NOW Youth Branch to Mark Girl’s Death

A new youth branch of the National Organization for Women’s San Fernando Valley chapter will hold its first action Friday in memory of Sherrice Iverson, the 7-year-old Los Angeles girl who was strangled at a Nevada casino in May.

Members of the Young Feminists in Action Task Force will distribute leaflets at Ventura Boulevard and Kester Avenue urging people to support high school and community programs that fight rape and sexual assault.

Although preliminary police reports indicated Sherrice had been sexually assaulted, prosecutors last week dropped sexual assault counts against 18-year-old Jeremy Strohmeyer of Long Beach. The district attorney handling the case said a coroner’s autopsy found insufficient evidence to support those charges.

Strohmeyer is scheduled to attend an Aug. 30 preliminary hearing on murder and kidnapping charges.

“We see plenty of reports about how the overall crime rate has decreased, but the epidemic of violence against girls and young women continues,” said Cora Outlaw, a Van Nuys High School student who chairs Young Feminists in Action. “It’s not safe for girls to live in the United States. . . . It’s time for girls to start doing something themselves to raise public awareness and stop the cycle of violence.”

While handing out leaflets, the group will march one block east to Tower Records. The event is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.