Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for August 2009

Denied Peace of Mind

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I’m skipping work for a few days to write a few chapters of my street harassment book. Near the hotel where I’m staying (to flee distractions), there is a beautiful trail alongside the Potomac River and before buckling down to write yesterday and today I went for a run on it. Having never run there before though, I ran with my phone and kept alert and I ran in a different direction each day. I quickly found out that the trail was isolated, deserted, and mostly far from any roads, buildings, or even people. The beauty of the scenery was dimmed by my hyper awareness of every unusual sound and nervousness when I passed by a few lone men because of the isolation. No one harassed or attacked me but, as any woman who is out alone in a deserted area knows, there is rarely relief from the fear that one day you’ll be the wrong woman in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This afternoon, after more than six hours of writing and a self-imposed internet ban, I came online to do a bit more research for the chapter I’m writing. When I also checked e-mail, I saw a friend had sent me a relevant link to an article in the Phildalphia Daily News called “Staying safe on the run” about the harassment and risk of assault women runners, including the article author, regularly face. She shares a recent story about being harassed while on a run and then highlights some of the women who have been in the news recently because they were abducted or assualted while running.

Ugh. As a runner, I have had men honk and whistle and make kissing noises at me, some have said sexually explicit comments, and two men followed me on two separate occasions, one by car and another on foot. As precautions against assault, I rarely run with music, I mix up my routes and the time of day I run so I don’t become predictable, I don’t run in the dark, and if I am running somewhere new, I usually run with my phone. Sometimes I wish I was a man because that would make being a runner so much easier.

Aside from my own experiences and those detailed in the Philly article, in the last few months I’ve reported on a female runner being attacked in New York, followed in Delaware, and murdered in Vancouver. I plan to address the particular issues that face women runners – and walkers and cyclists – in my book in a chapter that details ways women alter their lives because of actual or feared harassment.

Wouldn’t it be nice if men never harassed or assaulted women? Then we could run in peace and with peace of mind.

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I am harassed every day

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I am harassed every day, no matter what route I take to walk to work. I have been followed to my home by a crawling car, jeered at, spit at, and pretty much made to feel uncomfortable in the public realm. Its been this way for a few years and now I am just as confrontational back. I have learned that telling them to eat shit usually shuts them up.

– MK

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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High rates of subway sexual harassment in Korea and Japan

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Two weeks ago The Korean Times reported that sexual harassment on the subway in Seoul is up 26 percent since last year.

“The incidents include male offenders trying to grope women or take pictures up their skirts.

A total of 345 cases were reported in the first half of this year. In April, when unusually high temperatures hit the nation, such offenses reached a high of 78 and since then, more than 50 cases have been reported each month, police said.

Most of the offenders said they did it out of curiosity.

The actual number of cases might be higher than the published data because many women are afraid of reporting the incidents, a police spokeswoman said.”

I wonder if there were unusually low reports of sexual harassment last year to make the 26 percent jump this year or were reports indeed higher this year than in years past?

At the end of 2007, The Korea Times reported that women-only subway cars were to be reintroduced in Seoul in 2008 as part of an effort to curb sexual harassment of female passengers. Two cars of each subway train on all lines were designated just for women. The current article doesn’t address the women-only cars and whether or not that has had an impact.

Speaking of countries with women-only subway cars, The Japan Times just published an article about subway groping in Tokyo. Last year in Tokyo alone there were 2,000 reported cases of men groping women! From the article:

“According to an MPD study last year, most attacks occurred on trains, primarily during morning rush hours.

Almost half of the victims were in their 20s and more than 30 percent were teenagers.

Last year saw police process 2,169 ordinance violations — the lowest number in the past four years. Police attributed the fall to the 2005 introduction of female-only train cars.”

The article goes on to cover information like “how can someone avoid being a victim?” and “can innocent people be convicted?” without any information about the men who engage in this behavior and how to make them STOP! Because guess what, women wouldn’t have to avoid being a victim and innocent men wouldn’t be falsely accused if there was no groping!!

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How does it just “pop out”?

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Remember the story I reported on yesterday, where a woman snapped a cell phone picture of a man masturbating on the subway and reported it to the police where an officer (a woman, even) said to call 311 about it?  Well, yesterday afternoon two cops recognized the alleged subway masturbator from his picture and arrested him (without incident). Via NBC news:

“[Kevin] Bishop reportedly gave cops a wacky explination for why he was exposing himself.

“It just popped out!” Bishop told police after his arrest, according to the New York Post .

“Yes, that’s me in the pictures,” he confessed. “My private parts fell out. I looked down and it was out. It just popped out! I was trying to put it back.”

Bishop said that he “deeply apologize[d] for what happened….

Bishop was charged with public lewdness, cops said. He’s got quite a long rap sheet, including 64 arrests and 24 convictions on charges ranging from loitering to prostitution and drug possession.”

Riiiight. It just ‘popped out.’ The woman’s story differs. She says he was masturbating and looking right at her while doing so. She had sunglasses on and he didn’t observe her taking his photo with her cell phone.

Oh and how many times is a person able to get arrested because Bishop seems well on his way toward achieving that number. 64 prior arrests?! No wonder he went without incident when he got arrested. It’s a regular routine for him!

Also, the police officer who told the woman just to call 311 is now saying she meant to tell her to call 911… Right..wasn’t she at a police station already? Why would she need to call 911?

I’m glad they caught the masturbator and I hope it helps deter other guys from being completely inappropriate on public transportation. If you see someone being inappropriate, snap their picture and report it too!

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