Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for March 2011

One week, three instances of harassment in Wales

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Hello. I have not written in here for a while – fortunately. But now I have a reason to write.

I have been harassed three times this last week.

Ok, first one: I was walking down my street on my way to my boyfriend’s house. Two lads walked past me and one said, “Alright love?” I politely replied, “Yes thanks,” and went on. I didn’t think much of it until i heard them snickering a few seconds afterwards. Why?

Second story: I was walking back from my boyfriend’s house (on a different day) and a gang of teenagers walked across the road near me. A boy shouted, “Can I have your number?” I told himI have a boyfriend. Then he yelled, “Twat!” at me before rambling on that I was being ‘stubborn’. What appauled me the most was that there were girls with him and one said, “He wants to buttf*ck you.” Sigh.

Third tale: I was walking to the local supermarket when a teenage boy and girl came walking towards me. As I came in line with them, he shouted, “Fuck my ass!”

I have two words for the lot of you idiots. GROW UP.

– Clarice

Location: Porthcawl and North Cornelly, Wales

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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Pay attention to non-verbal clues for a better Mardi Gras

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Next week, if a woman is walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Mardi Gras, shouldn’t she expect to be harassed?  If a woman sits in a bar, alone during a crowded Thursday night Happy Hour, shouldn’t she expect to be harassed?  If a woman walks through a college football stadium parking lot, alone, late on a Saturday morning, past a series of tailgaters, shouldn’t she expect to be harassed?

Maybe she should.

But of course it doesn’t mean she wants that kind of attention or that it’s okay.  Reading visual clues for addressing a woman at any time, in any circumstance, with any kind of interaction is the responsibility of men.  Men must figure out where the boundary is and respect it.  Although the boundary is flexible and may be bigger and wider depending on the situation, there is nevertheless a boundary over which men shouldn’t cross.

Men must step up to their responsibility and not fall victim to the “well-what-do-you-expect, she-was-asking-for-it” syndrome.  Men will be surprised at how much more successful their interactions with women are when they are in touch with non-verbal clues from women on the street so they can avoid being harassers.

[Editor’s Note: Here are tips about how to talk to women without being a harasser. Be sure to check out a video about this topic on The Consensual Project blog and an article in The Guardian]

– Alan Kearl

This post is part of the weekly blog series by male allies. We need men involved in the work to end the social acceptability of street harassment and to stop the practice, period. If you’d like to contribute to this weekly series, please contact me.

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Take a survey about street harassment and objectification

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I’m thrilled whenever I hear that someone is researching street harassment for a school paper because we desperately need more research on this topic.

Tonight I heard from Erika, a fourth year Psychology/Women Studies major at York University in Toronto, Canada. She’s writing her honours thesis on women’s experiences with street harassment and objectification. She’s collecting data as part of research and needs more participants.

If you’re interested, here’s the survey, plus more information about it. It will take about 10-15 minutes to complete.

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“Mmm those look delicious”

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I was at a Borders in Cleveland in the cookbook section because I love cooking and this gross old man goes, “Mmm those look delicious.” I was bent down and he was looking right down my blouse.

I said, “That’s awkward,” and he said, “Sorry but i thought i would tell you…”

He walked away and I Was like WTF. Why do I always feel like a piece of meat?

– Tanya P

Location: Borders in Cleveland, OH

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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The “Don’t Call Me Baby” Project

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Are you looking for ideas for anti-street harassment activism?  University of Southern California graduate student Lani Shotlow Rincon has plenty. In this interview, she shares what she’s been up to on her campus.

Stop Street Harassment (SSH): What’s your three sentence bio?

Lani Shotlow-Rincon (LSR): I’m a multiracial woman, navigating my way through graduate school, working towards building my knowledge of intersectionality, gender based violence, and technology. I research as much as I can, while making time to read historical romance novels. Currently, I’m searching for a way to be impactful in the world.

SSH: Tell me a about your street harassment project.

LSR: The “Don’t Call Me Baby” project was created for my class on designing public campaigns. My project outlined how an effective campaign could be created for the USC Campus area. It included both entertainment education tactics with a web series focused on 3 college women experiencing street harassment, an art exhibit (inspired from the blank noise project) with donated clothing that has inspired street harassment, a flash mob occurring during high traffic times on campus, and PSA components created to publicize and give a name to harassment most women experience in the area. Overall, my project created an action plan to address street harassment comprehensively in the USC campus area.

One of Lani's graphics

SSH: Sounds amazing!. What inspired it?

LSR: I was inspired to focus on street harassment for my project based on my personal experience with it. Culminating in the summer of 2010, I was harassed repeatedly over a few days so relentlessly that I became utterly frustrated. Exasperated I started googling my experience…and this led me to the stopstreetharassment.com website. It felt so great to finally put a name to that awful experience…street harassment. Since then, I have become increasingly focused on the subject.

SSH: Related, how has street harassment impacted your life?

LSR: Since the age of 12 I have been harassed in public. It usually occurred twice a day as I walked to elementary, jr. high and high school. When I hit puberty and began to develop, the harassment and attention I received in public became excruciatingly uncomfortable for me. I internalized the harassment and became very self-conscious about my body and my appearance. In large part, my low body self-esteem led to being diagnosed with an eating disorder a few years ago. Now, I’m currently in recovery but every time I am street harassed I struggle with it. Being an advocate against street harassment has helped me channel my hurt around it, helping me cope with its effects.

SSH: Your experiences sadly show why it’s so important for society to acknowledge and address street harassment! I’m glad you’re being able to turn personal frustration into action. What was the outcome of your campus project?

LSR: Although my project created much interest in my class and with my professors, the respondents who I showed my creative PSA advertisements did not respond strongly to the messaging. I believe that the public needs a deeper understanding and awareness of street harassment. More campaigns are needed “to name the harm” for other women.

SSH: You are so right. What do you plan to do next regarding street harassment?

LSR: I want to use my upcoming thesis to understand how violence against women can be combated through new technologies. I believe this is especially relevant to the fight against street harassment, as mobile apps like those created by ihollaback, are increasingly showing the scope of public sexual harassment.

SSH: Do you have any advice for someone dealing with street harassment and/or for someone who wants to address it in their community or campus?

LSR: I believe the best advice for someone dealing with street harassment is to take the course of action they feel most comfortable with. Whether that be cursing at the harasser or walking right on by. The important thing is to cope actively with the harassment by acknowledging its impact at some point during or after the harassment.

Thank you for your insight, Lani! I can’t wait to see what you do next.

Another one of Lani's graphics
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