Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for May 2009

Street Harasser Shoots Two Women

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Ugh, this makes me so mad! What is wrong with this man and how can women stay safe!?

Via AJC.com in Atlanta:

“The two women were outside an apartment complex on Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta on Wednesday night when a strange man approached and made advances to them, police said.

“He tried to talk to them in front of the apartment complex and they weren’t interested,” Atlanta Police spokesman James Polite said.

The man then followed the women about half a mile as they drove down Campbellton Road and on to I-285. They were on the ramp of I-285 when he opened fire, striking one woman in the face and the other in the chest, police said.”

Thankfully, the women are in stable condition and should survive, unlike women in some other recent shootings. This must end!

(Thanks for the tip, D)

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Street Fighter

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An Indian newspaper The Telegraph has a great article discussing the street harassment women in Calcutta regularly face, how women tend to react, what they can do about it, and the challenges they may face if they try to respond to or report harassers. Sreyashee Bhaduri, a 30 year old woman who decided to take action against her harasser, is mentioned throughout the piece. I recommend reading the whole article if you have time.

Things they say you can do if harassed (they also noted potential roadblocks with each):

  1. Make a scene or embarrass the harasser; scream; let people know what happened.
  2. Try to solicit help from other people and/or police  nearby.
  3. File a police report and know your rights.
  4. Lodge a FIR (first information report), which is the first step in taking legal action against a harasser.

Street harassment law in India:

Indian Penal Code (IPC). Section 509 of the IPC states: “Whoever intending to insult the modesty of a woman utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound, shall be heard, or that such gesture, or object, shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon, the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend, to one year, or with fine, or with both.”Section 294 speaks of obscene acts and language in public being punishable with imprisonment or fine or both. Section 354 also says assault or criminal force used on a woman to outrage her modesty is punishable.

Final thought:

“‘Most people refuse to take street sexual harassment as a serious crime. It is something that is often taken for granted — something that is bound to happen,’ says Saptarshi Chakraborty, a 22-year-old engineer and a core member of Blank Noise, a volunteer-based collective that deals with issues around street sexual harassment.

Some will laugh. Some will say: ‘If she has such a problem, why walk on a road?’ Some will say: ‘Ki hoyechhe Didi, chhere din!’ (It’s a small thing; let him go!)

Then you feel like giving up. You may even feel tempted to feel as the men in the crowd feel: that it doesn’t matter. But just remember your feeling of outrage once more.'”

This last part rings true to me. Some days it seems like it’d be so easy to give up fighting street harassment, but sadly (because I wish street harassment would end already) I always come across some new outrage that motivates me a while longer.

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One Year Anniversary!

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Thank you readers and street harassment-fighting allies — this marks the one-year anniversary of the Stop Street Harassment blog!

I didn’t know how long I would be blogging when I started, but here I am, still going strong one year later 🙂

I’d love to hear more from you during the coming year. You can share you story/ies via an anonymous online form or e-mail them to stopstreetharassmentATyahoo.com and I’ll post them here. Also feel free to comment on posts!

Do you have any suggestions or overall thoughts for what you’d like to see covered on this blog or ways I can improve it during year two?

P.S. Over the weekend I made several updates to the companion Stop Street Harassment website, including a new banner and stories illustrating various types of harassment women experience (click on the links in opening paragraph on the homepage).

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Bystander Intervention in Savannah Sexual Assault

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Sunday night a woman was approached by three men while she was walking alone in the Savannah-Chatham (GA) metro area. They tried to talk to her and she ignored them (as most women do when they experience street harassment from unknown men, especially when they’re alone at night). Then two of the men pushed her to the ground while the third sexually assaulted her.

A wonderful bystander was driving by and yelled at the men, who then ran away. The driver helped the woman get home and she filed a police report. The police are currently investigating the incident.

Via Savannah’s local NBC station: “Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to contact Detectives at 912-651-6742 or Crime Stoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) and in the body type ‘CStop2020’ plus the tip.  Tipsters can remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash award.”

Safety is always a concern during street harassment incidents and one never knows when a harasser might escalate his actions into assault. The safest (but not necessarily the most empowering) course of action usually is to ignore a harasser, which she did and they still assaulted her. Men who harass and assault women must change their behavior!  All women should have the right to be out in public – regardless of whether or not they are alone or if it’s dark out – and be safe.

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Street Harassment Round Up – May 24

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Stories:

On Holla Back DC! a contributor tells how a metro employee made kissing noises at her as she raced for her train.

As mentioned in the last three week round ups, since April 26, HollaBack NYC has been posting one photo a day of street harassers. They will continue to do so for a month. All of the photos are being submitted by one woman, Sally N., a New York City resident. Emily at HollaBack NYC says, “We believe these pictures tell the story of what it’s like to be a woman in the big apple.” Visit HollaBack NYC to see these photos.

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem!

In the News:

  • Young women in Sri Lanka get harassed on their way to and from work by “zipper men.”

Upcoming Events:

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

Ross Macmillan, Annette Nierobisz and Sandy Welsh’s article “Experiencing the Streets: Harassment and Perceptions of Safety Among Women” (2000).

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