Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for February 2013

“I NEVER let an instance of harassment pass without doing something.”

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I have been street harassed for as long as I can remember. I am now 41. As a kid and teenager, I was usually stunned and just tried to ignore it.

In my twenties, I angrily yelled at harassers and was even known to keep small rocks in my pocket and throw them. NOT recommended. (My ex used to call me her “stone-throwing urban warrioress.”)

Lately, inspired by the kick-ass, global, anti street harassment movement, I have become more confrontational in what I think are productive ways, I finally get that this is not OK. Instead of feeling eternally powerless, because “this is just how life is,” I feel clear that this is illegal and a violation of my human rights. I NEVER let an instance of harassment pass without doing something. And I’ve learned a lot in the process.

What do I do?

I just confront, talk back, even if just in passing. Often by making a public declaration that others can hear, the harasser ends up being shamed (which is appropriate.)

Here are some recent examples: a guy keeps trying to talk to me at an outdoor cafe. I let him know that I do not want company, but I feel uncomfortable because he continues to look at me from his table. Finally, he gets up to leave, and as he passes my table, whispers something (I don’t even remember what.) At that point, I yell, loudly, after him, “Stop harassing me!” Yes, people turned and looked, and he hurried away.

Often, guys do the quiet, gross whispered thing as they pass, and I always exclaim loudly, “What did you say?” They always deny they said anything, so I continue to make a point (in front of others, of course) that he’s lying and is a street harasser. Again, I am clear that the shame is on him.

Society is changing, awareness is growing, and each instance — even just the super-ignorant kissy or clucking sound someone makes from across the street — is an opportunity to help educate another misguided human being. And that is what they are: human beings. Just like me. Not all-powerful. Not entitled to more freedom on the streets. Human beings, capable of being embarrassed, capable of change.

Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?

Just saying something — as kindly as possible — to let them know what street harassment is, that it is illegal, and that they should think twice about it in the future. It’s amazing how often they apologize, and generally want to get away as quickly as possible (because, yes, THEY are embarrassed– and they also know full well that they were in the wrong.)

– Anonymous

 

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Delhi: 95% of women and girls feel unsafe in public spaces

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Via UN Women:

“A just released household survey conducted by UN Women and the International Center for Research on Women from October to November 2012 reveals that at that time, only 5 per cent of women and girls ranked public spaces in Delhi as ‘safe’ from sexual violence.

The data was collected as part of the baseline survey of the Safer Cities Free of Violence against Women and Girls Initiative by UN Women in partnership with the Government of Delhi and the NGO JAGORI. The programme in New Delhi is one of the initial pilots in five cities: Cairo (Egypt), Kigali (Rwanda), New Delhi (India), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) and Quito (Ecuador). It is part of the larger Global Safe Cities Initiative which aims to empower women and their communities in diverse settings.

The household survey in India was conducted among a representative sample of 2001 women and girls and 1003 men and boys in the age group of 16-49 years of age in Delhi. The data was collected from all over New Delhi: Malviya Nagar, Badarpur, Molarband, Zakir Nagar, Hari Nagar, Shahpurjat and Mayur Vihar Phase-I.

Providing a stark picture of the daily realities faced by women and girls, 51 per cent of men reported that they had themselves perpetrated sexual harassment or violence against women and girls in public spaces in Delhi. In the study, 25 per cent said they had done so in the last six months.

In cases of sexual violence, many men blamed women for their behaviour. In the study, three out of four agreed with the statement ‘Women provoke men by the way they dress’ and two men out of five fully or partially agreed with that ‘Women moving around at night deserve to be sexually harassed’.

Nearly 73 per cent of women said they do not feel safe in their own surroundings as well, and reported feeling unsafe all the time.”

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Feb. 19 Day of Action: Safer Transit System in Washington, DC

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Note: This is the report submitted to the Huairou Commission. This meeting was part of a global day of action called Delhi and Beyond: Concrete Actions for Safer Cities, a chance for grassroots women and women’s organizations to partner with government authorities and concretely build safer cities. Fifty cities participated. The day was organized by the Huairou Commission, Women in Cities International, Women and Habitat Network Latin America, Jagori, GROOTS International, ICWIF and FEMUM-ALC.

The actions taken during the day will be presented during the UN Commission on the Status of Women on March 8, 2013.

Attendees of the meeting at WMATA’s offices in Washington, DC

Report: This morning, Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS) staff member Renee Davidson and board member Ben Merrion and Stop Street Harassment founder Holly Kearl met with the following key staff at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA): Deputy Chief Campbell, Zina Gowan, employee communications, and Caroline Lucas, who heads the task force on addressing sexual harassment.

In February 2012, CASS organized individuals to testify about sexual harassment on the WMATA system during the performance oversight hearing of the transit authority before the DC City Council.

Out of those testimonies – and the many stories members of the public submitted to WMATA agreeing that this is a problem – WMATA formed a task force in early March 2012 to address sexual harassment on the system.

This meeting was to touch base nearly a year later to see what has been achieved and to discuss what we can do during the second year to continue to address the issue.

Main achievements this year and goals for next year:

Achievements:

1. New online form for reporting incidents

2. Starting to track all forms of sexual harassment (previously they only tracked harassment that was criminal)

3. A transit-wide PSA campaign

4. An internal awareness campaign among WMATA staff

5. A new law to make it easier to report/prosecute indecent exposure in DC

6. 126 reports of harassment

Goals:

1. An improved online form that can lead to better reporting

2. A second phase of the PSA campaign this summer or fall

3. Training for all WMATA employees

4. More efforts to spread the word about how to report and the importance of reporting.

5. Working with Virginia legislators to pass the same law that passed in DC to make it easier to prosecute indecent exposure. Maryland already had this law before DC.

We are very pleased with the outcome of the meeting and with the continued commitment of WMATA to making the Washington, DC-area public transportation system free from harassment for all its riders.

Stay tuned for more information about the meeting and what DC-area transit riders can do to improve reporting.

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“I’d be a whole lot better if you weren’t doing this”

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I live in a great city for walking, so I get honked or hollared at on a fairly regular basis. The worst are the guys that pace me in their cars, especially when I’m with my kids.

Once, I was walking home from the grocery store with my 7-year-old stepson and my infant daughter. This guy slowed down and said, “Hey” or “hi” or whatever.

I said a quick, “Hey” and literally scurried across the next cross street. I was hesitant to confront the guy because I was worried about the safety of my children and you never know how a guy is going to react.

Instead of driving off, he pulled up a bit and paced me again asking, “How are you doing?”

I stopped and said, “I’d be a whole lot better if you weren’t doing this.”

He responded with, “I understand,” and drove away.

At first, I was relieved and thankful that he left without incident, but then I got angry. If he understood that pacing a woman with his car to hit on her could make her uncomfortable, then why in the hell did he do it?

At least I got an opportunity to educate my boy on how this sort of thing affects woman and hopefully he’ll grow up into a respectful man.

– Robyn

Location: Portland, OR

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“I hate that they got away with it”

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The first time I experienced street harassment (that I was aware of), I was 14.

It was around 7:30 p.m. I was walking back to the car with my mother and my brother after having dinner at a favorite cafe. We were enjoying the nice night – until we neared our car. A group of young men, obscured in the shadows of a tree, had a megaphone and began shouting at me through it.

My unusually long hair seemed to be their chosen target. They shouted through the megaphone for the whole street to hear that I looked “like a horse or a cow or something,” that they wanted to pull on it while they did me from behind. One of them ‘asked’ if he could cum on my hair.

I was shocked, confused, humiliated, angry, ashamed, and frightened. I was a very sheltered child and I had no idea how to deal with the fact that these strangers were yelling these things at me, in front of my family no less. We hurried to the car and left.

My first experience with overt street harassment was the most blatantly sexually aggressive incident I’ve experienced to date.

To this day it comes to mind and I wish I had done something to confront my harassers, or called the police to alert them of the men harassing passers by, or anything in addition to leaving.  As soon as we had left and I was safely away from them I started wishing I had shouted back at them, that they were losers, were pedophiles, anything – once the fear was removed, the anger simmered.

I hate that they got away with it with no reprimand, no confrontation. I wonder what I would do if I was put in the same situation today.

– TN

Location: Noosa, Qld, Australia

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