At the end of every year, I like to look back, document and reflect on everything that has transpired in the global movement to end street harassment and assault. Yesterday I wrote about 10 of Stop Street Harassment’s achievements. Today, I’m posting a five-part series about the highlights of ALL activism that happened this year (PDF format). WHAT A YEAR!
Post 1: New anti-street harassment campaigns, new initiatives within existing campaigns, and protests.
Post 2: Creative anti-street harassment initiatives.
Post 3: Government initiatives/collaborations
Post 4 (this one): New studies, reports, and significant news articles.
Post 5: Stories from 20 people who stood up to street harassers this year.
Studies & Reports/Thesis:
1. Canada/USA/Global: Women in Cities International partnered with UN Habitat, and Plan International – Because I am a Girl to write the report Adolescent Girls Creating Safer Cities: Harnessing the Potential of Communication for Development.
2. Canada: Women in Cities International also released the report Tackling Gender Exclusion: Experiences from the Gender Inclusive Cities Programme.
3. Croatia: Hollaback! Croatia informally surveyed 500 people (mostly women) online about street harassment in 2012. They found that 99 percent of women experienced some form of street harassment in their lifetime, and 50 percent experienced it by age 18.
4. India: About 92 percent of 5,000 women working in sectors like information technology, hospitality, civil aviation and call centers reported feeling unsafe while travelling to their homes after sunset, according to a nationwide survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India’s Social Development Foundation. The women live in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Dehra Dun.
5. India: When 1000 women in Mumbai were surveyed, 80 percent said they had been street harassed. “The maximum cases of verbal and physical harassment take place in crowded areas such as trains and railway platforms,” said Shurbhi Sharma, member of We The People Foundation, which conducted the survey recently.
6. Poland: Hollaback! Poland informally surveyed 818 people and found that 85% of female respondents had experienced street harassment in public spaces in Poland, as had 44% of men.
7. Turkey: Hollaback! Istanbul informally surveyed 141 college students about their experiences with street harassment. They found that 93 percent had been street harassed and 69 percent experience street harassment at least on a monthly basis.
8. UK: The Ending Violence Against Women Coalition released two studies about street harassment in London. One study found that 43 percent of women had been harassed during the previous year and the second one honed in on harassment that takes place on public transportation.
9. UK: Hollaback! Gwynedd, Wales, partnered with two student unions and surveyed 400 students about their experiences with street harassment.
10. UK: Jennifer Harrison wrote her graduate thesis on street harassment issues: “Gender segregation on public transport in South Asia: A critical evaluation of approaches for addressing harassment against women.”
11. USA: Ninety-five people responded to the online survey following a Bay Citizen story about unwanted sexual behavior on Muni, BART and AC Transit. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they had experienced unwanted sexual behavior on public transit. Only 6 percent reported it.
12. USA: Patrick McNeil conducted research as part of his master’s thesis at The George Washington University about the street harassment of gay and bisexual men. He surveyed 331 men around the world, and about 90 percent said they are sometimes, often, or always harassed or made to feel unwelcome in public spaces because of their perceived sexual orientation – a figure that is far too high.
13. USA: In partnership with Hollaback!, researchers from the Worker Institute at Cornell asked 110 New York City-based social service providers whether or not they receive reports of street harassment, and if so, how they respond to those reports. They found that more than 86 percent of respondents had received reports of street harassment from a client, constituent or consumer.
14. USA: Laurel Long wrote her college thesis on street harassment at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland.
Select Important Articles (in no particular order):
{Unwinona}, “I debated whether or not to share this story.“
LAist, “Women Share Their Stories Of Sexual Harassment (And Worse) On Public Transportation”
The Guardian, “Wolf-whistling is just the start – harassment is not harmless”
CNN, “Hey baby! Women speak out against street harassment”
Sparkwood & 21, “The Story of My Sexual Assault on Muni in San Francisco”
The Bay Citizen, “Why Transit Riders Don’t Report Unwanted Sexual Behavior“
Sparkle All Day, “The Punch Heard Round The World”
The Guardian, “How to stop sexual harassment on public transportation“
International Business & Law, “Brussels’ Offensive-Language Fines Highlight Widespread Sexual Harassment“
The Voice of Russia, “Sexual harassment in Russia“
The Jerusalem Post, “Egyptian women battle harassment on the streets“
The F Word Blog, “Spanish feminist subjected to harassment campaign”
Le Nouvel Observateur, “Harcèlement de rue : les femmes racontent le machisme“
The Atlantic, “Violent Protests in India Over Rape Case”
Global Press Institute, “Women Break Silence About Sexual Harassment on Nepali Buses“
USA Today, “Arab women cry for end to harassment“
Eliminating the Impossible, “Street Harassment 102: When You’re Blind and a Woman“
Fair Observer, “Natasha Smith: Is This Egypt?”
Week Woman, “My Hijab, My Body – A Muslim Feminist on Street Harassment in Argentina“
Heeb Magazine, “A Woman’s Guide to Hasidic Street Harassment”
Open Democracy, “Street sexual harassment: breaking the silence in Yemen”
The Daily Star Lebanon, “Public masturbation: Where sexual harassment meets disorder”
Libya Herald, “Sexual harassment of Libyan women”
Welcome to Kosovo 2.0, “Kosovo’s Streets: A woman’s perspective“
IRIN, “NEPAL: Women demand end to sexual harassment“
High on Cliches, “Wie verhalte ich mich möglichst nicht wie ein Arsch?“
Tunisia Live article about street harassment.
Time, “Ladies First: Czech Railways Rolls Out Female-Priority Compartments“
Jeddah Mind Trick (Saudi Arabia), “Walking While Covered”
Empty Nest Expat, “Breaking the Silence on Street Harassment in Istanbul“
Latin America, “Argentina: Women suffer from sexual harassment on the street, a social problem”
Clutch Magazine, “Hey There Pretty Lady: How Street Harassment Affected My Body Image and How I Overcame It”
The March 2012 issue of Cosmo magazine includes advice for dealing with gropers. Read an extended version of SSH founder Holly Kearl’s advice on the SSH blog.
Crates and Ribbons, “The Kissing Sailor, or “The Selective Blindness of Rape Culture”
