‘It’s Just Not Worth It’
TUPELO, Miss.—This weekend, families will hit the road for picnics and long weekend trips, and will likely pick up a few more school supplies now that classes and sports are underway.
But the American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) has a message for these families, and especially women—shopping at Target is just not worth it.
For more than a year, AFA has been educating Americans about its 1.5 million-signature-strong and highly successful #BoycottTarget initiative. With Labor Day right around the corner, AFA is reminding shoppers not to spend their money at Target—neither in-store nor online—as a way to voice their displeasure over the store’s dangerous and misguided restroom and fitting room policy.
In fact, AFA recently reported another frightening incident inside a Target fitting room, where a New Jersey woman was violated when a 36-year-old man attempted to secretly film her while she was trying on clothes.
“In April 2016, Target announced that gender did not matter when it came to entering restrooms and fitting rooms across its chain of stores,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “But what the retailer didn’t realize is that announcement opened the door for sexual predators and voyeurs who want to take advantage of the policy for their own evil intentions—and they have. AFA wants to keep warning women and their children to stay away from Target while this dangerous policy is still in place. The risk is just not worth it.”
According to AFA’s Action Alert sent to its more than 1 million friends and supporters, NBC10 in Philadelphia also reported that as many as 100 victims could have been spied on. The female victim at Target told police she saw a man’s hand creep under her fitting room wall inside the store. The hand was holding a cell phone, the victim said, and she chased the voyeur to the parking lot, where police were able to apprehend him. They also discovered that the perpetrator may have been performing this crude, invasive and illegal behavior for some time.
“It’s frightening,” a local Target shopper told NBC10. “When you run into a store, you expect to just run your errands. You don’t expect to be targeted or stalked in any way, and it’s just frightening.”
“As long as Target continues to allow men free and unrestricted access into women’s dressing rooms and restrooms, these sexual violations against women and little girls will continue to occur,” Wildmon added.
AFA especially wants to warn women who may be unfamiliar with Target’s dangerous policy by encouraging these action steps:
- Spread the word among family and friends to let them know about #BoycottTarget.
- FORWARD THE BOYCOTT to others who may have not yet signed.
- Call Target headquarters at 612-304-6073 and personally let them know you are boycotting their stores.
- UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA: Make a comment on Target’s Facebook page or share this tweet on Twitter: Hey @Target, men don’t belong in women’s restrooms and changing areas. #BoycottTarget http://bit.ly/2q3wUnJ. And use #BoycottTarget
For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or on Twitter @AmericanFamAssc. Read more about AFA.
###
To interview a representative from American Family Association, contact Beth Harrison, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 610.584.1096, ext. 102.
