EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A Texas Girl Scout troop leader alleges three of her Girl Scouts were sexually harassed during the Sun Bowl.
This came from a Facebook post, which has now gone viral. The troop leader voiced her frustration after she says her Girl Scouts were treated differently than her Boy Scout son while both were doing the same job, selling programs at the game.
In that post, Melissa Atkins Wardy describes how her 9 to 11-year old Girl Scouts were harassed writing “out of six girls, three of them were harassed by older men.”
She says the men tried haggling with the girls over the $5.00 programs, bribing them with a patch and suggesting they be girlfriends for their friends.
When the girls stood their ground, asking to be paid the $5, Wardy says they were called “pushy” and cursed at.
“I think this is the part of the national conversation with #metoo we do have to prepare our girls for this,” said Wardy. “So I tell my girls they have the right to be in public, they have the right to take up space, they have the right to use their voices, and do everything they see boys doing.”
The post has since gotten more than 19k shares and almost 30k likes on Facebook.
She says she was moved to write the post after hearing that her Boy Scout son was patted on the back, thanked for a great job, and even tipped for selling programs just like the girls.
The matter escalated to Diane Flanagan, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest.
“[Our council] had a conversation that maybe it is appropriate for us to do a little bit more in teaching girls how to appropriately respond to issues of this nature because it happens throughout all of society and it’s likely to happen when they’re out selling cookies too,” said Flanagan.
She says the troop leaders already do a good job of teaching the girls what do to in sensitive situations which is why the girls knew how to handle the situation appropriately.
As for what they plan to implement to teach girls about sexual harassment, Flanagan says it’s something they’re still looking into but should not affect when the girls start selling cookies January 13.
The Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest say they’ve had many people, including some from other countries, reach out in support.
The text of the full Facebook post can be read below:Full post found below:
Today my Girl Scouts were selling game programs at the Sun Bowl, trying to earn money for summer camp. Out of six girls, three of them were harassed by older men.These girls are nine and eleven years old.These girls were wearing their Girl Scout uniforms.One guy gave my daughter a hard time when she answered that programs were five bucks. He said he was a Boy Scout and would give her a patch for “her little vest” instead. She repeated she needed five dollars. He repeated his schtick about a patch. She held her ground and said, “How about instead of a patch you give me five dollars.” He told her she was pushy.The same guy then suggested to my 6th grade daughter and her 6th grade friend that his friends – who were grown men – needed girlfriends and asked if the girls wanted to be their girlfriends. The girls looked at each other in shock, turned and walked away.These girls are eleven.Another one of my girls was called a [expletive]This girl is nine.They weren’t asking for it.They didn’t have it coming.They simply had the audacity to be female in public.My son sold programs with us in his Cub Scout uniform. Multiple people stopped to shake his hand, thank him, give him tips, pat him on the back, or asked if he was going to become an Eagle Scout.I had six girls in their Girl Scout uniforms today. Not one was asked about the Gold Award, the Eagle Award equivalent.Not one received an “atta girl” or “yay Girl Scouts!”.
No one shook their hand for being a Girl Scout.
My son was called “young man” and got “thank you, sir”.My six girls got “sweetie” and “honey” and “baby” and [expletive]This is the what the world looks like when you are female.And sometimes I want to set the world on fire.”