Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for April 2011

Harasser uses loudspeaker in a grocery store parking lot

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When I got out of my car I heard someone on a loud speaker say, “Have a nice day,” which has never happened before. Some new gimmick? At 10pm? No.

Walking from my car to the store, the voice starts to address me…”Looking good ma’am, with those silver shoes. I see you rockin’ them silver shoes.”

I realized the voice was coming from a cluster of three automobiles, one of which was an old van with tinted windows. Nice. I sped up and ignored whatever else he said. As I entered the store, I heard him calling out some other hapless patron. ‘What a wack-job,’ I thought. I told the cashier, who said she was leaving soon, so she’d tell the on duty cop. I was relieved.

As I left, I was more curious than anything, so as soon as I heard the voice, I looked for the speaker’s silhouette. This must have encouraged him, because he really locked onto me. Now he was talking about the “Girl with the striped shirt, with the brown pants, in them striped silver shoes, I see you looking good. Damn. Can I have your number?”

I felt completely exposed. It was so creepy. I wanted to do something to shut him up but I also felt like getting away as quick as I could, so I calmly drove away. I didn’t want to give him any more reason to take interest in me. What if he followed me home? Doesn’t he just sound like a Junior Serial Killer, playing a little cat and mouse game of voyeur?

So, now I don’t feel safe while making a run to the local grocery store on a Thursday night. That’s pretty ridiculous.

– Snackrun

Location: The Kroger grocery store down the hill from our town.

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Judge resigns over subway sexual harassment

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Via The Korea Herald:

“A 42-year-old judge resigned after being accused of harassing a woman on the subway, officials at the Supreme Court said Friday.

The incumbent judge at the Seoul High Court, surnamed Hwang, was investigated by police on charges of harassing a woman in her 20s on a crowded subway during Thursday morning rush hour, according to police.

Hwang was caught in the very act by a patrol police officer who followed him after feeling suspicious about what he witnessed, they said, noting that Hwang confessed to the act on the spot and was released soon after a police investigation.

Although he is not subject to criminal punishment as the victim agreed to drop the case, Hwang offered to resign from his job, which was swiftly accepted by the top court.

“We have immediately accepted his resignation considering the seriousness of the matter,” said Hong Dong-ki, a top court spokesman.”

Wow. Nice work, police officer. CRAP job, judge.

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How much street harassment can a person deal with across 3 miles?!

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I had two errands to do at lunch today: Mail a package at the post office next to the Alamo, then grab a shared-bicycle at the corner of Houston and Alamo, ride down Houston street, park the bike near a bus stop, and walk two blocks to a county office for new license plates.

Two skeezed-out looking guys at the bus stop outright grunted and howled at me for 5 minutes straight until I disappeared around the corner, and threw out obscene suggestions, too.

Though the two dudes on the bench on Houston and Alamo when I was waiting to cross to the post office had a nicer tactic (“Hey beautiful. Man you have a beautiful smile. Mmm mmmm what a smile”), it is still embarassing as hell. Especially when I got the bike 10 minutes later and got out into the lane and they hollered after me, “Hey hey there Miss America!” (it’s 90 degree out already in April in Texas, and my tattoo is showing in my tank top).

Riding down Houston Street on the way to the bus stop where I kept my head low and made eye contact with no one, a man leaned out his the open window of his truck and honked and said, “Ay-chihahau!”

All in a 3 mile roundtrip to the post office and a county office.

– Anonymous

Location: San Antonio, Texas

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Camera gives you X-ray vision… just what street harassers need

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Computers, internet, and phones let us raise awareness about street harassment and even report street harassers. But technology can also work against us as we try to make public places harassment-free.

Here’s an example.

Not only is taking photos of people in public, including upskirting, perfectly legal in a lot of states, but now people who do it can take pics that allow them to see through thin fabrics!!

Via Gizmodo:

“This S95-styled point and shoot, the Midnight Shot NV-1, is the perfect camera for perverts. Why? Cause it has an infrared-night shot mode which can let you see through thin fabric and other materials.

It has a regular mode too! But the night-shot mode is where the nudie cam comes in. It gets the blocking filter out of the way, letting all infrared light through while a super bright IR LED “invisibly” illuminates everything in the picture. That infrared light can actually penetrate thin clothing, and since the camera can capture the infrared light, the clothing in the picture turn see through.

Other cameras have had some sort of feature like this before, but never so blatantly. One note: the nudie cam effect works best in the daytime but try not to be a perv. $140″

Ugh, so now we have to wonder if what we’re wearing is considered “thin fabric” in case our street harassers have an x-ray vision camera? *Shakes fist* why, can’t you only be on our side, technology?

[Thanks goes to my Gizmodo-reading partner for the story tip.]

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Hissed and grabbed in the pouring rain

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It was pouring rain in New York yesterday and freezing cold. I was unprepared and left my umbrella and rain jacket at home, so I was already soaking when a strange man started making hissing sounds at me across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I glance in his direction to see what the noise was and then continued walking when I saw it was some gross man. He then continued the hissing sounds and approached me, really quickly, it seemed, and said something like, “I got what you need” or some shit. I was extremely upset with just being hissed at and followed, and said “Don’t talk to me!”

But then he started grabbing at my hip. I was so shocked to have my physical privacy violated a stranger that I again screamed in his face, “Don’t talk to me!! Are you fucking kidding me??” and ran down the block, where I saw a crosstown bus waiting, and got on. I didn’t look back.

The worst part was that I noticed other people around me from the corners of my eyes and no one did anything to help.

– Anonymous

Location: 5th and 79th, New York City, New York

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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