Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for April 2012

“No one should be subjected to that type of verbal abuse.”

By

I was heading outside for lunch, and was looking forward to being able to breathe fresh air and get over the bad day I was having.

I walk past this homeless man who politely asks if I have any change to spare. I reply, “No, sorry.” A normal interaction, right? Nope! This man’s behavior gets ugly, and he says, “Well, I don’t expect a crack whore like you to have any.” Who to the what now?! Nothing I said warranted being called a “crack whore.”

As I mentioned above, I was already having an off day and didn’t have the energy to respond to that in a mature way. He got a, “Whatever, loser” from me, to which he ended the exchange with, “Stupid whore!”

Included is a photo of him, and come to think of it I think I’ve seen this guy’s photo on Collective Action for Safe Spaces in the past. If this is the same guy, then he has mental issues that need to be addressed and he needs to be taken off the streets.

No one should be subjected to that type of verbal abuse.

– Anonymous

Location: I Street NW & 15th Street NW, Washington, 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.

Share

It’s time for new advice

By

Reston Paths

I was really irritated to read an article on my hometown’s Patch website (Reston Patch) with the headline “It’s Trail Season – Be Careful Out There.”

Fairfax County, where I live, is one of the safest in the country, but it’s still not safe enough. The article tells us:

“A woman told police a man walked up behind her and grabbed her bottom in the 11400 block of Waterview Cluster on April 1 at 6:30 p.m. The man fled in the opposite direction and has not been found or charged.

Police said a woman reported she was grabbed by a man on a wooded trail near Danbury Forest Drive in Springfield on Saturday. The woman yelled and fled.

The man was described as Hispanic, between 5’6” -5’9” feet tall and around 150-170 pounds. He was professionally attired in a white, buttoned shirt and a dark vest, black slacks and black shoes.

Around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, a man whistled at a jogger in an area near Sully Park and Truitt Farm Drive. When she looked over, he was exposing himself and masturbating.

This incident may be another in a series of similar incidents in the Sully Police District in recent months. The woman yelled and saw him run down a paved path. She described him as olive-skinned with a protruding gut, green shirt and blue jeans. He was between 5’3” – 5’7” feet tall.”

Pretty disturbing stuff, right?

The article then lists advice from the police department:

* Try not to go out alone; if you do, make sure someone knows where you will be and when you expect to return.
* If possible, avoid using trails after dark.
* Do not use headphones at a high volume; make sure you can hear what’s going on around you.
*Always look ahead and see what or who is around you.

How is this helpful? All of the women were harassed and attacked during daylight hours, so the advice to not go out after dark is not applicable. There’s no indication that they were wearing headphones. It sounds like all of them were alert to what was going on around them and they were all able to get away from the creeps. The one thing they didn’t do was go out with a buddy.

Guess what, that ain’t happening. It’s impractical. It’s undesirable. It’s unequal.

Except in a war-torn area or high crime area, can you imagine telling grown men to not go places alone?  (And I know the advice was gender neutral, but really, after listing all those stories about women being harassed, it’s clear who the advice is for.) Why do we accept that it’s okay to tell this to women?

In the context of street harassment and sexual assault in public places, it’s pretty common to hear the words “stay safe” and “be careful” or admonitions to not go places alone or after dark. It’s funny since in general, women have been trained from a young age to be careful and we already limit our lives in ways we think, we hope, will keep us safe. We usually  already follow that advice when it’s practical. And we’re still harassed and assaulted. So isn’t it time for new advice?

While the police did share information on how to report harassers/assaulters, I would love to see information spread about other assertive responses people can have. I would love to see information listed about what bystanders can do. And maybe some kind of community outreach on this topic (..and as I write this, I recall how this is MY community so now I’m brainstorming what I can do offline to help with this issue…maybe I can collaborate with the division that manages the trails and we can post info every few miles about how to respond to harassers/assaulters and how to be good bystanders and post alerts about known perps.)

And of course, broadly, I’d love to see more focus placed on the potential perpetrators, not just on the potential victims/survivors, as a prevention tactic.

What are your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions?

Share

Siobhan Benita, candidate for Mayor of London, promises to address street harassment

By

Siobhan Benita is an Independent candidate for Mayor of London and like Labour candidate Ken Livingstone, she promises in her campaign platform to “tackle the harassment of women and girls in public spaces in London and on our transport system” (page 14).

It’s great to see multiple candidates treat this as the serious issue it is. Elections are May 3. Best of luck, Siobhan!

Share

Important legislation introduced in Washington, DC

By

L to R: Holly Kearl, Chai Shenoy, Council Member Muriel Bowser, Ben Merrion

YAY!! I’ve got great news. New legislation introduced in Washington, DC, will make it easier for police to take action when a person has committed “the offense of misdemeanor sexual abuse, misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child or minor, or lewd, indecent, or obscene acts.” This applies to the public transportation system and the streets and so if it passes, it’s more likely that a person flashing or engaging in public masturbation will face penalty.

Background: Over the last several weeks, I’ve been part of a team at Collective Action for Safe Spaces pressuring the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) to do more about sexual harassment and assault on the Washington, DC-area transportation system. We testified in February before the DC City Council, specifically before Ward 4 City Council Member Muriel Bowser. Bowser was very disturbed by the information we shared with her and asked WMATA to address it. Thankfully, WMATA is addressing it.

Early on in our collaboration with WMATA, we found out from transit police that they have limitations in making arrests. For example, verbal sexual harassment, unless it’s a threat, is not a criminal offense (but for the first time, WMATA is finally tracking it to look for patterns, etc) so they cannot do anything about it (this is true most places in the USA and cause for future legislative work). We also found out that since Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, all have varying laws around harassment, the transit police are limited in what they can do. They are bound by the laws of whichever area the crime takes place since the transit system spans all three areas. In Maryland, people who engage in indecent and obscene behavior (public masturbation, flashing) can be arrested without the officer having to witness it occurring. In DC and VA, the police need to witness it occurring (!!!) before they can do anything.

Once we found out about this limitation in the law, we informed Council Member Bowser. She was not aware of this limitation either and she said she’d investigate it. So the good news is she upheld that promise and has introduced legislation to ensure that in Washington, DC, an officer does not have to observe the indecent exposure occurring to take action. As Collective Action for Safe Spaces says, “Although we do NOT support more people getting arrested, we do want Metro to be safe for all, and not have to watch individuals doing obscene things while staring at you.”

The Bill:
______________________
Councilmember Muriel Bowser

A BILL

________

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

________________________

To amend section 23-581 of the District of Columbia Official Code to enhance enforcement of the indecent exposure law by allowing police officers to arrest suspects without a warrant when officers have probable cause to believe that suspects have committed lewd, indecent, or obscene acts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the “Sexual Harassment Prevention Act of 2012”.

Sec. 2. Section 23-581 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as follows:
(a) Subsection (a-7) (D.C. Official Code § 23-581(a-7)) is amended to read as follows:
“(a-7) A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed the offense of misdemeanor sexual abuse, misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child or minor, or lewd, indecent, or obscene acts as provided in sections 22-3006, 22-3010.01, and 22-1312.”
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact statement required by section 602(c)(3) b of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(3)).
Sec. 4. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), and a 30-day period of congressional review as provided in Section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code §1-206(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia Register.

It’s exciting that the bill will apply to acts that occur off the transit system too — it applies to acts committed anywhere in Washington, DC. If passed, the legislation will give more protection to victims and ensure that perpetrators are more likely to face punishment for their crimes.

The bill has been referred to Council Member Mendelson’s Committee on the Judiciary.  They need to hold a hearing and then vote on it in a separate mark-up hearing.  The full Council then has to vote on it twice to be submitted to the Mayor for signature.

So, there are still several steps to go, but the first step is done: the legislation was written and introduced!!! Thank you, Council Member Bowser!

Update: Here’s a Washington Examiner article on the proposed bill.

Share

“He continued saying the most dirty things he could, as I walked away”

By

Most of the worst street harassment stories I have are from when I was a teenager. That’s why I believe that many men who harass women look for those of us who might look more helpless, or somehow naive. I’m now 24 and in most case, putting on an angry face and talking loud makes them stop what they are doing…

I remember walking downtown with my mother, talking about some stuff and not giving any attention to what was going on around. Then, I hear some skateboard sound behind, and a guy screaming: “Nice hooker boots!”

I turn around and a young man was staring at me, with his friend laughing. I was wearing some standard punk/goth black boots. Not interested in speaking to him, I turn around and do a middle finger in his direction (OK, I was young). He and his friend start screaming: “Yeah, I’ll do that to you! Right in your p*ssy! Ouh la la!”

I felt so embarrassed that my mother had witnessed that, but she told me not to worry, that she had had a lot of those comments in her life and that I was NOT the problem.

Another time, I was walking down the street on a warm day. A man comes out of his car and does the classic number: “Hey! I know you! I’m sure I know you! Where did we meet?”

Of course, I was sure we had never met and told him so, but he was used to this and said, “Where did you study? We must have been in the same class!”

I tell him I’m still a student, so I’m quite sure we weren’t in the same class when he was still studying (he was in his 30s and I was 17), but then he comes with other questions (“Oh, in my dance class maybe?”) and just start talking about himself, like if we were friends. I didn’t know what to do so I just listened to him for a minute, than showed signs that I was going back on my way.

That’s when he starts saying: “Don’t go! We could have sex! Come to my house! I have a big erection, you can’t believe how big and hard my penis is! You’ll like it!”

He continued saying the most dirty things he could, as I walked away, looking for a shop I could go in. He even had the nerves to say: “Give me your phone number! You won’t regret it!”

This man should be ashamed. Unfortunately, when I told the story to people I knew at that time, many of them shrugged it off as thought I was actually trying to brag because a man had told me that. For a few years after that I was very ashamed to report any street harassment stories to some of my friends, since they had thought of it that way, instead of supporting me.

– Anonymous

Location: Montreal, Canada

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.

Share