Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for October 2014

“I believe that is a fundamental issue in our society today”

By

The other night I went to visit my sister at her college, and the next night they were having a night out at a nearby rollerskating rink. I went with her and was desperately trying to teach her how to skate so I pulled her off to the side while we laughed at her clumsiness.

As I stood with my sister, an obnoxious guy skated by quickly and turned to face my sister and me as he called, “Hey there baby!” And laughed with his friend as they skated away. My first reaction was to think, “It’s a compliment, just take it as a compliment.” But the thing is, it’s NOT a compliment. Viewing me for my sexuality alone is not flattering! And more importantly, I do NOT have to accept it! I am entitled to my body, and no one else. I am fifteen years old, and that guy was probably at LEAST twenty!

Calling me things like “hot” or “sexy” or “baby or “princess” does not make me anymore interested in you. I hate the words hot and sexy, I absolutely LOATHE them. It is incredibly objectifying to call anyone a name based off of their sexuality alone and how they appeal to you in that way.

The only people who can call me ANYTHING are people who I CARE about, people who I know and think twice about. Not sick, perverted, raving rape culture enthusiasts on the street or otherwise. I wouldn’t even give that guy the time of day.

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

The first thing we need to do is band together, we need to vow to stand with our sister/brother in the scenario that they are being harassed. The second thing we need to do is educate young boys and men about how to view and treat a woman, because I believe that is a fundamental issue in our society today.

– Brianna

Location: Greenville SC, at a rollerskating rink

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

Share

Street Harassment and the Law: Global Edition

By

Via Hollaback!

“A new report released today offers the first ever global legal resource on street harassment. Led by NGO Hollaback! and the Thomson Reuters Foundation and coordinated by global law firm DLA Piper, the “Know Your Rights” guide compiles the latest legal definitions and information on all forms of street harassment across 22 countries and in 12 languages. A monumental undertaking, the guide involved the efforts of 11 legal teams working in collaboration around the world.

You can download a PDF of the guide here: Street Harassment – Know Your Rights‘”

If you’re in the USA, you can find state-by-state information in our Know Your Rights: Street Harassment and the Law released last December. It’s also available as a PDF.

 

 

Share

News from Belgium, Saudi Arabia, and USA

By

BELGIUM:

“Brussels police write up an average of two fines a day for verbal abuse, mostly targeted at women and gay people. Verbal abuse, such as cat- or name-calling, is prohibited in the capital since a law against street harassment was passed earlier this year.

“We forward all complaints to the prosecutor, but perpetrators often go unpunished for lack of evidence,” commissioner Christian De Coninck told Het Laatste Nieuws. “An officer can only take action immediately if he happens to overhear something, which has happened 18 times over the past eight months.” The perpetrators were given a so-called GAS fine of between €50 and €250.

The police and Brussels-City mayor Yvan Mayeur urge victims of harassment to always file a complaint. “The more insight we get into how, where and when this is happening, the better we can tackle the issue,” said De Coninck. “Everyone should feel safe on our sidewalks.”

SAUDI ARABIA:

“Saudi Arabia is considering hefty fines and jail sentences of up to five years for sexual harassment, it is reported.

Proposals to tighten punishment for unwanted sexual advances follow a surge in the harassment of women at workplaces, streets and shopping malls, says Arab News website.

These proposals are included in a bill that is being considered by the Social Affairs Committee of the Shura Council. It is a consultative body which has the power to propose draft laws, but not approve them. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy where the king has a monopoly of power.”

USA:

“One woman in Detroit was shot and killed after refusing to give a stranger her phone number. Another woman in New York got her throat slashed for refusing to go on a date with a stranger.

Those are just two examples of violence perpetrated against women over the past week. And while those cases grabbed news headlines, other acts of aggression on the street may have very well gone unreported. Advocates working to stop street harassment say the two incidents are a clear illustration of why catcalls and come-ons aren’t harmless for the people on the receiving end.”

USA:

“My name is Kara and I live in Uptown. For the past two months I’ve been working on a campaign to raise money for CTA ads that discourage harassment.

Street harassment is a major issue for me on my block and commute to work, and I wanted to do something to promote awareness. I’ve been working with the CTA’s advertising company on this project, and they seem very willing to help.

I just launched the fundraising page a few days ago, and today I’m having the first meeting with a group of interested people on fundraising ideas and ad content.

If you’re interested in helping/donating/attending the meeting, email me at ctacouragecampaign@gmail.com.”

Share

Seattle street harassers used to face this punishment…

By

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, street harassers were called “mashers” across the USA. In Seattle, if you were convicted of being a masher, you may have to put in time on the chain gang! Wow.

Via CrossCut.com —

“Even though Seattle was awash in prostitution, behavior toward ‘proper’ ladies had to be protected at all costs, especially as the city’s middle class expanded. Two young men in Ballard were sentenced to the gang for getting a 16-year-old Ballard girl drunk on beer.

The Seattle Times defended a chain gang sentence for another young man who was arrested for “annoying a young woman on a Seattle street.” The paper editorialized, “That penalty, too, may seem severe to some, but it does not to any man with a wife or daughter who is occasionally compelled to be upon the streets of this city alone. The offense of the ‘masher’ is akin to that of the rapist. There is only a difference in the quality of the nerve displayed. The penalty under the law is, unfortunately, too light.”

In 1907, police chief Charles “Wappy” Wappenstein decided to crack down on men and boys who harassed proper ladies on the street — a bit ironic for a policeman who was later prosecuted and jailed for taking bribes from prostitution interests in the city. Wappy threatened to start a “second chain gang to be made up of dudes and brainless individuals who have the mashing habit.” He said, “It would be a joy to me to see a finely dressed young man…working alongside a hobo, chained together with irons….”

 

Share

Afghanistan: Harassment and driving, government action?

By

Check out my article for the Washington Postabout Afghan women braving harassment and family disprovable to drive:

Zainab Zawol Shahidy

“Seventeen-year-old Zainab Zawol Shahidy >was driving her Toyota 4Runner home from school in Kabul recently when she noticed two men in a vehicle following her. “One of them pointed a gun at me and threatened me to drive along in their direction, but I refused and kept driving faster to reach home as soon as I could,” she said.

She was forced to pull over when they blocked her. One of the men threw a slip of paper at her with his phone number and said if she didn’t call him, he would kidnap her. She made it home and called security. Thankfully she has not seen these men since.

Although there are a growing numbers of women drivers in Kabul, the sight of Shahidy behind the wheel is still unusual. Everywhere she goes, she gets curious stares and frequent harassment, ranging from people making fun of her for driving to threats. “I can’t drive to places too distant from where I live due to the risk of kidnapping,” she told me through the translation of her brother, Ali Shahidy, a psychology major at Norwich University in Vermont.

Despite the risk and danger, Shahidy says she loves to drive. Besides, she said, she faces more harassment when she walks or takes public transportation.”

Related, from Human Rights Watch:

“Afghanistan’s new government should take urgent steps to combat sexual harassment of women in education, employment, and public life, Human Rights Watch said today. There are no laws in Afghanistan that specifically prohibit sexual harassment or protect victims.

Government institutions lack effective policies to prevent and punish sexual harassment, Human Rights Watch said.  On October 5, 2014, President Ashraf Ghani described levels of sexual harassment in schools as “shocking.” He ordered the Ministry of Education to report every incident of sexual harassment in schools to enable action against harassers, and directed relevant ministries to develop a plan to counter sexual harassment in educational institutions.

“President Ghani’s recognition of sexual harassment in Afghanistan as ‘shocking’ is spot-on,” said Heather Barr, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Afghan government should promptly enact a law against sexual harassment and ensure that every government institution develops and implements an anti-sexual harassment policy.”

Share