Madison Ford, Texas, USA, Blog Correspondent
Although the fight against street harassment has been gaining strength over the past few years, some areas are only beginning to get organized. Metropolitan regions in the upper east coast of the United States receive a lot of attention in regard to this issue and most data on street harassment has been collected in such areas. Regions of the world and the United States without a lot of foot traffic or public transportation may overall have fewer instances of street harassment, but they are just as damaging.
My first personal experience with street harassment happened in a town with less than 40,000 people. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to bring the fight against street harassment to Texas. I gained a Texan ally when I spoke with Hermie Escamilla of Hollaback Houston and learned about transportation, social media, and building a community of people to get organized.
Transportation
Transportation is a big part of street harassment in Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States. Cars and trucks are popular in Harris County with about 80% of county residents driving to work. Just under 3% of Harris County’s population uses public transportation to get to work and less than half a percent ride their bikes. Compare this with approximately 28% of New York City commuters driving a car, 56% using public transportation, and .8% riding their bicycles. Hermie tells me about her experience as a Houston cyclist:
“Since 2006 I’ve just commuted by bike. For me, being part of that subset of cyclists – you can get the feeling of what it means to be an irritation – everyone is supposed to be in a car or a truck, why are you in my way on your bike? For cyclists it’s sort of a twofold harassment; people are run off the road, intimidated, add in being a woman and that’s when the sexual comments show up. The stalking.”
Hollaback Houston’s website, where those who have experienced street harassment can report the incident to the community, is filled with tales of pedestrians and cyclists being harassed by people in cars.
“In Texas, less people have a stake in this issue because of the high number of motorists that aren’t experiencing [street harassment] as frequently.”
Social Media
Connecting with cycling organizations would help in the fight against street harassment not just in Texas; for Hermie, it was the Facebook page of a cycling group in LA that got her involved in Hollaback in the first place. Like many of us, Hermie got involved in the movement through social media.
“When I was looking down at the comments on a photo someone had posted about the LA chapter of Hollaback. Coming across Hollaback is what allowed me to have the language to speak about street harassment; that was a term I didn’t use until I started visiting their website. I didn’t have a word for it or a means to reach out or read about other people’s experiences with it. Having the reach that the internet allows us is what really helps us spread the message far and wide to anyone that wants to see it or maybe doesn’t want to see it.”
In a huge state like Texas without a large number of vocal activists against street harassment, connecting over the Internet is vital to increasing awareness. I would never have found Hermie were it not for my own use of social media.
Community
But the value of social media goes far beyond the boundaries of the Lone Star State; people around the country and the world have been connecting over the web in activist efforts. There’s a strong foundation, but those who hope to end street harassment need to continue building community as the issue receives more public attention. When I asked Hermie what her short and long term goals were for Hollaback Houston, she told me her first priority was being able to grow her team.
“I think that’s both a short term and long term goal. For me that was the most daunting thing – I was the only chapter in Texas and this is a huge state. There’s a chapter in Lubbock and I reached out to them but I’ve never really been alone in this – I have the network to reach out to. I would hope to see more sites pop up in Texas. I want to get more people so there’s more variety in our message. That’s all we want to do – empower and provide support. And prove that this is a problem.”
Whether you’re in Texas or halfway across the world, there are always people you can connect with. Learn from other members of the street harassment network and figure out what makes your community unique. The movement is growing – get involved!
“Any contribution is important. It could be a share on Facebook, writing a piece on your blog or creating a video – take inventory of your personal skills and know that anything you do matters so much. All of these little things add up and increase awareness.”
Madison is a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Texas at Austin studying literature and sociology. Follow her on Twitter, @madiford222.
