I am a 15 year old female, and have already been the victim of sexual harrassment and sex discrimination many times. I have attempted to be politically active, especially in my local democratic party, but I still feel the results of my efforts are not worthwhile. (It's kinda hard convincing people to vote Democrat in a city with more churches per capita than anywhere else in the country.)

I am outraged by the number of women killed by boyfriends or husbands each year. I am horrified by studies showing the drop in test scores as well as academic strength and drive in intelligent young women. I am alarmed by how many times my friends come to me about sexual harrassment, and how often they simply feel powerless against it.

Please, reply with a list of phone numbers, lobbying organizations, or anything else that might help me become more pro-active against these problems. (I live in Texas, just north of Dallas, if that helps.) Thank you for your assistance.

Thanks for your note to FEMINIST.COM and mostly for working to make sure that other women do not have to experience the injustices/pain/frustration/anger that you did. Unfortunately, too many of us wait until something happens to us to be motivated to change things.

I see that you are an America Online subscriber. You should check out Gloria Steinem's column Ask Gloria for ways to persuade others to vote the "right" way. Go to Keyword and type "Ask Gloria" (Note: This project ends November 5th, but we feature excerpts from the Q&A's here at FEMINIST.COM.)

As for becoming more involved specifically around issues of abuse and sex discrimination: for the former you should contact the Family Violence Prevention Fund through their web page or at #415-252-8900. They have created a network of just these organizations around the country. With funding from the government as a result of the Violence Against Women Act, they now have the resources to link up organizations that are doing the same work and share resources. They should be able to put you in touch with a group in your area. For the latter, the best place is the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund at #212-925-6635. Unfortunately, I think they are so overwhelmed with "legal issues" that they don't work much on a grassroots networking basis, even though they have most of the resources to do so.

I am also involved with Third Wave. Check out our information under Resources at FEMINIST.COM.

Good luck and thanks for your committment to making the world a safer and better place for the female half of the population.

—Amy