Teens Are Taking Action Against Sexual Harassment
Preventing sexual violence starts with education, honest conversations, and young people getting the support they need to shape safer spaces for themselves and their peers. Research shows that nearly half of students in grades 7-12 experience sexual harassment. It’s clear we need the strongest strategies to change this trend, and those are rooted in community. That’s where Students Against Sexual Harassment (SASH) clubs come in.
SASH clubs are student-led, peer-driven groups that empower young people to speak up, build leadership skills, and promote healthy relationships. They’re busy creating meaningful change in local high schools; one conversation, one event, and one student leader at a time. Clove Alliance is proud to support them and share all about these impactful groups.
What Is SASH?
Students Against Sexual Harassment (SASH) is a student-led prevention program supported by Clove Alliance. These clubs focus on education, awareness, and advocacy around sexual harassment, consent, and healthy relationships.
Currently, Clove Alliance supports two active SASH clubs, with more than two dozen students regularly participating. Beyond club members, SASH initiatives reach many more students through school-wide events, activities, and awareness campaigns.
SASH clubs typically meet once a month and focus on:
- Prevention education
- Leadership development
- Planning school-wide awareness events
- Creating peer-to-peer conversations about consent and respect
Outside of meetings, students take an active role in running events that engage their broader school communities, where they’re helping normalize conversations that are essential to ending sexual harm.
Why Student-Led Prevention Matters
One reason SASH is so impactful is that it’s youth-led and peer-driven. Research and experience both show that students are often more open to information from their peers. When conversations about consent and harassment come from classmates who understand school culture firsthand, those messages tend to feel more relevant and real.
“Student-led prevention is so important because, to end sexual violence, we must raise awareness,” shared Katie Lindo, a SASH Club sponsor at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School (BBCHS). “SASH gives students a platform to develop advocacy skills and to find their voices to end sexual violence.”
Another sponsor, Julia Daly from Herscher High School, echoed that sentiment. “Students are the ones experiencing the harassment. Hearing directly from them gives us insight on how it’s happening in a school setting — and how we can tackle those concerns together.”
SASH clubs amplify adult-led prevention programs by reaching students in meaningful, relatable ways that encourage lasting change.
Creating Space for Conversation and Connection
SASH clubs help fill important gaps in school-based prevention efforts by keeping conversations about sexual harassment and consent ongoing, not just something addressed once a year during classroom sessions with Clove Alliance’s team.
“At our school, we don’t have any other programs like SASH,” Daly shared. “SASH allows sexual harassment to be a regular topic within our building and regularly raises awareness.”
For example, BBCHS SASH members organized an event called “Dos and Donuts of Consent,” where students and staff participated in trivia-style questions about consent and earned a donut for joining the conversation.
“SASH is a place for students to feel comfortable, safe, and supported.”
— Julia Daly, Herscher High School SASH Club Sponsor
“It was a great opportunity to normalize talking about consent,” Lindo said. “It created a platform for our school community to talk about consent and to all play a part in understanding it.”
Beyond events, sponsors consistently see the difference SASH is making. Daly shared that “SASH is a place for students to feel comfortable, safe, and supported.” Adding, “I see students connecting with others they wouldn’t typically talk to, united by the shared goal of preventing sexual harassment.”
Building Leaders and Safer School Communities
SASH clubs don’t just raise awareness. They help students build confidence, leadership skills, and a sense of ownership over their school environment.
“SASH has helped our students become empowered,” Lindo said. “It builds stronger relationships within our school and provides students a safe space to grow leadership skills.”
Schools that invest in student leadership are investing in long-term culture change.
“SASH has helped our students become empowered…It builds stronger relationships…and provides students a safe space to grow leadership skills.”
— Katie Lindo, BBCHS SASH Club Sponsor
“Sexual harassment is a tough topic, but it’s not going to go away by ignoring it,” Lindo added. “SASH gives students the opportunity to share the challenges facing today’s youth and be part of the solution.”
When students and administrators work together, schools are better equipped to create environments where everyone feels safe and respected.
How Clove Alliance Supports SASH Clubs
Behind every successful SASH club is a strong partnership between students, school sponsors, and Clove Alliance.
We provide ongoing, hands-on support to ensure clubs can grow and thrive. A dedicated Clove Alliance staff member stays in regular contact with sponsors, helps coordinate meeting dates, attends meetings and events, and provides supplies and prevention resources.
By showing up consistently, we help reinforce that students are not doing this work alone and that their voices matter. It also helps remind students that Clove Alliance is there for them and always available if they need help.
“SASH is such a great experience, especially when Clove Alliance makes it so easy,” Daly shared. “With their help and support, SASH club is very simple to implement within your school.”
Looking Ahead: The Future of SASH
Clove Alliance’s long-term goal is to expand SASH clubs to as many high schools within our area as possible, creating a sustainable network of youth advocates across Kankakee, Iroquois, and Ford counties.
By embedding prevention directly into school communities, SASH helps ensure that conversations about consent, respect, and healthy relationships continue year after year and that students lead the way.
Interested in Starting a SASH Club?
The message from sponsors is clear: go for it!
“Do it,” Daly said. “I see the positive impact it has on our students, and I would highly recommend it.”
If your school or community is interested in learning more about SASH or starting a chapter, Clove Alliance would be thrilled to help!
Email outreach@clovealliance.org or call 815.932.7273 to get started.
Our in-school prevention programs are a great accompaniment to SASH, so be sure to check them out too. We also provide free, confidential services for survivors of sexual violence of all ages, including advocacy, counseling, and a 24/7 hotline. We proudly serve survivors and communities throughout Kankakee, Iroquois, and Ford counties.
Together, we can support survivors, empower young leaders, and work toward a future free from sexual violence — starting in our schools.
