Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for June 2014

USA: Weighing in on harassment against interracial couples

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Kasumi Hirokawa, PA, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

As a car window rolled down, I waited. Perhaps my boyfriend saw it coming, too. “Chinky legs, chinky legs, chinky legs! Ayeeeee!” A male voice chanted at us when we crossed the street, hand in hand.

It was the second time people shouted insensitive remarks at us. Or to me? I do not know. Both incidents I experienced seemed to involve men yelling Asian slurs. Somehow in 2014, the sight of an East Asian woman and a black man linking arms still offends people. The sight of two people in love.

State College, Pa. is a small town of approximately 41,757, according to the United States Census data as of 2013. It’s also very white. The data estimates 83% of the town residents identified as white in 2010. I have also heard that Pennsylvania is one of KKK’s favorite hangouts from multiple sources, including this article by TIME magazine. However, none of these justify hate.

I still remember the first time something like it happened. I think I will never forget if it happens again. It was on our way home from a formal at a mutual friend’s house. We were walking back as we passed by a pair of wobbling white men when my boyfriend abruptly turned around and stopped. “What is it?” I asked. He replied through his clenched teeth, “I thought I heard them say horrible things. Something like ‘sideways pussy.’ Did you hear it?” I was not paying enough attention to even notice it. But my boyfriend is not the kind to make this sort of things up, especially when it is obvious that I am tired.

Unable to find much reliable literature on harassment against interracial couples online, I wondered if similar things happen to other interracial couples. I sought out a few friends of mine, each of whom was in at least one interracial relationship.

Mandy* is an Asian American woman and a student at a local university. She said she was at the receiving end of “judgmental” stares when she was with her boyfriend, who is black, for a gathering in a campus building. She recalled being the only Asian girl in the room: “People [kept asking me], ‘Are you with him?’”

Kyle*, a recent college graduate who lives in Green Lane, Pa., said he and his former partner was never subjected to “direct attack” from strangers but they “caught bad looks and [received] poor service” at restaurants. He said waiting staff would bring food to others who were seated after them – a white man and a black woman. “Waitresses wouldn’t stop by as frequently and you could see them looking [at us],” he recounted.

The days of racism and sexism are seemingly over in the eyes of those who refuse to look at what is happening around them. Who knows what the person behind you in the Starbucks line thinks about another from a different racial, religious or sexual orientation groups? They would shake hands with a fake smile with anyone when sober. How about when their PC façade is washed down by alcohol, mob mentality or raging sense of entitlement? Just like creepy comments hurled at me when I’m alone, these hurtful words and gestures are supposed to remind us that we have stepped out of the line and the harassers have the power to police us.

Kasumi is a recent graduate from Penn State with a BA in journalism. Her writing has been published in Valley Magazine, City Weekend Shanghai, Penn State GeoBlog and Shanghai Daily. You can follow her on Twitter, @kasumihrkw

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Puerto Rico: El riesgo de ser universitaria, inmigrante o trabajadora en Río Piedras

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Cristina del Mar Quiles, Puerto Rico, SSH Blog Correspondent

Río Piedras, un importante sector de San Juan, es una de las pocas áreas de Puerto Rico donde se camina mucho y se depende del transporte público. Es justo donde ubica el principal campus de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, por lo que es habitado en gran medida por estudiantes. Pero Río Piedras también es el segundo centro urbano con mayor población de inmigrantes dominicanos, que en su mayoría son mujeres que llegaron a la isla con la intención de trabajar y poder enviarles dinero a sus familiares en República Dominicana.

Las características demográficas de este centro urbano multiplican en un área pequeña las dinámicas de acoso callejero que son práctica y costumbre en el resto de Puerto Rico. Las estudiantes, las mujeres dominicanas y las trabajadoras de los comercios del área se convierten a diario en el punto de miradas acosadoras, silbidos, chistes machistas, comentarios vulgares e, incluso, masturbaciones públicas.

Para nutrir este escrito con algunos testimonios, me di a la tarea de caminar por el casco urbano de Río Piedras. Sabía que no sería difícil encontrar mujeres que hubieran experimentado el acoso callejero.

Cerca de la librería Mágica, en la avenida Ponce de León, me topé con una estudiante, Katia López. Me contó que es alumna de una de las escuelas públicas cercanas al área. Con 15 años, Katia no me pudo responder cuándo fue la primera vez que un desconocido le lanzó un comentario sobre su apariencia, le pitó o le dijo algo que la incomodara, pero cuando le pregunté que si experimentaba este tipo de situación frecuentemente me respondió con un largo y resignado “sííííííí”.

“En verdad estoy acostumbrada… O sea, yo siempre camino con mis amigas y siempre nos están tocando bocina, tirándonos besos desde los carros… A mí no me gusta, ‘no like’, pero creo que ya, simplemente, los ignoro”, me dijo.

Como estudiante de escuela en Puerto Rico, Katia debe vestir uniforme cada día de clase. O sea, al verla en su uniforme, es evidente que se trata de una menor de edad. Su aspecto físico es el de una niña y su uniforme debe confirmarlo. Pero, en su caso, eso no ha sido disuasivo para el acoso callejero.

Cuando cerca de la estación del tren abordé a Lucía Durán, una dominicana de 34 años que trabaja como empleada doméstica , me respondió con una mirada de resignación y me dijo: “Ay, es que eso pasa todo el tiempo. Tú no te imaginas lo que una tiene que aguantar en la AMA… Lo peor es cuando la guagua va llena, temprano en la mañana o a las 5 de la tarde, los hombres aprovechan y se paran detrás de una… Ahí se aprovechan tocan a una y una ahí aguantando y soportando…” Lucía piensa que muchos hombres se aprovechan de las mujeres dominicanas, pues si no tienen residencia legal en la isla, es muy poco probable que acudan a donde alguna autoridad a denunciarlos.

A Ana Marie Carrasquillo la encontré cerca de la Plaza del Mercado. Es una universitaria que vivió por algún tiempo en Río Piedras, pero que no ha dejado de comprar los frutos frescos que se venden en la Plaza del Mercado. Cuando le pregunté sobre el asunto del acoso callejero, esta muchacha prácticamente se desahogó. Me dijo que le pasó que un día de camino a su hospedaje un hombre le llamó la atención, cuando miró, el tipo se estaba masturbando. “Obviamente me sentí mal, insegura. Quería salir corriendo y llegar rápido a mi apartamento. No sabía qué pensar, pero me puse bien nerviosa. Cuando llegué, no sé por qué, empecé a llorar. Fue una sensación que no te puedo explicar”. Unas semanas después, una mañana en que salía de su apartamento en la calle Humacao hacia el campus universitario, se dio cuenta de que el mismo hombre la esperaba al otro lado de la calle. Ella caminó de prisa, pero lo escuchaba a él siguiéndola. Mientras, él decía en voz muy bajita comentarios sexuales.

Luego de esos incidentes, Ana Marie dejó de hospedarse en Río Piedras. Renunció a la independencia que había adquirido cuando fue aceptada en la Universidad de Puerto Rico y sus padres le permitieron vivir cerca del campus y ya no con ellos en su casa en Naranjito. Pero Ana Marie no quiso exponerse más y decidió volver a vivir a la casa de sus padres, donde sí se sentía segura. Eso significó que todos los días se tenía que levantar dos horas antes, gastar sobre $50 dólares en gasolina cada semana, coger un tapón de una hora en el trayecto de Naranjito a San Juan y perder 20 minutos buscando estacionamiento para poder llegar a su clase de Biología a las 8:30 de la mañana.

El caso de Ana Marie es una evidencia clara de cómo el acoso callejero transforma e impacta negativamente la vida de quienes lo sufren.

“Cuando le cuento esto a la gente, me dicen que soy una exagerada. Pero, yo pienso, y es bien triste y frustrante tener que decirlo así, que al menos mí no me hicieron más daño; al menos a mí no me violaron, porque otras cuantas la han pasado peor que yo”. Entonces Ana Marie me cuenta de la mujer que fue encontrada gimiendo de dolor tras ser atacada y dejada en un edificio abandonado frente a la terminal de guaguas públicas de Río Piedras, y de las estudiantes que fueron violadas en sus hospedajes por un extraño que irrumpió en sus dormitorios en medio de la noche.

La experiencia de Ana Marie es una de las más dramáticas que he escuchado, pero sé, me consta, que el acoso callejero es una cuestión de todos los días. Aún así, he buscado, pero es muy poco lo que se ha dicho o escrito sobre este tema en Puerto Rico.

Permea la idea de que los llamados “piropos” son una forma en que los hombres pueden halagar y hacer sentir bien a las mujeres que caminan por la calle. Muchos piensan que las mujeres que visten escotes, ropa ceñida o pantalones y faldas cortas se exponen a ello y que hay algunas que por su constitución física no podrán evitarlo nunca, pues su voluptuosidad provoca el deseo masculino.

Todas estas concepciones están equivocadas. Entonces, el principal arma de defensa que tenemos es nuestra voz; educar e insistir en que no son “solo piropos”. Hay detrás de cada comentario, de cada bocinazo una cultura que ha convertido a la mujer en accesorio y objeto del que se puede disponer al antojo masculino. Necesitamos visibilizar las experiencias, cuestionar los estándares sociales y contestar, denunciar y luchar.

Cristina es una periodista y productora de noticias de San Juan, Puerto Rico. Posee un bachillerato de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, donde también completa su maestría en Consejería. Puedes seguirla en Twitter en @cristinadelmarq

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Puerto Rico: The risk of being a college student, immigrant or a female worker in Río Piedras.

Río Piedras, an important sector of San Juan, is one of the few areas of Puerto Rico where people walk a lot and rely on public transportation. It is where the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico is located, so it is inhabited mostly by students. But Río Piedras is also the second most populated urban center of Dominican immigrants, who are mostly women who came to this island with the intention to work and send money to their relatives in the Dominican Republic.

The demographic characteristics of this urban center in a small area multiply the dynamics of street harassment that are usual and customary in the rest of Puerto Rico. The students, Dominican women and workers of the businesses in the area often face harassing looks, whistling, sexist jokes, lewd comments and even public masturbation.

To nurture this writing with some testimonials, I gave myself the task of walking through the town of Río Piedras. I knew it would not be difficult to find women who had experienced street harassment.

Near the Librería Mágica, on Ponce de León Avenue, I came across a student, Katia López. She told me she attends a public school near the area. At 15, Katia could not answer me when was the first time that a stranger cat-called on her appearance, or said anything that made her feel uncomfortable, but when I asked her if she had experienced this kind of situation she responded with a long and resigned “siiiiiii”.

“I’m really used to it… I mean, I’m always with my friends and guys honk their horn at us, or throw kisses from their cars … I do not like it, ‘not like’, but now I simply ignore it”, she said.

As a student of a school in Puerto Rico, Katia should wear a uniform every day of class. So, seeing her in her uniform, is a clear evidence that she’s a minor. Her physical appearance is that of a girl and her school uniform should confirm that. It has not been a deterrent to street harassment.

When I neared the train station, I talked to Lucía Durán, a 34 years old Dominican who works as a maid. She replied with a look of resignation and said, “Oh, this happens all the time. You can not imagine what one has to endure in the AMA (public transportation buses) … The worst is when the bus is full, early in the morning or 5 in the afternoon, the men take advantage and stand behind… There is a leverage play and there holding and supporting … “Lucía thinks that many men take advantage of Dominican women because of their illegal residence in the island, is very unlikely to denounce to the authorities.

I found Ana Marie Carrasquillo near the Market Square. She’s a college student who lived for some time in Río Piedras. Although she’s now in another town, she kept buying the fresh fruit sold in the Market Square. When I asked about the issue of street harassment, this girl practically vented. She told me about a day in particular on the way to her student housing, a man called her attention. As she looked, the guy was masturbating. “Obviously, I felt bad, and unsafe. I wanted to run faster and get to my apartment. I did not know what to think, but I got really nervous. When I arrived, I don’t know why, I began to cry out loud. It was a feeling I can’t explain. ” A few weeks later, one morning when she left her apartment on the Humacao street to the college campus, she realized that the same man was waiting across the street. She walked fast, but listened to him following her.

After those incidents, Ana Marie stopped staying in Río Piedras. She renounced the independence she had acquired when she was accepted at the University of Puerto Rico and her parents allowed her to live by herself close to campus and not at home with them in Naranjito. But Ana Marie would not be exposed anymore to situations like these and decided to live in her parental home, where she felt safer. That meant that every day she had to get up two hours before, spend about $ 50 on gas each week, take a traffic jam of an hour in the path from Naranjito to San Juan and lose 20 minutes looking for parking to be on time for her Biology class at 8:30 a.m.

The case of Ana Marie is a clear evidence of how street harassment transforms and negatively impacts the lives of those whom it affects.

“When I tell people about this, they say I’m exaggerating. I think -and it’s very sad and frustrating to have to say so- that at least I wasn’t so damaged; at least I wasn’t raped, because few others had it worst “. Then, Ana Marie tells me of the woman who was found moaning in pain after being attacked and left in an abandoned building in front of the public buses terminal at Río Piedras. Or as happened to the

students who were raped in their lodgings by a stranger who broke into their bedrooms in the middle of the night.

Ana Marie’s experience is one of the most dramatic I’ve heard, but I know, I know, street harassment is an everyday issue. Still, I have searched, but very little has been said or written about this in Puerto Rico.

It tarnishes the idea that the so-called “compliments” are a way in which men can flatter women walking down the street. Many think that women who expose cleavage, sport tight clothing and short skirts or trousers are rightfully exposed to catcalling without remedy.

All these views are wrong. Because of this, the main weapon of defense we have is our voice; educate and insist that they are not “just compliments.” Behind every comment, every honk there’s a culture that has turned women into an accessory and an object that can be subjected to the male will. We need reveal these experiences, question and answer social standards, denounce and fight.

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“I am entitled to carry on with my day unencumbered”

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Last week at the grocery store, I was harassed by a complete stranger. I had just gotten in my car after loading all of my groceries up when I noticed a man walk by the car. He looked like he was looking in the car or that he was about to come up and approach me, but I did not want to be approached by a stranger as I never do at any time. After I saw him walk away, which was very close to the car, I started pull out. He appeared behind my car, like he was coming back to talk to me. I stopped my car to make sure that I didn’t hit him but he walked right up to the driver side window and gestured for me to roll it down. I did not do this because I do not feel obligated to talk to strange man that I do not know, I have a boyfriend and I would not be interested in getting picked up at a grocery store anyway.

He began cursing and swearing; he yelled something along lines of ‘fuck you, you fucking bitch’ etc., as well as displaying body language that show he was angry. He flailed his arms around and shook his head. When I got home I checked my groceries to see if I had left something and my wallet to see if I had dropped any money, because I was alarmed that he had gotten so angry and thought maybe he had been trying to help me. He wasn’t. I had everything I needed. He was mad because I would not roll down my window down to be hit on. It is scary to live in a world were strange men think that they are more entitled to talk to me than I am entitled to carry on with my day unencumbered.

– Anonymous

Location: Albertson’s parking lot, Lafayette, LA

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more ideas

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New Film: Out in the Night

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I’m teaching a “Representations of Women” class at George Mason University (GMU) where I am a new adjunct professor. A key lesson from my class is that women are, first of all, under-represented in most media (from tv shows and movies to op-eds and news articles) and a second lesson is that when they are there, they’re often sexualized or stereotyped.

GMU Professor Giovanna Chesler is the producer of a new film Out in the Night which encompasses both street harassment and representations of women in the media — and more.

Via Bitch Magazine:

“Who has the right to self-defense? How do race, class, sexuality, and gender expression affect what our society sees as violent? In 75 minutes, new documentary Out in the Night challenges us to consider these questions.

The film follows the case of Venice Brown, Terrain Dandridge, Renata Hill and Patreese Johnson, four women who became known as the New Jersey Four after they defended themselves against an assault on the streets of New York City’s West Village.

On August 18, 2006, seven young black lesbians friends from Newark, New Jersey, came to New York City’s West Village. As they walked down the street, they were harassed by a man named Duane Buckle. When they told him they were gay, he began threatening to rape them—then he physically attacked them, throwing his lit cigarette at them, ripping the hair from one woman’s head, and choking another woman. The women defended themselves and, at some point during the four-minute fight, two unknown men jumped in to assist them. As Buckle attempted to choke Renata Hill, Patreese Johnson stabbed him with a pen knife. The two unknown men left the scene, but when police arrived, they arrested the women. Buckle was taken to the hospital where he stated that men had attacked him. Nonetheless, the women were charged with assault and attempted murder.”

From the Out in the Night Facebook page:

“Out in the Night follows their journey to Rikers Island, to the courtroom, and through slanderous media coverage that labeled them a “Wolfpack” and “Lesbian Gang”. While exploring the fight from all sides through the security camera footage that captured it, that hot August night in 2006 can be seen from many perspectives. But our film’s purpose is to examine the events after the fight: biased media coverage likening the women to “man-hating” animals, and unprecedentedly harsh sentencing by the court. This story shows how four young, queer women of color were unfairly criminalized for defending themselves.”

The film team has been screening the documentary at film festivals (there are a few screenings coming up, see if there’s one near you!) and Professor Chesler and I plan to meet up upon her return. Stay tuned!

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Egyptian man sentenced to jail for taking inappropriate photo

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The anti-sexual harassment law in Egypt is being used.

Via Reuters —

“A Cairo court sentenced a man to one year in jail on Saturday for harassing a woman, the swiftest such ruling since Egypt introduced a new law in early June to combat sexual harassment.

Abdel Lattif Abdel Fattah, a 39-year-old electrician, was arrested only three days ago, judicial sources said. He was accused of taking pictures with his mobile telephone of a woman passenger on a public bus while she was sleeping.

Abdel Fattah was dragged to the nearest police station by other passengers on the bus, who also testified against him, the source said. He was sentenced to hard labor during his imprisonment and fined 3,000 Egyptian pounds ($420).”

Thoughts?!

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