Archives for April 2009

Street Harassment Round Up – April 12

April 12, 2009 By HKearl

I’m trying something new now that the volume of street harassment stories and activism is increasing: a periodic round up of recent street harassment stories and activism initiatives from my online allies.

Stories:

The new Holla Back DC is in full swing and posted several stories this week, including “The Gauntlet of Sexual Harassment.” A woman shares how, now that the weather is warmer, she’s been getting harassed daily on her walking commute.

Holla Back NYC reports about a horrifying story where two young women who refused the advances of a Brooklyn man in a pizza shop one late night were savagely beaten by him. He fractured the jaw of one woman as she tried to call the police and he hit the other woman so much that her eyes were swollen shut and she’ll have to have reconstructive surgery. The police were able to track down the perp via his restaurant credit-card receipts and he turned himself in last Wednesday. He’s been charged with two counts of felony assault but he’s since been released on $5,000 bail – what?! That’s it? And now he’s out and about, able to beat up other women…or the same women again… great.

Activism:

Holla Back Asheville (NC) launched so if you live in that area, send them your street harassment stories. They held an event called Hey Baby this past Friday. A write-up about the event is forthcoming. Welcome HB Asheville!

Blank Noise in India is engaging in a new project “Make a Sign” and encourages everyone to make a street sign about street harassment. The deadline is May 17, 2009, and all images will be included in their flickr account and three will be tested out in public. What a great idea! Check out their blog to learn more and participate.

Holla Back Toronto was featured in McClungs magazine last week. Read the article “Ain’t no hollaback girl.” Congrats HB Tononto!

And if you’re in the DC area, don’t forget that next Saturday, April 18, is Defend Yourself’s street harassment-focused self defense class.

Harassment on New Delhi Metro

April 11, 2009 By HKearl

Is public transportation in any country safe for women who don’t want to be harassed (99%)? I don’t know, but given how many stories I’ve read where it’s not safe, I’m wondering… From Thaindian in New Delhi, India…

“Molestation is rampant on the Metro, insists Anuradha Jha, a mass communications student and resident of Vikaspuri. ‘It is for this reason that I avoid taking the Metro during peak hours.’

Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC) that runs the service says it is faced with acute shortage of security personnel. ‘We do not have that much manpower to deploy guards all the time and so we do that during peak office hours only,’ DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal told IANS.

On an average, more than 850,000 people travel daily in the Delhi Metro, the bulk of them commuting between 8.30 and 11.30 in the morning and from 5.30 to 8 in the evening.

Dayal said DMRC was looking at the possibility of engaging security personnel in plain clothes to check sexual harassment. ‘People should know there are CCTV (closed circuit) cameras both inside the trains and on platforms.'”

Subway Harasser Nabbed, Thanks to Cell Pic

April 9, 2009 By HKearl

Earlier this week, a man allegedly groped a woman on a New York subway on the W line in Queens and she was able to take a cell phone picture of him, which then was widely advertised online.

Yesterday, the same man was at it again. The woman he was harassing believed she recognized him from the photo and called the police. The NYPD arrested him outside Bay 50th Street station in Brooklyn for disorderly conduct and marijuana possession, but he will likely be arraigned soon with sexual assault charges.

Apparently he has 30 prior arrests ranging from sexual assault to robbery. The fact that someone can accumulate so many arrests by the time he is 30 years old and still be loose in public is quite surprising to me. Could it be a typo in the article? THIRTY prior arrests?!

“I’m happy they caught him,” the 33-year-old ultra-sound technician [who was groped earlier in the week] told the Daily News. “I was proud I was so quick.”

“I think every woman should do the same thing, given the circumstances. It’s a very difficult position to be in. There’s no way to prepare yourself for it. But you have to be prepared.”

She said she just reacted to the situation.

“Everybody says I’m so heroic. I felt so nervous about the whole thing. I felt threatened and violated for a few seconds. It wasn’t very pleasant.”

She is proud of herself, though.”

Kudos to her, to the woman who recognized him, and to the NYPD for responding so quickly. With this harasser caught, a harasser in Delaware caught for following a jogger, and a Stop Street Harassment contributor reporting two harassers to their company in DC, it’s been a good week for catching & reporting street harassers – way to go everyone who was involved (minus the harassers)!

On a side note though, is the man in NY mentally stable? If he’s not, it’s a shame he’s not receiving help but instead is left to roam NYC, apparently assaulting and robbing a minimum of 32 people (including the latest two).

Joggers in Delaware Report Harassers

April 8, 2009 By HKearl

In Delaware, two different women joggers reported men who were following them in their vehicles. The latest man was caught:

“A Wilmington man was charged with harassment Tuesday after he followed a woman jogger in his truck in the Rockford Park area.

Teofilo Burrell, 29, of the 2700 block of N. Jefferson St., was released on $1,000 unsecured bail on one misdemeanor count of harassment, Wilmington police Master Sgt. Steven Barnes said.

According to court records, the 23-year-old victim flagged down an officer about 6:30 a.m. in the 2100 block of W. 17th St. She said she was jogging near North Union Street and Kentmere Parkway when an older silver Mitsubishi pickup, driven by a man with a scruffy beard and dark complexion, passed her and stopped in the middle of the street.

The woman said she was alarmed and ran the opposite way. The truck made a U-turn and began to follow her while driving the wrong way on the street. The woman sprinted to her boyfriend’s house. Officers located the truck near Delaware Avenue and North Union Street.”

The article says police are urging joggers who have had a similar experience to call Detective Ron Mullin at 576-3634 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.

I have a special appreciation for this story as a dedicated runner of 13 years who has been harassed while running more times than I could ever try to count. But I’ve never reported a harasser before. The times I was followed it never occurred to me, I had never been told I could report it and I was in flight mode. If I’m ever followed again though, I will report it!!

To conclude: I’m very heartened by the police in Delaware on this issue and proud the jogger had the presence of mind to stay safe and report the guy following her.

(thanks to hollaback dc for the story tip)

Contact CrimeStoppers if you see him…

April 7, 2009 By HKearl

From the Gothamist:

“The police are asking for people’s help is identifying a man who apparently assaulted a woman during yesterday morning’s subway rush hour. According to the NYPD, yesterday at 7:35 a.m., a 33-year-old woman “entered the Subway system at the Broadway Station [in Queens] in the confines of the 114 Pct and entered the ‘W’ train (Manhattan Bound). As the train approached 39th Street, the victim was sexually abused by the suspect who was sitting next to her. The suspect is described as a M/B/30’s, 6’0″ tall. The victim took a cellphone photo of the suspect as she exited the train at Queensboro Plaza.”

If you know anything or spot the man, you can contact CrimeStoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS, by texting TIP577 to CRIMES, or by going to NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.

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