Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for August 2009

Freaked Out by an Elderly Woman

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I’m not sure if my story is particularly relevant, but I think it’s an example of how pervasive fear is in our lives.

I live in a European capital city where I almost never experience harassment. (Not speaking the native language also probably helps though, since I’d never know if I was being yelled at or not.)

I was getting on a public bus last week, trying to fight the crowd, when I felt someone put BOTH hands around my waist! Because I used to experience so much public harassment in the United States, I was incredibly freaked out and spun around scowling, ready to fight back against whatever strange man was touching me. Imagine my surprise when I turned to see an elderly woman smiling back at me a bit apologetically, struggling to keep her balance as the bus lurched forward. I could hardly be angry, but she’d absolutely terrified me! She didn’t seem to have any awareness about how her actions had affected me, and since I didn’t want to try speaking through our language barrier, I just sort of stared at her. She got off the bus one stop later. It was the only time a person has purposefully touched me in public in the year I’ve lived here. What a bizarre coincidence.

– anonymous

Location: European Capital City

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Force the MTA to Release Harassment Crime Stats

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A few weeks ago, NY’s Metro ran an op-ed by Holla Back NYC co-founder Emily May about how the NYPD and MTA are failing to release crime stats on harassment and assault in the subway.

On Holla Back NYC, Emily reports that since her op-ed, she and New Yorkers for Safe Transit have successfully joined forces with Assemblymember Jim Brennan and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to address the issue. Brennan will submit a bill to the State Assembly in the fall to force the MTA to release crime statistics. She writes,

“Stringer’s office is currently FOILing the MTA to see if they can get the data. Together, we will put an end to harassment on the subway!”

Congrats & keep it up, Emily, New Yorkers for Safe Transit and your legislative collaborators! I can’t wait to see what happpens this fall.

Related, last week, AMNY ran a follow up article to Emily’s op-ed, including the following about the low report rate of harassment crimes on NY’s public tranasportation system:

“Few victims report the crimes, according to the Stringer survey. Often, they don’t know whom to turn to, or can’t find an officer or MTA attendant. That problem could grow worse, as the MTA is eliminating its station agents through attrition starting in September….

Last year, the MTA launched an ad campaign encouraging victims to report unwanted touching to police or a MTA employee. Transit officials said they also covers about a third of its subway stations with cameras.

Some victims have started fighting back by catching offenders in the act with their camera phones, and last September the city began accepting digital photos of perpetrators through its 911 line.”

Have you taken a picture of a perpetrator and submitted it to the police? If so, what was your experience? Did they do anything?

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Morning Vulgarity

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I get sexually harassed on a daily basis in DC, so for me to post here regularly would get laborious. But I recently had one of the worst episodes so far, and I thought it was worth sharing:

It was about 10 am, and I went to my porch to wait for the plumber. I was standing in my doorway in casual board shorts and a generic tank top, hair back. Basically my grubby pajamas.

There was a lot of traffic on my street (P & 10th NW), so cars were haulted. I noticed a man in a van was trying to get my attention by motionining with his hand that I should come toward him. With the other hand, however, he was making a “V” with his fingers, and very specifically using his tongue to graphically immitate vaginal oral sex. I was in such shock and so horrified that all I could do was stare in disgust rather than simply walking away like I usually do. Moments later, he changed the “V” hand to a fist, and started bobbing his head up and down over it, imitating a blow job, all the while using the other hand to motion me over toward him.

Because I had just filed a police report the night before about someone that sent me a text message of their erection, I was feeling particularly vulnerable and intolerant, so I screamed “Do you want me to call the cops, @sshole?”

–To which he laughed and screamed back, “No, I want your p*ssy!” before driving off.

I know people say we should just let these experiences roll off our backs, but when they happen day in and day out, and you are a female alone in the city when they happen, it really wears on you. I was so disgusted, and felt so violated that I simply broke down crying in frustration.

It is truly exhausting how often I experience this type of thing.

– anonymous

Location: Washington, DC

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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