Archives for February 2015

New Anti-Harassment Ads on DC-Area Metro!

February 18, 2015 By HKearl

Nearly three years after the first anti-harassment transit ads went up in the Washington, DC-area, I’m excited to announce that the second wave of ads are up! They are a collaboration between WMATA, Collective Action for Safe Spaces & SSH. #GoTeam

If you experience or witness harassment on the Metro, you can report by phone or text and online: www.wmata.org/harasssment. They are looking for patterns and hotspots, so please report if you have a moment (even incidents that happened in the past).

(Photo by Rebecca Henry)

USA: Turning to the Research

February 18, 2015 By Correspondent

Madison Ford, Texas, USA, Blog Correspondent

Talking about street harassment with people who aren’t familiar with the issue can often be frustrating, especially when not knowing leads to not believing that it’s a serious problem. Writing my honors thesis on street harassment has led to this type of interaction more times than I can count. When I speak with somebody who believes street harassment isn’t a big problem, my imperfect solution is to turn to the research.

Why is this imperfect? Well, studies all have some flaws and limitations. Science can never be 100% certain, and social science is often beneath the proverbial microscope rather than looking through it. Some people don’t trust statistics and cling to anecdotes that support their own worldview. I believe everyone is guilty of this, even the researchers who try very hard to avoid it. The point is, nothing is ever perfect or certain. That’s why continuing to study street harassment is integral to the fight against it: the more research we have about its prevalence, how it affects victims, and the mechanisms involved in changing the way women navigate public space, the more scientific evidence illuminates the realities of harassment.

Here are some of the things we know about street harassment, in addition to its prevalence, thanks to the blood, sweat, and tears of researchers.

1. All kinds of street harassment have negative effects on women.

In Dr. Harmon B. Sullivan’s 2011 study, women were separated into two groups. One group watched a video of a woman being harassed on the street and the other watched a scene on a street with no harassment. In the experimental group, women who had experienced more street harassment themselves reported more negative feelings than those who experienced less harassment. This held true for women who mostly experienced hostile or threatening harassment and for women who experienced mostly “benign” harassment. This goes to show that “compliments” or “just saying hi” are not as innocent as they seem to be.

Rachel H. Pain’s 1997 study shows how different types of harassment may lead to fear of sexual attack. More than 20% of respondents reported that unwanted sexual comments or being leered at made them fear sexual attack. Forty-two percent of respondents indicated that being touched up made them fear sexual attack and almost 50% reported that being flashed at incited that fear. Finally, a whopping 85% of women who report being followed in public say that this makes them fear sexual attack. Less intense types of street harassment show corresponding lower levels of fear, but fear remains nonetheless.

A study released in late 2014 conducted by researchers at the University of Mary Washington found that sexual harassment is traumatizing for women, especially for those who have experienced sexual abuse.

2. Street harassment and fear of rape are highly correlated across multiple studies.

Street harassment is an active factor in preventing women from going out in public on their own. Cynthia Grant Bowman refers to this pattern as the informal ghettoization of women in her legal article “Street Harassment and the Informal Ghettoization of Women,” and that if women are going to continue fighting for social equality, they must be able to leave their homes without crippling fear. In her book Back Off! How to Confront and Stop Sexual Harassment and Harassers Martha Langelan wrote that for women, an underlying tension is always wondering how far the harasser will go, if he will become violent.

More recently, in early 2015 researchers at the University of Missouri-Kansas City released a study showing that the treatment of women as sexual objects – including through street harassment – contribute to increased feelings of anxiety about their physical safety, causing them to fear both physical and sexual harm.

3. Stranger harassment can be more damaging than harassment from people the victim knows, and the consequences could be dangerous.

In a 2000 study of Canadian women, findings suggested that women’s perceptions of safety were vastly influenced by their experiences of stranger harassment. While non-stranger harassment had very little effect on perceptions of safety, for each additional type of stranger harassment experienced, the odds of feeling safe decreased by 17-23%.

Knowing this, it makes sense that Pain’s 1997 study also discovered that women are almost twice as fearful of sexual attack from strangers than non-strangers despite the fact that “86.1% of women who have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking during their lifetime reported that the perpetrator was a current intimate partner at the time when the violence first occurred.” Street harassment directs women’s fear of rape towards people who may very well not assault them and confuses an already messy discussion about sexual assault.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the things we know about street harassment. Social scientists continue to search for answers and anti-street harassment organizations are conducting surveys of their own. If you’re committed to the fight against street harassment, take a look at these studies – or even better, start your own research project! Distribute a survey to your peers, coworkers, or friends and find out how street harassment affects the people around you. Then in your discussions about street harassment, you’ll have the tools to keep everyone informed.

Madison is a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Texas at Austin studying literature and sociology. Follow her on Twitter, @madiford222.

“I hope it doesn’t scar me forever.”

February 17, 2015 By Contributor

Today was the first time I was harassed. I just froze up. A group of boys who were younger than me were walking behind me and my friend. We were just walking to the subway, and they made loud comments about my body. I was disgusted, embarrassed, and scared. I could not believe an (about) 11 year old could do that. I tried to walk away but snow was on the ground. It has pretty much ruined my day. I just froze up. This has left me wishing I did more than freeze up. Apparently they thought it was funny. It’s not. I hope it doesn’t scar me forever.

– Anonymous

Location: On my way home

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

USA: Street Harassment Disrupts Private Space

February 17, 2015 By Correspondent

Dylan Jane Manderlink, Arkansas, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

4.13.13BostonNotHeyBaby — Anti-Street Harassment Week 2013 in Boston

A few nights ago, after being approached by a man on the street in Boston as she walked with a friend, Ellen R. replied, “Not tonight, thank you,” but the the man continued to follow her. She then turned around and said, “Please don’t follow us” and he yelled, “I’m not following you, bitch.”

Ellen told me, “This interaction upset me for so many reasons. Not only did I feel uncomfortable with the man’s initial comment, but when my friend and I tried to defend ourselves in the most polite way possible, the man only got more interested and more angry. I am already scared to walk down the street, so it’s even more frightening to know that even when I try to handle the situation in a calm manner, the man doing the harassing can go from 0 to 10 in a split second.”

Unfortunately Ellen’s street harassment experience is not uncommon. Despite responding with a polite remark, her street harasser met her with petulance, callousness, and an unforeseen temper. In many street harassment awareness and prevention blogs and articles I’ve read, I see the same message being revisited: Street harassment endangers the public space of individuals and disempowers their ability to walk through a public space safely, positively, and healthily. I certainly agree with that because I too, have felt that way when experiencing street harassment. But I would add that street harassment also communicates the message that your private space is no longer yours or never belonged to you.

As you navigate through a public space (a sidewalk, a city, a park, etc.), you also have your own private space within that. The way we personally view the environment we’re in is our private world…our thoughts, our bodies, the space between us and the people we pass on the street in close proximity…those all inform our private world. And when street harassers interfere with that personal, private, and intimate domain of ours, we can feel a different type of violation and discomfort. By understanding the threat we experience on both a private and public level, I believe we can better inform our awareness and advocacy efforts and the dialogues we promote through those modes.

Street harassment tells people that wherever they’re walking, wherever they’re living, whatever space they’re occupying – it’s not theirs. When we are catcalled, groped, eyed, followed, and yelled at the street harasser is claiming that space as theirs and communicating to us that we don’t belong in it. This needs to stop. This is not okay and people are really starting to take notice of how much street harassment is a detriment to our society and to people’s lives. We deserve better. Respecting our public and private space should not be optional, it should be the accepted and expected norm. As activists, the more we make noise and the more we create productive and cooperative pathways to empowerment and awareness, the more we can effect change.

As we approach International Anti-Street Harassment Week (#EndSHWeek) from April 12-18, let’s construct and promote a vigilant and sustainable conversation surrounding street harassment and the private and public spaces that are too often taken advantage of and threatened. I will no longer stand for our space being jeopardized, devalued, and disregarded. In the next couple months leading up to #EndSHWeek, let’s affirm the positive and inspiring efforts of fellow activists, bloggers, feminists, and community members. In doing so, I encourage you to open up meaningful channels of dialogue, spread awareness, and get involved with advocacy that helps make people’s private worlds a better place. Reclaim your space because it was yours to begin with and will always be. No one should be able to take that away from you.

Dylan is a recent graduate of Emerson College and currently teaches 8th, 10th, and 11th grade Digital Communications and Audio/Visual Technology in an Arkansas high school. You can visit her personal blog and follow her on Twitter @DylanManderlink.

Street Harassment Weekly – Feb. 9-15, 2015

February 16, 2015 By BPurdy

How Wednesday Addams Would React to Catcalling – “In a new episode from the web series “Adult Wednesday Addams,” created by Melissa Hunter, Wednesday follows two dudes home to teach them a lesson after they catcall her. In true Addams family fashion, Wednesday effortlessly scares the men with her piercing tone and sardonic comebacks. (And the three terrifying friends she brought with her definitely helps.)”

Artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh Combats Street Harassment in Mexico – “Tatyana Fazlalizadeh has traveled all over with “Stop Telling Women to Smile,” in which she wheatpastes the streets with portraits of women captioned with anti-harassment messages. In a comprehensive new series spearheaded by Fusion’s Anna Holmes, Fazlalizadeh takes her work internationally for the very first time, for a long project in México City that combines community activism and beautiful, important public art.”

Why Do Women Get So Much Grief When They Run? – “Talk to female runners, and most will tell you that they have experienced this sort of thing at some point. Friends have told me enough stories to fill this blog twice over: “I’ve had something thrown at me,” “I’ve been complimented on my ass,” and, a particular favourite, “A man said he liked how I jiggle.” One pal told me that for a winter run in London, you need two things: thermals and a scowl to ward off hecklers.”

Performance Becomes Therapy – ““How sex is performed was the question that was offered to the drama therapist students,” Shotwell said. “They then went ahead and with that prompt, came up with these proposals from which I chose.” Shotwell said the event was a form of therapeutic theater, as there is therapy in the performance for the directors, playwrights and the audience.”

Video: ‘Adult Wednesday Addams’ Takes on Street Harassment With Goth Perfection – “Wednesday is randomly catcalled on the street by a couple of D-bags in a truck, so she hunts them down by the scent of their Axe body spray and confronts them at their own home. They may think she’s there for some action, because they are really that full of themselves, but our heroine has a different idea in order to not only extract revenge, but also to give them a valuable lesson.”

A Helping Hand in India – “Through the University of Utah Public Health Administration, Talboy works in organizing and recruiting volunteers for a yearly trip to India. While there, she interviews young women about their experiences with teasing and harassment. In the villages, discussion of harassment of any sort is a taboo, which has proved a difficult struggle in her journey. Her next steps include interviewing hundreds of girls and boys to gain a full understanding of eve-teasing, which many see as a normal part of life. She believes that bringing the community together and hosting a discussion will be the most efficient manner in beginning to improve life for the teenagers and young adults.”

On V-Day, Sena Activists Police Street Harassment – “Shiv Sena’s youth wing – ‘Yuva Sena’, activists poured on to streets not to vandalize property and disband love-birds on Valentine’s Day, but to conduct community policing to prevent eve-teasing. Youths said unlike previous years of ‘gundagardi’, activists stepped on to roads to provide safety to women.”

Why Our Conversation About Street Harassment Needs to Include Trans Women– “Somehow we’ve forgotten the burden that trans women in particular carry when they walk down the street – not just from leering men, but from everyone, including law enforcement. Overwhelmingly, trans women carry a burden of harassment and violence on the streets. If a trans woman steps out into public, there is an 8% chance that the street harassment she is facing will turn violent – and a fairly good chance that no one will do a damn thing about it.”

Montana GOP Legislator Wants to Ban Yoga Pants– “Montana Republican state Rep. David Moore has a plan to guide America out of the darkness—ban yoga pants. Moore, who is upset that group of naked bicyclists pedaled through Missoula last year, decided that what his state really needs right now is tighter regulations on trousers. His proposed bill, HB 365, would outlaw not just nudity, but also “any device, costume, or covering that gives the appearance of or simulates the genitals, pubic hair, anus region, or pubic hair region.””

Event: Holla:Revolution 2015 – “According to the Washington Post, 2014 was the year the conversation around street harassment hit a tipping point. On March 5th, let’s take the conversation to the next level at this year’s HOLLA::Rev. Come join leading thinkers and activists in the field to expand the definitions of street harassment and discuss what each of us can do to create on-the-ground activism in our communities.”

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