Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for July 2013

“They have no right to do what they do”

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I have been harassed so many times it’s hard to keep track! It’s usually when I am walking home, and it doesn’t matter what time of day it is. When I was younger I was often harassed while I was wearing my school uniform, which I think is even more disgusting!

Here are a few which have stuck in my mind:

– One man shouted very loudly from his bedroom window that I was a ‘slut’. As I was wearing my school uniform, I felt absolutely horrible – I had no choice in my clothes and he made me feel totally degraded.

– There is a narrow road on my walk home, so the cars are quite close. One guy leaned out of his car and tried to lift my school skirt up with his umbrella. This still makes me cringe, I can’t believe anyone would do that, especially to a young girl!

– Many people have wolf whistled at me at various times of day.

– One man followed me and kept asking me if he could carry my bags, he wouldn’t leave me alone and I was only 11 at the time, it was completely terrifying, and when I got home my mum called the police.

– A guy at a bus stop demanded to know why me and my friend were wearing dresses – it was a very hot day, are we supposed to cover up??

– People have pinched my bum before.

– A guy tried to kiss me.

I never know how to respond to these harassers, so I never usually do, which makes me feel even more vulnerable. I hate harassers, they have no right to do what they do, and I do not understand why they think it’s a compliment!

– VW

Location: London, UK

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Workshop Idea: Fight Harassmet 101

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Here’s an example of a workshop you can hold in your community. Find more event & workshop ideas.

Fight Harassment 101 (FH101) was created to educate female Egyptians and non-Egyptians about harassment and the use of self-defense. Once a week at the American University of Cairo, 15 students would take part in FH101 for two hours for about 10 weeks.

Weekly, 2-3 young women as well as a black belt Judo instructor hosted the initiative. At the beginning of class, an information page was provided to the attendees, mostly copied from Holly Kearl’s website, Stop Street Harassment, that provided information about: what to do if harassed, what harassment is, and the contact information for the organization HarassMap in Egypt.

During the first 30 minutes, the young women would discuss harassment and any incidents they experienced in the past to encourage them to no longer feel ashamed or blamed for the harassment they experience.

The next hour and half focused on learning self-defense. Not all young women were active in exercise, but they were taught not only the basic defense mechanisms, but also more physicals ones such as how to punch, or throw a person over if they grab them from behind, et cetra. We did not expect these young women to be able to do this if they experienced a physical assault, but we hoped by providing these tools, they would feel more able to defend themselves and perhaps ward away any potential attackers.

Out of the 15 students, about 13 wore hijab, countering the notion that harassment is correlated with the way someone is dressed. Although these women were trained with the basics, it gave them a sense of empowerment to defend themselves in the worst-case scenarios. At first they were shy about sharing their experiences, but once they found it was a common occurrence and learned that it was not their fault, they felt the need to fight against it. Many did not know that in some parts of the world, sexual harassment is considered to be a human rights violation.

Here are two articles I wrote about the class.

1. Fight Harassment 101: Egypt’s Obstacle to Ending Sexual Harassment

2. Enough Talk on Harassment, Egypt — Do Something About It

Holly Dagres, an Iranian American, is an analyst and commentator on Middle East affairs. Currently living in Egypt, she is a researcher at the Cairo Review of Global Affairs and pursuing a master’s degree in political science at the American University in Cairo.

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Video: Epidemic of Sexual Violence in Egypt

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Trigger Warning –

Via Heya:

“A total of 186 mob sexual harassment/assault cases have been documented by Op Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault قوة ضد التحرش/الإعتداء الجنسي الجماعي and Nazra for Feminist Studies starting June 28 till July 7, including at least 3 rape cases. The rampant sexual attacks during the Tahrir Square protests highlight the failure of the government and all political parties to face up to the violence that women in Egypt experience on a daily basis in public spaces.

Very compelling Human Rights Watch video shot by Matt Ford and Tara Todras-Whitehill.”

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On July 13: NYC Area – share your stories!

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Filmmaker Charla Harlow and researcher/author Holly Kearl (me) are teaming up to hold TWO discussion group on street harassment on Saturday July 13, 2013, in Brooklyn, NY, hosted by the Brooklyn Movement Center and we’re looking for participants.

Discussion Group 1:

Community members of the Bed-Stuy Neighborhood area are invited to share their experiences and stories with street harassment in the area, 12 – 1 p.m. EST.

Discussion Group 2:

Queer women of color from anywhere in the New York City region are invited to talk about their experiences and stories with street harassment. 2-3 p.m. EST.

Info:

The discussion groups are part of  Stop Street Harassment‘s “Documenting Street Harassment in America” initiative that includes a 2,000 person, nationally representative survey and 10 discussion groups with different demographics across the country.

They’re also part of the Harlow Project‘s Anti-Street Harassment initiative.

The discussion groups will be held at the Brooklyn Movement Center, 375 Stuyvesant Ave  Brooklyn, NY. (Directions). Light refreshments will be provided.

Note:

The sessions will be both tape recorded and then transcribed and videotaped, but to make it a safe space for participants to share their stories, they can have their names be anonymous if they would like.

RSVP:

If you can attend one of the sessions, please contact me, Holly, at hkearl@stopstreetharassment.org, by the end of the day on Friday, July 12, and let me know which one.

More info about the study:

Read more about the SSH study. I hope to complete the rest of the discussion groups this summer, conduct the survey in the fall, and release a report in early 2014.

Questions or concerns? Contact me at hkearl@stopstreetharassment.org or Charla at info@harlowproject.com.

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“I just wanted to go home”

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I was out with my boyfriend and before I was even able to pay for our parking a man started yelling at me from across the street. I ignored it initially, not even turning around and look at him. My boyfriend was still getting out of the car when it started, but yelled back at the stranger when he walked up. I flipped the man off for his rudeness, which I think made him uncomfortable (the goal I’d hoped to achieve), and he yelled a few more things while walking around the sidewalk.

Though I was glad to have done something and glad for the support from my boyfriend, it still bothered me a lot and for a while I just couldn’t bring myself to hold hands with my boyfriend or even make eye contact. I just wanted to go home. Luckily we went to an art gallery where I could wander around alone for a while.

I hate disrespectful men like that and I hope he’ll live his life lonely and sad until he learns to act respectfully to others.

– Anonymous

Location: Uptown Charlotte, NC

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