Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming
Today on the way to work, a guy came up behind me on the subway and whispered, “Your legs made me miss my stop. I ain’t even mad.”
I want to bathe in acid.
– Bonnie
Location: NYC Subway
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea
Andrea Flores Hernández, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, SSH Blog Correspondent
59 mujeres. 59 mujeres de distintas regiones del país, de distintas edades, con distintas ambiciones. Todas ellas fueron víctimas de feminicidio en el primer semestre de este año. El feminicidio, se refiere al asesinato de mujeres por razones de género, y este tipo de asesinato ha cobrado más vidas femeninas que aquellos por inseguridad ciudadana.
Si bien el 9 de marzo de 2013, el Presidente de Bolivia, Evo Morales, promulgó la ley n° 348 “Ley Integral para garantizar a las mujeres una vida libre de violencia”, aún falta mucho por hacer. La burocracia frena a la justicia y esto ocasiona que muy pocos casos terminen con una sentencia. “Mientras no se implemente la Ley 348 y la mujer no tenga que peregrinar institución por institución para ser atendida cuando va a denunciar violencia de género; y la policía, fiscales y jueces dejen los prejuicios machistas, va a ser muy difícil que los casos de violencia contra la mujer lleguen a sentencia. Hay que cambiar la mentalidad colonizada y patriarcal de nuestra sociedad.” sentencia Carmen Sandoval, abogada con amplio conocimiento sobre la violencia contra la mujer boliviana.
Es bueno que existan leyes que protejan a la mujer. Pero, ¿no sería excelente si esa ley no tuviera motivo para existir? Quizá suene utópico, irreal, o algo imposible; pero el imaginar una mejor sociedad ¿no es acaso el origen de comenzar acciones que la hagan posible?
En Bolivia, las autoridades denuncian y condenan la violencia contra la mujer, pero pocos alzan la voz en contra del diario acoso callejero, que también es violencia. ¿Por qué? ¿Acaso hemos tomado el acoso como algo “normal” en nuestra sociedad?
El feminicidio es la manera más extremista del hombre para demostrar que la mujer es un objeto, y la manera cotidiana de demostrar esta idea es el acoso en las calles. ¿Por qué debemos esperar a que una mujer sea víctima mortal para recién comenzar a hacer algo?
La idea de que la mujer es un objeto es el verdadero virus de la sociedad. Un hombre que piense que esa idea es verdadera jamás podrá respetar plenamente a una mujer. Un hombre que vea a la mujer como objeto nunca comprenderá que la mujer es un ser independiente de él.
No dejemos que las víctimas de feminicidio que hay en tu país o en el mío, se conviertan solamente en cifras. No dejemos que se conviertan en simples números que alimentan los miles de reportes acerca del tema. No olvidemos que luego de la cifra se encuentra la palabra “mujeres”. No olvidemos que esa palabra contiene fuerza, voluntad, sueños y deseos. Para esas 59 mujeres víctimas de feminicidio todo eso se extinguió. Pero nosotras seguimos aquí. Y mientras sigamos aquí, actuemos. Hagamos algo por evitar que otras mujeres se conviertan en víctimas. Hagamos algo para que tú y yo no seamos víctimas. Tratando de eliminar esta idea despreciable de ver a la mujer como mero objeto, extinguiremos de a poco la violencia más cotidiana, como es el acoso callejero, hasta la más extremista, como es el feminicidio.
Bolivia: The extremism of a primitive idea.
59 women. 59 women from different regions of the country, of different ages, with different ambitions. All these women were victims of femicide in the first half of the year. Femicide refers to the murder of women because of their gender, and this type of murder has claimed more lives than those of insecurity.
Even though the 9 of March 2013 the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, promulgated the Law No. 348 “Integral Law to guarantee women a life free of violence,” much remains to be done. The bureaucracy slows justice and this causes very few cases end with a conviction. “While Law 348 is not implemented and the woman does not have to “pilgrimage” institution by institution, to denounce violence; and the police, prosecutors and judges do not leave male prejudices, will be very difficult for this type of violence come to judgment. We must change the colonized and patriarchal mentality of our society.” Says Carmen Sandoval, a lawyer with extensive knowledge on violence against Bolivian women.
It is good that there are laws to protect women. But would it not be great if that law had not reason to exist? It may sound utopian, unrealistic, or impossible; but imagine a better society is not perhaps the origin of starting actions that make it possible?
In Bolivia, authorities denounce and condemn violence against women, but few of them speak out against daily street harassment, which is also violence. Why? Have we taken the harassment as “normal” in our society?
Femicide is the most extreme way of a man to show that the woman is an object, and the daily way to prove this is the harassment on the streets. Why should we wait for a woman to be fatality to start doing something?
The idea that the woman is an object is the real virus of the society. A man who thinks that this idea is true will never fully respect a woman. A man who sees women as objects will never understand that woman is a human being independent of him.
Do not let the victims of femicide in your country or mine, become only numbers. Do not let them become simple numbers that feed the thousands of reports on the subject. Do not forget that after that number is the word “women.” Do not forget that words have power, will, dreams and desires. For these 59 women victims of femicide are dead. But we’re still here. And while we’re still here, we have to act. Let’s do something to prevent other women from becoming victims. Let’s do something in order that you and I cannot be victims. Trying to delete this despicable idea of seeing women as mere objects, we will slowly extinguish the daily violence, such as street harassment, to the more extreme, as is the femicide.
Andrea is in her second year of university, studying Social Communication. You can follow her on Twitter: @AndreaFlores116
By Julie Mastrine
When I first became a social media volunteer for Stop Street Harassment, curating the Twitter and Facebook feeds for the nonprofit was tricky — I could find very few articles, blog posts, or tweets on the matter. Fast forward to 2 years later, and I can barely keep up with all the stories coming from women and LGBTQ folks exposing this cultural issue. The latest content to go viral is a video of a woman walking around New York City for 10 hours and being harassed more than 100 times.
Women have been taught street harassment is normal or even a compliment, but you can see from the video how sobering these incidents are when taken together over a few hours (now imagine them amassed over a lifetime).
And yet, many people take away a twisted message from calls to end street harassment. They assume ending street harassment means squashing all communication with strangers in public. They think women never want to be approached by people they don’t know. Usually the conversation goes like this:
Me: “We need to work to end street harassment.”
Opponent: “So you’re saying we should never approach anyone in public? What will that do to our communities!?”
This argument is a straw man. Feminists fighting street harassment are not trying to end all public interactions. We are simply asking that public interactions be respectful, mindful of personal space, free of unwanted sexual or objectifying remarks, and mutually desired.
Street harassment is rooted in a need to assert power, objectification of women’s bodies, and entitlement to women’s time and attention. But it is possible to have respectful street interactions — we just have to learn how to distinguish street harassment from street respect.
Street Harassment:
1. Saying (or yelling or shouting) sexual or objectifying comments. Some examples from stories women have submitted to Stop Street Harassment’s blog:
“Show me your tits!”
“Hi babe, would you like to touch my dick?”
“Have you got hair on it yet, love?” (said to a 15-year-old)
“That’s what I like, a woman on her knees.”
“Sluts!”
“Bitch!”
“I like your boobies!”
“Fine ass.”
“Take off your top!”
“Wanna f**k?”
Etcetera. Honestly, the examples of lewd comments go on and on and on.
2. Making sexual or objectifying gestures/disrespecting personal space:
Kissy noises
Following via car, bike or foot
Leering/staring
Pinching/groping
Blocking someone’s path
Taking photos up someone’s skirt or dress
Masturbating in public (do I really have to note this one? Apparently, yes.)
It should be pretty clear these actions and comments are disrespectful. So what constitutes street respect?
If you genuinely just want to make a new friend or are interested in speaking to someone who piques your interest on the street, you can absolutely go about it in a respectful way.
Street Respect:
1. Give compliments (but tread lightly).
* Steer clear of compliments that are actually just objectification of someone’s body or body parts.
* Try complimenting an actual object: “Great dress!” “I love the color of your shoes.” “Where did you get that awesome bag?”
2. Find common ground by asking questions.
* “I’ve read that book and really liked it. Are you enjoying it?”
* “Have you visited the bistro on 11th St.? I might go there for lunch and would love to hear an opinion.”
* “I used to have a beagle just like yours. Is he friendly?”
* “Do you use Lyft? I’m trying to get to Market St. and wondered if it’s worth installing the app.”
* “Can you recommend any good cafés nearby?”
3. Read body language. Take the following gestures to indicate someone is not interested in talking:
* Headphones in
* Walking briskly (like the woman in the aforementioned video!)
* Head down
* Lack of eye contact
* One-word answers
Too many women and LGBTQ folks live in fear of violence after a lifetime of being sexualized and approached aggressively in public. It’s absolutely possible to end street harassment while fostering respectful street interactions. Spread positivity on the streets, and exhibit genuine interest in and respect for those around you — don’t resort to harassing and intimidating others.
[Editor’s Note: Check out more of our resources on this subject.]
Julie Mastrine is a writer and feminist. She is the 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.
Today I joined Joe Vess from Promundo at the World Bank offices to discuss how to create an effective anti-harassment campaign on public transportation. The World Bank is preparing to launch a pilot campaign on 30 buses in Mexico City this winter.
Here is more about what and why they plan to do. Stay tuned for more updates:
“In Mexico City, 65 percent of women have been victims of some type of gender violence on public transportation or at mass transport stops, terminals or platforms, according to government figures.
It is a reality repeated in other countries of the region. A survey by the non-governmental organization Action Aid in four Brazilian states revealed that 44% of women had suffered sexual harassment on public transportation.
In the first eight months of 2014, 129 people have been arrested for this type of conduct on mass transport systems in Bogota, Colombia, according to police records….
The World Bank and local organizations are developing a pilot program to implement effective measures to combat the problem of sexual harassment on public transportation and mass transport stops in Latin America.
Preliminary research identified four common denominators in interviews with users and public transport officials:
* Reporting is not easy: there is an overall sense that it is not worth reporting incidents because it is a complicated procedure that almost never produces results.
* There is little solidarity among strangers: if there were more of a sense of community, people would speak up when an incident occurs and would be more likely to support victims.
* Segregation is not enough: many users consider segregation a stopgap measure that does not address inappropriate behavior. Some even believe that it is another way to victimize women since it suggests that they “choose” to subject themselves to harassment if they do not travel in the women’s sections.
* Improved infrastructure = more security: participants feel safer when stations and platforms are in good condition.
Based on these results, experts recommend several measures to address the problem.
These include a public awareness campaign to encourage users to join forces against perpetrators, and new services to make users feel safer (for example, night buses that go to users’ houses, in the manner of the San Francisco system). Recommendations also include the development of mobile apps to report harassment, seek help or information.”
UPDATE: I posted this before I had a chance to watch it. After watching it and reading comments about it, two things come to mind:
1- I agree with some people who are saying that not everything depicted looked like harassment, but I think the point was to show the accumulation of how often men were speaking to her on the street, unsolicited, in a single day. I doubt they were all saying good morning and bless you to men walking by so in that sense, they are still treating her like public property that they can interrupt at any time.
2 – I am disappointed that the clip reinforces the stereotype that street harassment is men of color harassing white women when men of all races harass and women of all races are harassed… And some women harass and some men are harassed!! What would be more useful is a video that follows five different people of different backgrounds/identities in different parts of the country for a day to show the different types of harassment they each experience.
But that said, this video is getting a lot of views and attention and that is something this issue needs!
“God bless you, mami,”
“Hey baby.”
“DAMN.”
“You don’t wanna talk?”
Street harassment disproportionately impacts women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and young people, the group says on its website: “Although the degree to which Shoshana gets harassed is shocking, the reality is that the harassment that people of color and LGBTQ individuals face is oftentimes more severe and more likely to escalate into violence.”
Inspired by the experiences of his girlfriend, shooter Rob Bliss reached out to Hollaback! to partner on a PSA highlighting the impact of street harassment. For 10 hours, he walked with a camera in his backpack in front of volunteer Shoshana B. Roberts, who walked silently with two microphones in her hands.
The impact? You’ll have to see it for yourself.”