      YoU aRe aWeSoMe.

      You are unique. You are powerful and your voice matters. It’s time to

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      ChApTeR 2

      SpeaK Up ToOlkIt

      Now you should be all fired up and ready to speak up. But how? I didn’t know anything about campaigning when I started, and it can seem like an overwhelming task. Who am I to tell the world to change?

      I’m mE. AnD yOu’rE yOu.

      AnD oUr voIcEs aRe vAlId

      aNd ImpoRtAnT.

      BuT hOw dO we gEt

      oUrSeLvEs hEaRd?

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      Here’s where my speak up toolkit comes in! I’m going to share everything I’ve learned about campaigning with you in this chapter. In my work, I have identified fIvE steps to get you from having an idea to launching a campaign. We’ll cover how to:

      1) Be specIfIc: IdEntIfY yOuR GoAlS

      2) Be fOcUsEd: fInD yOuR DecIsIOn MaKeRs

      3) Be sMaRt: dO yOuR ReSeArCh

      4) Be cReAtIve: decIdE oN yOuR PlAtfoRm

      5) Be cOnfIdEnT: pLaN yOuR LaUnCh

      Each section rounds up with handy action tips for activists.

      ArE yOu rEaDy?

      LeT’s gO!

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      StEp OnE

      Be SpEcIfIc

      GoAlS

      To launch a killer campaign you must first select a killer, specific campaign goal. This is major. It will form the crux of your campaign. It’s important to get it right! Here’s how to zoom in on your choice of an issue to tackle:

      1) In the most

      general way

      possible

      thInK aBoUt

      tHe thInGs tHaT

      aNnOy yOu.

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      We’ve got to start by thinking big here. Society is filled with inequality. Depending on who we are and where in the world we are born, some groups of people will have greater advantages and opportunities than others.

      SaDlY, mAnY oF uS

      cOmE uP aGaInSt bArrIeRs.

      These barriers vary depending on our race, gender, religion, social class and other things – some are a result of our own life choices, others are just a by-product of who we are and when and where we were born. Sometimes these are called ‘institutional problems’, meaning that they are

      a result of how our society has set up institutions like government, schools and industries. And if no one challenges them, these issues just continue.

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      My End Tampon Tax campaign

      fell under the institutional

      problem of sexism. But I didn’t realize

      this at first – not for a long time.

      AlL I kNeW

      wAs tHaT I wAs

      aNnOyEd.

      I was annoyed at being catcalled on the street. (FYI if a catcaller is reading this, please save the ‘Hey, sweet cheeks’ for actual legit cats. OK bye.) I was annoyed at the boys at school dominating science, maths and IT while it was presumed I would only like art, food tech and dance. I was annoyed that

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      everyone at school would watch the boys play basketball while nobody supported the sports that us girls played, including Julia (my twin) and me practising taekwondo where we literally kicked ass (FYI Julia earned her black belt and became a pro ninja while I tapped out at green belt – we can’t all be ninjas!). I was annoyed!

      Initially I thought that I was annoyed at being a girl. But I wasn’t.

      I wAs cOnFuSeD bY tHe

      wAyS In whIcH gIrLs aRe

      tReAtEd, aNd tHaT bOyS

      wErE tReAtEd dIffeReNtly.

      Basically I was angry at sexism. That’s when I knew I had to change something. I knew I wanted to help tackle the institutional problem of sexism.

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      BuT wHaT cOuld I do?

      This question sat with me for a few years. I knew I couldn’t just start a movement calling for sexism to do like a dinosaur and instantaneously become extinct but I wasn’t really sure why. For years I was forming these questions unconsciously, challenging the status quo in my mind, and slowly

      I lEaRnEd tO

      rEcOgnIzE InStAnCeS oF

      sExIsM In eVeRyDaY lIfE.

      WhIcH aNnOyEd mE.

      EvErY. DaY.

      Since then I’ve realized something. Sexism is complicated. It’s not a single thing, but rather

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      a large array of many specific issues. It’s the media’s hyper-sexualization of women that adds to this concept we call ‘sexism’.

      It’s tHe pReSuMptIoN

      tHaT CeO’S wIlL bE mAlE.

      It’s tHe mAsS sExUAL

      hArAsSmEnT OF wOmEn.

      It’s tHe sIgnIfIcAnT pAy

      gAp tHaT sEpArAtEs

      tHe sExEs.

      All of these examples of gender injustices strengthen the wider concept that we call sexism.

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      This can be applied to racism, ableism, ageism and many other awful-isms, and these are all big, institutional problems, which reveal themselves everywhere from many, many smaller everyday actions and big policy decisions.

      If thIs aNnOyS yOu tOO,

      tHeN gOoD.

      It sHoULD!

      Never stop being shocked and annoyed by the problems that hold people back. But always remember that

      yOu hAvE tHe pOwEr

      tO cHaNgE tHeM.

      Just like my twin sister always tells me: ‘We can do anything.’ Try to think about exactly what it is that

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      annoys you, and which institutional problem you might want to tackle through campaigning. Do you want to help reduce racism, sexism or classism? Maybe you want to protect the environment, save animals or support people with disabilities? There are lots of things to be shocked and annoyed by. Choosing just one or maybe a few barriers to tackle can be really difficult. I chose to focus on the problem that I had the most experience of battling – sexism.

      This is important to remember. Just like most other institutional problems, thousands of issues constitute sexism throughout almost all societies across the globe. To truly get rid of such problems we need to tackle these more specific issues, one at a time.

      2) NaRrOw yOuR fOcUs:

      fInD yOuR sPecIfIc IsSuE

      Now we get to the important part: choosing the right issue for you to tackle. This is exciting. This is the moment that you get to choose the focus of your campaign.

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      While all issues will look different