Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for April 2014

“We need to change this”

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Aged only 13, while travelling with a younger friend in broad daylight. No one did anything about it even though many could see what was going on. I thought quickly, resulting in a prison sentence for the guy. I’m glad to have sent a message that SH is utterly unacceptable yet while mulling over the issue of SH earlier today, I came to an alarming conclusion; if I experience SH in such a way again I don’t think I would report it to the police due to the time and effort required from me following the incident.

How are we to stop SH if there is a fundamental issue with the way we can end it? Unsafe disturbed and horrible are just a few of the ways I have felt afterwards and similarly to other women who have endured SH, I find myself unwittingly blaming myself; was my skirt too short?

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

Education is key as boys currently learn from a young age that it is acceptable. We need to change this. The media and its blatant objectification of women is partly to blame too as it creates a society in which men feel the need to exert their power over the ‘objects’ and deem it acceptable to get their kicks from the degradation of women.This is unacceptable and needs to change. In schools girls ought to learn how to cope with SH but I would advise making a scene even if you feel embarrassed or wonder how you are going to show your face ever again.

– Anonymous

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Take Action: Tell Snickers to Remove Its Street Harassment Ad

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Sign the petition telling Snickers to remove its demoralizing ad!

By Julie Masterine, USA

More than 6,000 people have signed a Care2 petition demanding Snickers’ latest Australian ad be removed.

Have you seen the commercial? It opens by asking, “What happens when builders aren’t themselves?” It then shows a group of construction workers shouting empowering things to unsuspecting women on the street:

“I’d like to show you the respect you deserve!”

“A woman’s place is where she chooses!”

“You know what I’d like to see? A society in which the objectification of women makes way for gender-neutral interactions, free from assumptions and expectations. You go, girl!”

Sure, women used to a lifetime of “Hey baby,” “Nice legs,” “Smile for me,” “Show me your tits,” and any other number of degrading comments often thrown our way in public spaces would certainly find these pro-feminist comments refreshing. One woman in the ad even puts her hand on her heart and mouths “thank you” to the men.

Refreshing, that is, until the ad ends and the rug is pulled out from under the viewer. “You’re not you when you’re hungry,” reads the text.

Taken as a whole, the Snickers ad is sending a message that pro-feminist men are unnatural — men are only feminist when they’re hungry and therefore “not themselves.” When they have junk food on hand, they go right back to being the sexist street harassers they normally are.

This ad isn’t just insulting to women fighting street harassment — it’s insulting to men, particularly construction workers, who are often stereotyped as being street harassers. This isn’t true, obviously — men from all walks of life street harass, and it’s unfair to peg this behavior on just one group, especially blue-collar workers (classist much?) It’s also insulting to project the idea that any man’s default position is anti-feminist.

One thing’s for sure: we won’t end street harassment by keeping men hungry. You can sign Stop Street Harassment and Care2’s petition asking Snickers to pull the ad from the airwaves here.

Julie Mastrine is an activist, feminist, and writer. She is the Activism Marketing and Social Media Manager at Care2, and is a social media volunteer for Stop Street Harassment. Follow Julie on Twitter and check out her e-book, Make Your Own Sandwich: A 20-Something’s Musings on Living Under (And Smashing) The Patriarchy

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GGE: Join Our #schoolpushout storytelling campaign

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From our allies Girls for Gender Equity:

In honor of International Anti-Street Harassment Week and April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we’re spearheading a storytelling campaign as an opportunity to raise awareness about school push-out as experienced by students, teachers, and parents/guardians. The stories will particularly lift up the experiences of girls of color, LGBTQ, and gender nonconforming youth.

Our goals:

* Change the hearts and minds of those in our school communities
* Spread awareness on students’ rights
* Advocate for the enforcing current policies to prevent school push-out and promote safety and prevention.

Let’s come together and tell our stories of injustice in school to transform the system. Join GGE’s storytelling and leadership project today! Tell your story. Take our survey.

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and use #schoolpushout – Join us on Saturday, April 5th for International Anti-Sexual Harassment Week as we collect stories and surveys. Meet Us on The Street.

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“An incident that left me terrified to leave my apartment”

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Being harassed on the streets of NYC has been a common occurrence in my life since before I was 13 years old.
The summer that I turned 21, there was an incident that left me terrified to leave my apartment and having violent nightmares every night.

A group of 6+ men were hanging out and eating on the street corner across from my subway stop. As I walked past, one of them lunged at me. When I jumped away, all of them started laughing. I fled. The one who lunged called after me, “Hey slut, nice hair.”

I had never met or seen these men before. I am not a slut. I was not dressed provocatively (not that what I was wearing should give them any excuse). I did not “ask for it.”

What I did do was run to my apartment, lock every door and window, and sit shaking and crying in my room.

Even though they haven’t been on the street corner since, I see them almost every day in my nightmares and in the faces of all the men who have harassed me since.

– SW

Location: Jackson Heights, NY

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“They ALWAYS seem to travel in packs when they harass me”

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I’ve been dealing with street harassment by both men and teenage boys all of my life; more times than I can count. I’ve also noticed women being groped and verbally abused in public which makes me feel powerless to do anything about it. I’ve been verbally abused in public places of all kinds. I’ve been called “bitch”, “ho”(i.e.whore) countless times and, have endured men and teenage boys making sexual remarks about my body throughout my life.

One thing that I’ve noticed with them is that they ALWAYS seem to travel in packs when they harass me and other women. If they’re alone, they don’t bother me or, other women. It’s as though they’re trying to impress their “boys” when they’re verbally abusing me and other women in public. I usually just ignore it.

However, I also remember being whistled at once by some guy when I was about 22 yrs. old. That time, I fought back and, I can’t recall what exactly I said but, I told him something to the effect of I didn’t like what he did and he needed to stop. I think I remember he apologized. I remember feeling very empowered when I fought back!

I also am verbal abused by men when I drive. I’m called a “bitch” alot. I guess they feel big knowing that they tried to hurt my self-esteem when they can just call me a derogatory term and, speed away which is what they do after they’ve cursed me. All of the verbal abuse and harassment that I’ve endured over the yrs. as contributed to the hatred that I have for men/boys (especially Black men/boys since I’m a Black women who’s lived in Black communities all of my life and, Black males are usually the culprits of verbal abuse that I’ve endured). I usually don’t get harassed by any other race of males other than Black males.

– Amanda

Location: Countless places

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