Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for 2011

Crotch grabber in Istanbul

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I was with my Norwegian colleagues on the streets in Istanbul while we were waiting to get on a boat. I found a nut vender by the side of the street and went over to check out what he was selling. As I was standing there with a couple of other female colleagues, a man walks by and grabs my cooch from behind. It was so strange and quick, I thought it might have been an accident, so I just ignored it. But then, the same man walks by a second time and grabs me in the same spot! I was so stunned! I felt so helpless!

– Kiersten

Location: Istanbul, Turkey

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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“Perverted creep comes on a bike and grabs my breasts”

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I was right on my street trying to check my pocket to see if i dropped the cash and one perverted creep comes on a bike and grabs my breasts. I scream and call him a fuckin asshole..and he comes back and says i will wait fa u…

never ever felt so helpless and so freaked…

– Angela

Location: r.m.v 2nd stage, Bangalore, India

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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Global “Walk a Mile In Her Shoes”® Day

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Cross-Posted with Permission from Pixel Project:

This International Anti-Street Harassment Day, The Pixel Project, the global volunteer-led online non-profit working to end Violence Against Women (VAW), and Venture Humanity, the founders of Walk A Mile In Her Shoes®, are proud to announce the first ever Global “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes”® Day. This event, which will debut on Father’s Day 2011, aims to get men on board the cause to end VAW. It also provides VAW nonprofits worldwide with an opportunity to raise much-needed funds.

Global “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes”® Day is the first of several global events held in conjunction with The Pixel Project‘s Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign which debuted on International Women’s Day 2011. The campaign aims to raise US$1 million for the cause to end VAW by getting a global audience to donate US$1 per pixel to reveal a million-pixel mystery collage of four world-famous male role models taken by award-winning international photographer, Jillian Edelstein. The distinguished line-up includes a Nobel Laureate, a Pulitzer Prize winner and a superstar Environmentalist.

Regina Yau, Founder and President of The Pixel Project, said: “For a decade, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® has provided men in the United States with a positive platform for stepping up to end VAW. We hope the Global Walk will replicate this effect in communities across the world. Such a fun and inclusive campaign can only further galvanise widespread support for action to end gender-based violence which continues to affect millions of women and girls. Proceeds from the event will be shared between The Pixel Project and participating VAW nonprofits, so it’s win-win for everybody.”

Frank Baird, founder of Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®, said: “The most influential male role models in our lives are our fathers. Fathers who take part in this Global Walk on Father’s Day collectively send a powerful message to the world that says: ‘We, the male role models for our families, our communities and our society, step up to stand united with the women in our lives in our commitment to building a world without violence against women’. This is a fitting way to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Walk.”

This focus on fathers as male role models will be amplified by the Pixel Reveal Male Role Models who have recorded exclusive public service announcements speaking out against VAW. These videos will be launched as each man is revealed. Regina Yau said: “We are aiming to get enough donations for pixels to unveil our Nobel Laureate just in time to have his public service announcement launched at the Global Walk, so we urge everybody to please donate to reveal pixels via our Pixel Reveal campaign website – even just US$5.00 count!”

For further information:

Please visit the Global “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes”® Day website at http://globalwalkamileday.thepixelproject.net

Media Inquiries:

The Bright One account team for The Pixel Project:

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Have a successful Anti-Street Harassment Day!

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I am SO excited for our big day tomorrow. From people telling their stories to people organizing/attending events, it’s going to be epic.

Here is the information you need for a successful day.

  1. All the info you need in one place: The main webpage is updated with links to all of this following info.
  2. Ten Ideas for Action: Not sure what to do? Visit this page.
  3. Find Events: What’s going on near you?
  4. Post Fliers and Factsheets: Here are several fliers and factsheets you can adapt, use.
  5. Post Graphics Online: Anti-Street Harassment Day graphics are available in 7 languages
  6. TWEET: #antistreetharassmentday
  7. Take Photos of Whatever You Do: Let’s document everything that happens! Upload pics to Flickr: or email them to me, stopstreetharassment AT yahoo DOT com

I’m excited to say there’s been a lot of media coverage so far. And already the founder of HollaBack Baltimore, Shawna Potter, had an op-ed published this week and male ally Hugo Schwyzer wrote a great article for Jezebel.

Let’s keep it up and get the message out that spring is no excuse for street harassment.

Thank you for taking action tomorrow – I look forward to hearing what you do.

-Holly Kearl

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Planned action for Anti-Street Harassment Day tomorrow!

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[3.21.11 update: read how Anti-Street Harassment Day went!]

Here’s a sampling of the ways people around the world will commemorate International Anti-Street Harassment Day tomorrow, March 20. What are you doing?

“We’ve made posters that include FAMOUS cat-call slogans in bold with the date, time, place and the SSH website written underneath. We are sure this will grab attention for all walking by…We are performing a small piece where we are going to reverse the stereotypical gender norms by having a few male participants walk by with female harassers cat-calling them. This will be to draw attention to the issue. We will then be holding a discussion where those that are interested are able to come to learn facts, resources and share in a discussion surrounding the issue!” – Erika at York University in Toronto with the Feminist Action group

“I plan to print pamphlets debunking anti-feminist myths about treatment of women in public domain while educating those who may not be in the know about anti-street harassment day and its real purpose. I’ll do this on the days leading up to 20 March in my community at the University of Cape Town.” – Thabs from South Africa

“Our action for Anti-Street harassment day will be a press release…a kind of public statement in conjuntion with an NGO ally.” – AtreveteDf Hollaback, Mexico City

“The planned activity is going to take place all over Egypt, volunteers will go in teams (men and women) to talk and raise awareness in streets where they live, our idea is to create safe zones for women, by volunteers talking to key persons in the street or the neighborhood, like shops, door keepers and those who are always around in the street, also transportation. By the end of the day the volunteers in different neighborhoods are expected to have talked to as many people as possible to create safe zones, change the street’s environment when it comes to sexual harassment acceptability, volunteers use our safe zones stickers, they show people the map’s printed picture and urge everyone to act positively.” – Engy Ghozlan, HarassMap, Cairo, Egypt

“I’ve reached out to our Gender Across Border contributing writers a bunch of them will be posting pieces on Sunday for International Anti-Street Harassment Day” – Emily Heron, founder Gender Across Borders, IL

“We have been designing a zine/pamphlet to distribute to girls of school age and women in colleges/work on how to deal with mental, physical and sexual harassment in public (ie. at school, at work, on the street, on public transport, in parks/any public space) and really want to circulate it as widely as possible once it’s done!” – Figs Head, United Kingdom

“We will go around the Delhi University north campus protesting and claiming for our space together with the Women Beat Constables of Maurice Nagar Police Station. Asmita, a theatre group would perform a street play at Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station at the end of the walk.” – Safe Delhi Campaign, India

“We at Hollaback Houston will be creating a video to illustrate how street harassment is NOT a compliment – by taking phone video (Hollaback! style) of victims of street harassment saying real comments that were used on them by harassers. These will then be edited together contrasted with co-directors reading real comments from the internet talking about how it IS a compliment.” – HollaBack Houston, Texas

“I’m a classroom assistant at Next Step Public Charter School in Washington, DC. I help with a night class for Spanish-speaking students who are working toward their GEDs. I spoke with the teacher, and our class is definitely going to do something on street harassment leading up to March 20.” – Kate, Washington, DC

“We are going to write a press release for the day and send it to our press contacts list, as well as write a one-pager to send out to our centers across the state about street harassment.” – Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault

“We will do tabling and do things like hand out the catcaller form (which I loved) to women or maybe even post it around campus to get people thinking about the issue.” – student at UC Irvine, California

“Despite not yet being a major Czech presence, Ozvi se!, the Czech leg of HollaBack! will do it’s best to honor Anti-Street Harassment Day not only by Tweeting and Facebooking but by organizing an informal gathering that we are confident will really help open doors and spread the word as to this massively underreported problem.” – Gail, Prague, Czech Republic

“To celebrate the first International Anti-Street Harassment Day, Hollaback PDX is hosting a screening of the film War Zone with a discussion to follow” – HollaBack Portland, Oregon

“We’ll be walking through the areas of the city where street harassment has been most prevalent for people I know, handing out flyers and sharing stories with anyone who is interested. Street harassment has been a huge problem here for as long as I can remember, and I’m hoping to open up a greater public dialogue about it and make the voices of those it affects heard.” – Rebecca, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

“I’ve encountered many people in the DC area who don’t seem to understand the magnitude of harassment here, and by participating in the DC Community Safety Audit it’ll help to bring more light to the issue. As a woman, I don’t feel as free to walk down these streets as I please because of the constant harassment I face, and I want to work towards making the streets safer in my lifetime.” – Dienna, Washington, DC

“Your dad and I are making anti-street harassment signs and fliers and will stand in an area where there is street harassment and hand out fliers and hold up the posters” – my mom, Queens, New York

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