Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for July 2010

“The bus stops are horrible for me”

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It’s finally the summer, and just when I want to go out, have fun, and do what i want to do, I am consistently reminded of careless no-life perverts in my area. I can’t step out of my house without knowing if there is going to be a bunch of guys posted outside & ready to attempt to spit game and start a conversation.

I keep thinkin to myself, “DONT THESE MUTHA FUCKAS HAVE JOBS?!” I mean, come on! The economy can’t be that bad for there to be hella big ass groups of dudes surrounding me at each corner of my area, doin nuthin but smoking and looking for trouble. The bus stops are horrible for me especially because of the fact I have to wait for the bus leaving me vulnerable to street harassers and wanna-be thugs.

There’s nothing wrong with a simple hello, but if I feel i just wanna be left alone….Then all i want to do is be left alone. That’s ALL.

I try to use my phone and ipod to keep me distracted, but I cant always count on that. One guy in his car slowly pulls up while im waiting, and I just let him know on the spot, displayed the promise ring my boyfriend gave me, and told him that it was ALL BAD….but in an assertive way. It’s so hard to be assertive when you really just feel like cursing up a storm at whack ass dudes these days. But to be safe, and knowing how violent my community is these days, I have to be assertive in a polite way and know to keep repeating my standards. Usually I have my best friend or boyfriend help me, but I have to learn how to take care of myself and also protect myself as well.

– “Fedup with cat-callers”

Location: “Bus Stop (in general)”

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“Check out the jugs on her”

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I was cycling home alone along the canal after work yesterday and a group of about 10 male cyclists passed me in the opposite direction. The head of the group shouted, “Check out the jugs on her,” and the rest followed suit with lewd comments of their own. I felt quite angry and swore at them.p

I recounted this story to a female colleague today, and whilst she is of the opinion that they are idiots and shouldn’t have said what they said, she also stated that ‘it’s just a fact of life’, and that men get confused with women wearing lowcut tops and that some women do use their bodies to attract men, and that i just shouldn’t worry about it. I feel like this is a common response to what i felt was harrassment and intimidation. My colleague thinks it’s unlikely that they realised they were being intimidating. I think perhaps it needs spelling out.

– JS

Location: Regent’s Canal, London

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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In Indonesia, women face harassment every day

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In Jakarta, Indonesia, street harassment impacts women’s lives every day. Like many countries, in Indonesia there is no legal regulation against street harassment, perpetrators claim they think they are doing women no harm, and women have been conditioned to stay silent about it. Combined, it means street harassment makes life hell for women when they’re on the streets, taking public transportation, and driving their own cars.

Two experts quoted for the  Jakarta Post give more insight into the problem and share their opinions about what needs to change:

“Women feel humiliated even though wolf whistles, cat calls and other sexual comments were not physical sexual harassment, said Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) chairwoman.

A culture of sexual harassment in Indonesia is nurtured by both genders, Yuniyanti said. ‘Patriarchal culture is not an excuse for both genders to justify such harassment,’ she added…

Legal expert and activist Rita Serena Kolibonso said that there were no adequate laws against such offenses. ‘Our law is weak in relation to sexual harassment,’ she said…

‘We need a strong and binding law on sexual harassment, including those forms of small offenses like intimidating verbal gesture. We could propose an independent law or integrate sexual harassment into existing the Criminal Code, only if it explicitly specifies the offenses,’  she said.”

Two thoughts jumped at me after reading these quotes.

First, Chuzaifah makes an interesting point that while gender-based street harassers are primarily men, both women and men can contribute to its occurrence. It’s clear how men do – by engaging in harassment and not stopping other men from doing it – but what about women?

There are a few ways. Some women argue that it’s complimentary when men say inappropriate comments to them. Others slut-shame and say, “What do women expect with their low cut tops?” Others don’t speak out when their sons or brothers or uncles or male friends harass women. And some women do great damage by telling girls and other women that the harassment is their fault, demand they cover up, or admonish them to learn to take a compliment. None of those opinions or behaviors will ever help end street harassment.

Second, I hope activists and lawmakers will work to incorporate sexual harassment in current criminal laws in Indonesia, as Kolibonso suggests. The more often people talk about it and say there’s a need for it, the more likely it is that change will occur. That’s what’s been happening in Egypt, and maybe one day that’s what will happen in the US, too.

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“Hey, Lucky Charms”

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Since cutting my long dreadlocks off almost a month ago, the reactions I’ve gotten from men on the street have changed. When I had the long dreads I was constantly getting unwanted sexual attention from men (“Yo, shorty! I love yo’ hair!” “Dreads, can I walk wit’ you?” “Damn, girl, I be lovin’ yo’ dreads!” “Hey, sexy!” etc.), but now with short dyed red hair I get rude attention and made fun of.

My hair was cut into a very close-cropped style, probably no more than an inch or two long. When my hair was worn like that I’ve been called “ugly,” “bald,” “nappy” and other rude comments. It’s grown a pinch to where I can put little twists in my hair, which I like.

So this morning I’m waiting at the bus stop minding my business, when an Arlington County truck full of men zipped by and the guy in the passenger seat yelled “Hey, Lucky Charms!” at me. Since it was so fast all I could do was give them the finger. I wish I could’ve gotten their license plate so I could narrow down who it was when I reported them to Arlington County, but I had to work with what I had. This was 7/13/10 at 9:35 AM. I called the County and was transferred to its “Motor Pool” line’s answering machine. I left a message and hope someone gets back to me.

I don’t get why men act like dumb asses about my hair. IT’S JUST HAIR! When it was long I was treated like a sexual object, and now that it’s short I get treated like a joke. I just want to be treated with respect and for the assholes to leave me alone.

– Anonymous

Location: Clarendon Blvd. & Uhle Street, Arlington, VA

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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“Mtombazana”

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While waiting to cross the road at the traffic lights intersection, two men – one in his own vehicle, the other sticking his head out of a window on a minibus proceeded to make sexualized remarks toward me as means of getting my attention. Trying my best to tune them out became increasingly difficult as the traffic lights took some time to change in order for me to cross, but I did hear one of them call me a name that made some allusion to sweet tasting food to imply that I was edible. The other sitting in a minibus continued to call me “mtombazana” (girl in Zulu) without ceasing. The comments were therefore lewd and of course very disrespectful.

– Ms. Sheeba

Location: Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa

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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