Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming
I was walking home, alone, from having a beer with a friend when a guy at a bus stop stood up and got in my face. He said, “Damn, girl, you sexy as Hell.”
I tried to politely move around him and he screamed, “WELL, F*** YOU THEN, C***” at me and his friend grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
– jbrylah
Location: Hollywood and Wilmont, Los Angeles, CA
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
Check out the new book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers!
Our Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Site in Cameroon is hosting a workshop for youth on gender violence & street harassment on Nov. 30. Learn more.
Usually at six in the morning I set off for my classes, I ride in local public buses (according to international standard it will be considered a battered old mini-bus always cramped with at least 40 adults instead of 30 midget skinny teenagers which is its actual capacity). So every commuter is practically breathing in the others’ sweat.
There are seats reserved for women beside the driver and it may seem sexist but I enjoy this privilege immensely since I get the chance to sit. So I was sitting beside a fellow female commuter and a guy sitting opposite facing us was ogling at us as if he was given birth by a man. It was disconcerting, to say the least, and the other woman was wearing a burka covering herself from head to toe except for her face and I was covering myself my (head to abdomen except my face) with a big long dupatta or stole of my three piece (full sleeved) traditional dress. This is a particular non-descriptive drab dress which guarantees inattention which is why I have made it my bus riding uniform but no such luck seem there that day.
We had already reached our destination (the woman and I were getting off at the same place) and we did not get our change yet, so I got up and stood by the door of the cramped bus and the woman stood behind me.
There are two conductors in such buses, one who stands by the door, hauls in and out commuters by asking the driver to brake or accelerate and the other collects the fare. I asked the conductor standing by the door beside me to give me back my change so I can get off, he asked the other to pay me off. So I was standing sandwiched in the crowd of commuters when I started feeling something weird, the conductor had his fingers on and around my ‘v’. I was so startled the only reflex I managed was drag his hand away and held them until I got off. I told the story to the other woman she said that she too has been squeezed by the back from the conductor while getting off.
Except for asking Almighty to punish him appropriately, I could not scream, kick him in the shin or scratch his eyes out. Besides, what would have been the point of screaming, people would have asked me if I am sure I have been groped or felt his hand brushed past me?
– screechinraven
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
Check out the new book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers!
Have you heard about AR Wear? It’s anti-rape clothing.
The designers write on their website: “We developed this product so that women and girls could have more power to control the outcome of a sexual assault. We wanted to offer some peace of mind in situations that cause feelings of apprehension, such as going out on a blind date, taking an evening run, ‘clubbing’, traveling in unfamiliar countries, and any other activity that might make one anxious about the possibility of an assault.”
Check out what SSH staff had to say.
Talia Hagerty went on Fox 5 in NYC, saying, “The challenge is to find a way to prevent people from committing rape, not to give women another reason to feel it’s our responsibility if we’re raped.
I spoke to a writer for the Washington Post, “This product places the focus on women as being the responsible party for stopping their own rape. That is highly problematic.”
What do you think?
Today, the second-ever city council hearing on street harassment was held in Philadelphia! The first was held in 2010 in New York City.
This hearing came about because Council Member James Kenney read tweets by Hollaback! Philly about street harassment, researched the issue and he decided he wanted to address it. When he reached out to Hollaback! Philly over Twitter to ask what he could do, Hollaback! Philly’s director Rochelle Keyhan requested a city council hearing. While it took seven months to get it scheduled, today it happened.
During the morning hearing in Philadelphia’s City Hall, nine people testified (some represented organizations like FAAN Mail and Women Bike PHL, others were simply there as citizens), and Rochelle played a video of teenage girls sharing their stories, since they couldn’t attend due to school. Most people courageously and passionately shared their street harassment stories during their testimonies, Rochelle presented Hollaback! Philly’s new survey data, and I put the issue into a global context and explained why it’s a human rights violation. (Stay tuned, I will post everyone’s testimonies soon.)
The main ask of the City Council is to help Hollaback! Philly organize community safety audits, a type of action created by METRAC, which the United Nations uses around the world and which activists in Washington, D.C. (co-led by SSH and Collective Action for Safe Spaces) and NYC (co-led by city council members and several activist groups) have already used. Hollaback! Philly needs help from the City Council in connecting with diverse community groups and churches in neighborhoods throughout the city to ensure that volunteers conducting the audit come from a range of backgrounds and perspectives.
The four male city council members who heard us were very sympathetic and strongly against the issue. This is HUGE progress. They were also interested in seeing the issue brought up to kids in schools and working with police officers to train them to know how to help with street harassment incidents.
After the hearing, Council Member Kenney met with us and assured us this was not a “one and done day,” but that he was committed to working with Hollaback! Philly and other groups to address the issue. Great!
Congrats to Hollaback! Philly, and in particular to Rochelle, for doing all the leg work and follow-up and organizing to make this happen and to make it successful!
