Archives for January 2015

Gender and Public Transportation

January 21, 2015 By HKearl

Here’s an interesting article from the World Bank about transportation and gender. Excerpt:

“One World Bank Group report, Mainstreaming Gender in Road Transport, highlights the differences between men and women in travel patterns in relation to trip purpose, frequency, and distance of travel. It finds that women make more and more complex trips than men.

These differences stem from differences in the social and economic roles of men and women. For women, transport provides access to various resources and opportunities, such as jobs, childcare, education, and health facilities, whereas men are far more likely to rely on private vehicles. Yet women’s safety is most often overlooked….

Safe roads and transportation rank as a top priority globally. UN-led polling as part of consultations on what targets will succeed the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals, “better transport and roads” was listed in the top 10 by more than 7 million men and women who voted.

The message is getting through. In Washington this week, for example, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences convenes the world’s largest meeting of transportation experts, with a number of gender-related sessions on the agenda.”

“The objectification of women increases their fears of sexual assault”

January 20, 2015 By HKearl

Via Vocativ:

“In a study published late last week, researchers found the treatment of women as sexual objects has been shown to contribute to anxiety over their physical safety.

“Our research supports previous findings that the rampant sexual objectification of women, an act of sexual terrorism, can heighten women’s fears of incurring physical and sexual harm,” says lead author Dr. Laurel Watson, a psychology professor specializing in traumatology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City…

The study looked at a sample of 133 African-American and 95 white female undergraduates—a demographic for which the incidence of rape is believed to be five to seven times higher than the general population. The African-American respondents reported more sexual objectification experiences and fear of crime than white women, and therefore experienced more psychological stress.

Regardless of race, though, all women (consciously or not) took various measures to alleviate their fears, from avoiding walking alone at night to carrying pepper spray in their handbags. And while such behaviors may be seen as common sense, Watson argues they should not be misinterpreted as solutions because they place the burden of maintaining safety on women, rather than on the perpetrators themselves.

“Partnerships with men in stopping violence may help transform unequal power distributions between men and women—a chief reason why violence against women occurs in the first place,” says Watson says.

“That’s how I got catcalled because I got catcalled”

January 20, 2015 By Contributor

I was walking down the street, and ran into some friends who were waiting at a bus stop. We chatted for a couple minutes, and then I continued walking. I was about 30 feet away from them when a man yelled something unintelligible from a passing car. Reflexively, I turned around. He yelled, ʺHey! Are you going to go ‘do’ something? Your friends are looking at you like you’re about to go ‘do’ something.ʺ

He said the phrase ʺdo somethingʺ in a suggestive tone, and was staring at me creepily. I glanced back at my friends, who had witnessed the interaction, and we all kind of shrugged in confusion. I turned around and kept walking. I guess I was cracking up a little from the absurdity, and a man walking toward me yelled, ʺDamn, that’s a beautiful smile!ʺ I flipped him off (which probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but there were a lot of people around), and he yelled, ʺWell f*** you, too!ʺ

And that’s how I got catcalled because I got catcalled.

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

Raise boys to be respectful of girls and women. Educate men that it’s never, EVER ok to make any sort of comment to a woman you don’t know.

– Anonymous

Location: Seattle, WA

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

USA: “Unwilling Undressing”

January 19, 2015 By Correspondent

Dr. Dena Simmons, New York City, USA, Blog Correspondent

By the time I arrive to my apartment,
I am already undressed,
my clothes,
scattered along Metropolitan Avenue.
The man in the brown business suit,
standing in front of Step-In Lounge starts
with my rubber rain boots,
one
by
one,
until another man cuts him off,
ripping my pants from my body
when he jerks off
at the sight of my thighs.
Right by Uno’s Bar and Grill,
another man peels off my shirt
with his “Take my number.”
In only panties and a bra now, I walk in the rain.
Before I know it,
a gang of teenage boys hiss at me,
leaving me
naked.
I look back at the trail my clothes have created
at each objectifying comment, and
like Hanzel and Gretel,
who used white pebbles to lead them home,
I hurry to gather my clothes,
searching for my dignity
along
the
way.

Dr. Dena Simmons serves as the Associate Director of Education and Training at Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence. She is a recent graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University, where her research focused on teacher preparedness to address bullying in the middle school setting.

Street Harassment Weekly – Jan. 12-18, 2015

January 19, 2015 By BPurdy

In Less Than a Month, Cyberabad SHE Teams Arrest 50 Eve-Teasers – “A lady constable in plain clothes was standing at the KPHB bus stand when a 51-year-old man made a pass at her. A concealed video camera recorded the man’s every move so that he can’t deny it later. The constable is a member of a SHE team constituted by woman IPS officer R Rama Rajeshwari, deputy commissioner of police of Malkajgiri zone under Cyberabad Police, to keep an eye on eve-teasing, sexual harassment and stalking in the IT corridor, at bus stations, and in areas where working women and students travel alone.”

Teen Kills Youth for Harassing His Sister – “Annoyed over continuous eve-teasing of his sister, a 17-year-old boy (age yet to be verified) and his accomplice allegedly murdered a 21-year-old man working as a sanitation worker at a private college in Shivdaspura locality in the wee hours on Sunday.”

Alicia Wallace To Receive Queen’s Young Leader Award – “Alicia Wallace is the director of Hollaback Bahamas an organisation that works to end street harassment in the Bahamas, and co-founder of the Coalition to End Gender-based Violence and Discrimination. She is also launching a new 16-week programme to provide vital life skills education and mentoring to local high school students. As a child, Alicia grew up thinking she did not have a voice. Now she says, “I am no longer a quiet little girl. I am a force. My voice is powerful and I have learned to use it.””

Panti Bliss Just Made Another Important Statement About Street Harassment – “I am 45 years old and I have never once unselfconsciously held hands with a lover in public,” Bliss says. “I am 45 years old and I have never once casually, comfortably, carelessly held hands with a partner in public.” Why? Because around the world still today, street harassment is a major problem for women, LGBT people, people of color, people with disabilities, and low-income people.

Opinion: Harassment at School – “The connection between harassment and rape culture, then, becomes a matter of the beliefs that the perpetrators of these acts share. A culture in which harassment is normal directly contributes to a culture in which rape is common and permissible; in which Title IX is a joke, not a law that prohibits unsafe accommodations and environments for women; in which domestic violence leads three women every day to be killed by an intimate partner or former partner. It is important to take these abstract notions of gender and sexuality seriously because beliefs about gender and inequality influence women’s safety.”

Video: Street Harassment Is Even More Gross When It’s Scrawled On the Actual Street – “While traversing a jogging path in his hometown of Seattle, Marion spotted a message scrawled on the asphalt spelling out what your average catcaller shouts at female joggers — complete with the oh-so-wonderful command to smile (and some pretty dicey language — so be warned).”

Egyptian Women Take to Social Media to Expose Harassers – “Egyptian women have been using a number of hashtags — among them #Idon’tFeelSafeOnTheStreet, #AntiHarassment and #ExposeHarasser — on social networking sites to speak up about the daily sexual harassment they experience. These campaigns are part of an effort to expose harassers and break the silence surrounding their crimes, which are haunting women in Egypt. Women have tweeted myriad incidents along with advocating the courage to expose and confront harassers.”

Nashik Cops Launch Mobile App for Citizens – “The application helps citizens contact the police immediately, along with audio and video situational information. The app can be used to register incidents of robbery, accident, stalking, domestic violence, eve-teasing, unruly mob, road rage, security threat, medical emergency, sexual harassment, among others.”

#WhatMySHSaid Raises Awareness of Street Harassment – “California teen Chloe Parker came up with an idea to help combat the problem of street harassment. On her Instagram, @rebel.grrrl, women from all over the world submit pictures of themselves holding up a piece of paper. The words a street harasser said to them are written on the paper.”

The Bachelor Group Date That No One Is Talking About – “Let me repeat. The show’s producers (two out of three of whom are men, along with the show’s writer) equated ‘being country’ to women parading around downtown Los Angeles in only their bikinis while straddling tractor seats (no sexual innuendo there or anything). Not only this, but ‘being country’ also meant being subjected to street harassment as cars honked at them and men whistled at the nearly naked women – moments that have been conveniently edited out of the clip on YouTube.* Additionally, seeing as how Chris wore a zip-up sweatshirt on the date, one can assume that the weather was not conducive to swimsuit attire. Television at its finest.”

Walking Alone: Graphic Essay Takes on Street Harassment – “What seems like an erratic course through a familiar place is a way to survive. I walk through a city that is not made for me although I call it mine.”

Opinion: Why Good Men Catcall – “Guys – can we talk for a second? How is this normal? This is a big deal. Over the summer, I was talking with my fifteen year-old little sister and she told me that thirty and forty-year old guys harass and catcall her constantly. We have to do better than this. I have to do better than this.”

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