Archives for December 2011

Included among the fun gifts you’re giving this holiday season, consider gifts that can help create safer public places.

From anti-street harassment gifts to donations to anti-harassment organizations in honor of a loved one there are plenty of ideas to go around.

Gifts:

1 – Prints and postcards:

* Street Harassment is a Crime poster from Girls for Gender Equity ($2)

* Men Can Stop Rape’s Bystander Campaign posters ($9 per poster)

* Street harassment comic by Barry Deutsch (ranging in price from $2 – $22)

2 – Films:

* Hey…Shorty! by Girls for Gender Equity ($15)

* Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Ryhmes, by Bryon Hurt ($150 – only the educational version is available)

* The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood ($15)

* War Zone, by Maggie Hadleight-West (depending on the version and length, $25 – $200)

3 – Music (MP3 Downloads):

* “Stop Looking at My Moms,” by the Astronomical Kid ($.99)

* “The Story,” by Ani DiFranco ($.99)

* “U.N.I.T.Y.,” by Queen Latifah ($.99)

4 – Books:

* Hey, Shorty!: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets, by Joanne Smith, Meghan Huppuch, Mandy Van Deven ($10)

* Why Loiter? Women and Risk on Mumbai Streets by Shilpa Phadke & Sameera Khan & Shilpa Ranade ($6)

* Back Off: How to Confront and Stop Sexual Harassment and Harassers, by Martha Langelan ($0.01 – $24)

* Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women, by me ($22 – $44)

* Passing By: Gender and Public Harassment, by Carol Brooks Gardner ($0.01 – $27)

* License to Harass: Law, Hierarchy, and Offensive Public Speech, by Laura Beth Nielsen ($14 – $30)

* The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood, edited by James Houghton, Larry Bean, and Tom Matlack ($15)

* The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help, by Jackson Katz ($6 – $13)

* Men and Feminism, by Shira Tarrant ($6 – $10)

* Unexpected Allies: Men Who Stop Rape, by Todd Denny ($11 – 17)

5 – Stop Street Harassment Merchandise:

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6 – Donations:

Consider making a donation in the name of a loved one or a friend. Here are 15 of my favorite anti-violence, anti-street harassment organizations.

A Long Walk Home – A Chicago-based nonprofit, A Long Walk Home uses art therapy and the visual and performing arts to end violence against girls and women.

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.

GEMS – Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS) is the only organization in New York State specifically designed to serve girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.

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 and launch a bystander campaign in 2012.

Holla Back DC! – Fighting street harassment in the nation’s capitol, Holla Back DC! is working toward becoming a 501(c)3 with a few programs, including RightRides DC. Donate to them to help make that a reality.

International Center for Research on Women – ICRW focuses on many important international issues, including violence against women; they include street harassment as part of it. They conduct research to better understand the incidence of violence, costs associated with it and factors that lead to it. They also build evidence on interventions designed to prevent violence against women, particularly comprehensive approaches that include economically empowering women, involving boys and men, protecting survivors of violence and rehabilitating men who are abusive.

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.

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.

Right Rides for Women’s Safety – For more than seven 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.

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.

Young Women for Change – This new organization based in Afghanistan is tackling street harassment in their country, among other issues. Donations will go a long way in the work they do.