Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for December 2010

“I was street harassed twice within a 15-second time frame today”

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I was walking across the street and this car started to turn while I was still in the crosswalk. He came up really close to me, to the point where I thought he was going to hit me. Instead, he rolled down his window and yelled, “Hey sexy!” and then drove off very quickly — before I even had time to register what was said. I was scared at first, too, because I thought he was going to hit me, and then I was afraid of being pulled into the car. I was so startled it took me a second to react. I was shaken and angry.

Then, just as I got on the sidewalk and the other light turned green, another car honked at me as it went by. I was street harassed twice within a 15-second time frame today. It’s incredibly upsetting and unnerving.

I’m tired of feeling degraded.

– Anonymous

Location: Friendship Heights, DC

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Find suggestions for what YOU can do about this human rights issue.

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Violated at the Seattle DMV

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I was in the Seattle DMV on 2nd and Spring and a man bent over as he was leaving, then stood up and said, “Thanks for that.”

It took me a few seconds to realize he had been looking up my skirt and was now thanking me.

I started shaking and yelled after him “fucking dick.” I didn’t have a cellphone and I was frozen.

He came back in and said, “Are you laughing at me?” and I said, “Get the fuck away from me now.”

After he left I went to the bathroom in tears thinking, “Call the police they will have his name. Call the police.”

I will forever hate myself for walking back out into the waiting room and not calling the cops. I feel like that is too high a price to pay for one man getting five seconds of his jollies. I wish I had done everything different. Next time I will.

– Sarah

Location: DMV on 2nd and Spring, Seattle, WA

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Find suggestions for what YOU can do about this human rights issue.

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Street Harassment Snapshot: December 19, 2010

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Story Submissions Recap:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

Street Harassment in the News, on the Blogs:

Events:

  • Join RightRides in NYC on Jan 4th @ Union Square 2-5 p.m. to pass out information on keeping mass transit safe for women & LGBTQ folks! http://tinyurl.com/NYFSTOutreach

Announcements:

New:

  • Here are ideas for end-of-year-giving to organizations that work to make public places safer for women and girls, and you can also find a few gift ideas for people who care about ending street harassment

On-going:

Tweets from the Week:

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“When you talk about women like that in front of me, you are insulting me”

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Years ago, in my hometown of Buffalo, NY, I was waiting at the bus stop where two guys were making misogynistic comments about women, talking about who they could “fuck” while calling them “hoes,” “bitches,” and whatever nasty thing could come out of their mouths. At first I chose to quietly walk a few paces away from them so I wouldn’t have to be subjected to that, but when they said, “Bitch, we ain’t talkin’ about you!” I had to say something.

“When you talk about women like that in front of me, you ARE insulting ME and I don’t want to hear it,” I said.

“Shut up, bitch!” the ringleader responded.

“Man, you are ignorant and uneducated,” I said.

“I’m not uneducated…I got my college degree!” the one guy said.

“So?” I responded. “I have one and so do many other people. It doesn’t make you special.”

This guy got so angry and embarrassed at being called “uneducated,” as well as being pointed at and laughed at by his friend for being “dissed” by me, that he got quiet. He looked like he was going to cry!

“She called me ‘uneducated’!” he whined quietly.

The bus finally came and we all boarded, the guy with his head hanging down in defeat and me feeling good for standing up for myself and other women. Serves him right and I’m sure he knows better than to call women “bitches” and “hoes” like that now.

– D

Location: Bus stop at Grant Street & West Ferry Street, Buffalo, NY

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Find suggestions for what YOU can do about this human rights issue.

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Support anti-street harassment efforts this holiday season

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Lately, I’ve been inundated with e-mails and letters from every organization I donated to during their year + their best friend organizations, asking me to donate again. As much as I obviously care about most of those organizations if I’ve already donated to them, my end of year giving is going to two organizations that do anti-street harassment-related work, RightRides and RAINN. You may be interested in donating to them, too.

  • Right Rides for Women’s Safety: For more than six years RightRides has been giving free rides home to women and male members of the LGBQT community on Friday and Saturday nights in New York City. This free service is particularly helpful to people who cannot afford a cab and are reliant on buses and subways and feel unsafe waiting for or taking these late at night. RightRides has a page about the many ways you can become involved. A new feature is recurring gifts. $10/month can cover rides home for 12 people that year and $25/month covers about 30 people’s rides home. Any amount helps.
  • RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): Individuals across the United States can seek immediate assistance and advice if they or someone they know are survivors of rape and sexual violence via RAINN’s national phone hotline and online chat feature. While most people know their attacker, about 25 percent do not, and many of those cases are strangers in public places who harass and attack them. When too often survivors of sexual violence are blamed for it and thus are silenced and don’t know what to do, RAINN’s services are very important. RAINN also works on prevention legislation and programming. If you donate by Dec. 31, your donation will be matched dollar for dollar, so you can make double the impact.

Here are additional suggestions for organizations whose work makes public places – and the world in general – safer for women and girls. Not only could you do end-of-year giving to them, but you could make a gift out of donating in honor of family members and friends who care about ending and/or are impacted by street harassment.

  • Blank Noise – Support work in India to raise awareness about and end eve teasing/street harassment through performance art and online activism
  • Defend Yourself – Support the work of a Washington, DC organization that holds community workshops and classes that teach skills to stop harassment, abuse and assault. They particularly focus on girls, women, and LGBQT folks.
  • Girls for Gender Equity – Support a NYC organization that empowers teenage girls and has tackled street harassment through surveys, documentaries, conferences, and books
  • Helping Our Teen Girls – Help fund the programs of an Atlanta, GA, organization that empowers teenage girls and has tackled street harassment through workshops and music.
  • Hollaback – Support the NYC-based organization so they can  fund new Hollaback websites around the world
  • The Line – Help fund programs to raise awareness of healthy sexual boundaries, important work that can help prevent street harassment and sexual assault.
  • Men Can Stop Rape – Support rape prevention programming in middle and high schools and colleges that focuses on providing boys with a safe place to talk about masculinity issues and learn healthy definitions of manhood.
  • The White Ribbon Campaign – Support an international organization that works to educate young men and boys about gender equity, respect and healthy relationships.
  • Women for Women International – Help fund programming that helps women in war-torn areas gain skills and resources necessary to rebuild their lives and increase their safety in their community. You can also sponsor an individual woman as a sister.

And are you looking for other last-minute gift ideas? I can suggest a few:

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