Archives for December 2015

“I definitely didn’t like it at all.”

December 31, 2015 By Contributor

I’m 13 years old and yesterday at night I went grocery shopping with my dad. My dad had forgotten something, so I went ahead. While I waited for him, a car passed by and the guy in the passenger seat said, “Hey baby girl.” The guy stayed there for like about 30 seconds just checking me out. I didn’t say anything because this guy was like more than 20 years old . I felt weird. Idk. I definitely didn’t like it at all.

– Anonymous

Location: California

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

2015: 20 of Our Achievements

December 30, 2015 By HKearl

THANK YOU to everyone who made our work possible this year! Here are 20 highlights from this year.

You can read more and see photos to go along with each one via our Annual Report.

Programs:

Organized the largest International Anti-Street Harassment Week to date from April 12-18! Groups in 41 countries participated through marches, rallies, workshops, sidewalk chalking, putting up street signs, launching anti-harassment campaigns, flyering, tweet chats, and more. Thanks to our campaign manager Britnae Purdy for her work.
Worked with three cohorts of blog correspondents (more than 35 people from around the world) across the year who wrote articles about street harassment and activism to stop it in their communities.
Funded four Safe Public Spaces Mentoring teams in France, India, Romania, and USA. This fall and winter they’ve held art exhibits, high school workshops, sidewalk chalking, and street demonstrations. Our 2014 teams from Nicaragua and Kenya also completed their projects this past spring.
Published around 150 contributor street harassment stories on our blog.
As part of our “Campaigns Against Companies,” we teamed up with Care2 and CASS to create a petition asking the American restaurant chain TGI Friday’s to pull a disgusting ad that trivializes street harassment. More than 25,000 people signed it.
Redesigned our website, thanks to donations and the work of web designer Sarah Marie Lacy.

Advised, Gave Input, and Cited By:

Advised Lyft on anti-harassment issues for their drivers, in collaboration with Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS).
Worked with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and CASS on the 2^nd wave of anti-harassment ads on the Metro system, did an outreach day at five metro stops, presented on the campaign to WMATA staff, and crafted a survey instrument that will be used to survey riders about sexual harassment in 2016. The findings will help inform our 3^rd wave of ads.
Met with and advised the DC police gay and lesbian liaison unit division chief and Las Vegas Rape Crisis Center staff.
Entities including the following used or cited our work: the DC City Council, DC Mayor’s office, Jeremy Corbyn (a Labour leadership candidate in the UK), Fiona Patten (a member of Parliament in Victoria, Australia), NYU, and Safe Routes to School National Partnership.
Received more than 85 media mentions, including coverage in the Washington Post, Guardian, Real Simple magazine, Cosmo magazine, Voice of America, The Economist, WNYC public radio, Latina.com, and the Irish Times.

Events, Rallies, Conferences and Marches:

Board members spoke at 19 events, including campus and community talks in AZ, DC, IA, MD, MN, NE, NY, PA, and VA. Also including my international talks: a campus presentation in Canada and two UN conference presentations, one in India in June and a second in Turkey in December.
Two board members testified at the first-ever DC city council hearing on street harassment.
Board members took action as part of the protests and rallies around racism and over-policing of Black bodies in the U.S. For example, Maureen Evans Arthurs lives near Baltimore and helped distribute food and toiletries to residents in need and also participated in #BlackLivesMatter rallies in the city; Maliyka Muhammad joined the “NYC Rise Up & Shut It Down With Baltimore” rally; and I attended a “Vigil for Rekia Boyd, Black Women, Trans Women, and Girls” in Washington, DC.
Joined the UN’s march on International Women’s Day in New York City. We marched with the Brazil anti-street harassment group Chega de Fiu Fiu and the American group Voices of Men to send the clear message that street harassment is an issue we must address globally if we want to see equality for women!
Rallied with SlutWalk DC in front of the Chinese Embassy in protest of the jailing of Chinese feminist activists simply for distributing information about sexual harassment at transit stops (they were later released).
Tabled at Awesome Con (a comics convention in Washington, DC) with Feminist Public Works/Geeks for Consent and CASS, and presented at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders in Maryland with CASS.
Facilitated a focus group with Asian-American women in Boston, MA, and added the summary to the 2014 national street harassment report.
For the release of my third book, Stop Global Street Harassment: Growing Activism Around the World, dozens of activists featured in it participated in a Global Tweetchat, and various activists from the book joined me in speaking at two of my book release events in Washington, DC and New York City.

Financials:

Received funding from Lyft ($3,000) and the Peiffer Foundation ($1,500). SSH also received $6,255.89 in donations from individuals. SSH’s work is largely done on a volunteer-basis. This year, $2,000 was used for part-time help for work relating to International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Approximately $3,500 more was spent on programs, the website redesign, and fees.

2015 Annual News, Research, and Activism Roundup (Part 2)

December 30, 2015 By HKearl

Continuing on from Part 1 —

New Research:

Global: ActionAid released the Women and the City III report. This report reflects the experiences of over 3,000 women and girls living in urban communities in Brazil, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Liberia, Nepal, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Global: The World Economic Forum released their annual Global Gender Gap Report in late October. Yet again, no country has achieved gender equality. Street harassment perpetrated by men against women is one more indicator and manifestation of this inequality.

Global: Hollaback! and Cornell University conducted a large-scale, opt-in survey on street harassment in 2014. The research included 16,600 respondents in 42 cities from around the globe was released in May 2015.

Australia: A new study by the Australia Institute revealed that street harassment is very common. “The survey of 1426 females found 87% were verbally or physically attacked while walking down the street and men were responsible for 52% of the attacks. 40% of women feel unsafe in their own neighbourhoods at night…In addition to verbal harassment, physical street harassment is also a relatively commonplace occurrence, with 65% of women experiencing physically threatening harassment.”

Australia/USA: “Michael Kasumovic and Jeffrey Kuznekoff, researchers at the University of New South Wales and Miami University, respectively…watched how men treated women during 163 plays of the video game Halo 3. As they watched the games play out and tracked the comments that players made to each other, the researchers observed that — no matter their skill level, or how the game went — men tended to be pretty cordial to each other. Male players who were good at the game also tended to pay compliments to other male and female players. Some male players, however — the ones who were less-skilled at the game, and performing worse relative their peers — made frequent, nasty comments to the female gamers. In other words, sexist dudes are literally losers.”

Chile: The group Observatorio Cotra el Acoso Callejero – OCAC Chile released the results of their second study on street harassment. “Among the findings of the study, three out of four people have suffered street harassment in Chile in the last 12 months … In the case of women, the percentage reaches 85% and of men, 55%. … Also, two in five people have suffered rubbing, touching or groping in public spaces, and 23% of women have experienced some form of serious harassment (persecution, exhibitionism, public masturbation).”

France: A new study found that 100% of women had been harassed while riding public transportation.

Kenya: A new study found that a short educational program produced lasting improvements in teenage boys’ and young men’s attitudes toward women, thus helping to reduce violence against women.

Kenya: More than 50% of almost 400 women interviewed by Kenyan advocacy group Women’s Empowerment Link (WEL) said they had experienced gender-based violence, defined as physical, sexual or psychological harm, while using public transport. “(Respondents) witnessed female passengers being stripped naked … but the female survivors neither received any help nor reported the violation,” WEL said in a report of the survey. Respondents said insults were the most common form of abuse that women experience while using public transport, followed by being forced to board vehicles against their wishes and indecent touching.”

Nicaragua: Our 2014 Safe Public Spaces Mentoring team in Nicaragua officially released a report detailing the findings of the 900 person survey they conducted last year. Their report and findings were featured by numerous media outlets, including La Prensa.

Nigeria: The National Democratic Institute (NDI) in collaboration with the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), USAID and other partners found that “sexual harassment, intimidation and lack of support as some causes for the declining rate of women’s participation in elections.”

Syria and Jordan: There was new research in a publication from SIT Digital Collections, “A Comparative Analysis of Syrian Refugees’ and Jordanian Citizens’ Experiences of Street Harassment in Jordanian Host Communities”

USA: A new study shows that the treatment of women as sexual objects – including through street harassment — contributes to their anxiety over their physical safety. “Catcalling is More Sinister Than You Might Think.” “The study looked at a sample of 133 African-American and 95 white female undergraduates… The African-American respondents reported more sexual objectification experiences and fear of crime than white women, and therefore experienced more psychological stress.”

USA: The Los Angeles transit authority found 19% of riders have been harassed in the past year. “Seven percent have been fondled or groped, and 8% have been subject to indecent exposure…passengers younger than 18 reported the highest rate of unwanted touching of any age group.”

USA: “Study shows how men overcompensate when their masculinity is questioned.”

USA: Our board member Dr. Laura S. Logan, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Hastings College, wrote “Street Harassment: Current and Promising Avenues for Researchers and Activists” for the academic journal Sociology Compass. In it she makes the case for why researchers in particular need to focus on street harassment.

USA: The Safe Routes to School National Partnership included street harassment in its new report! This is so important because a lot of kids and teenagers face street harassment as they travel to/from school and school activities. We need to acknowledge and address that.

USA: In May the National Day of Action for Black Women and Girls was held. To coincide with it, the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) release the report: “‪#‎SayHerName: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women” to help shed light on the extent of the issue. Watch footage from a NYC rally:

** Here are 40 studies about how prevalent street harassment is in different parts of the world.**

Notable News Stories:

Bangladesh: The celebration of the Bengali New Year 1422 was interrupted by a mass sexual assault against a group of women on the campus of Dhaka University.

*Five Chinese Feminist Activists. Image via CNN.com*

China: After weeks of imprisonment, five female activists were released. They were detained after trying to start a campaign against sexual harassment on public transportation. Free Chinese Feminists were crucial in their release and worked tirelessly to free these brave women. #FreetheBeijingFive

Costa Rica: Mr. Cruz was best known as the man who confronted another man for filming an upskirt video in San Jose. He was then stabbed multiple times two days later while walking through San Sebastian. He died a few weeks later after being in intensive care.

Egypt: 141 sexual harassment incidents were reported during Eid al-Fitr.

India: A teenager killed herself after enduring street harassment. – “A family member of the victim said, “We had gone to the police and complained about the incident. They did not take appropriate action against the guilty, which led to the girl’s death.”

India: A girl set herself on fire over alleged street harassment.

India: Harassers stabbed a 19-year-old woman 35 times, killing her.

Ireland: Jenny Stanley wrote an open letter for the Irish Times that prompted global discussions.

South Africa: Sisonke Msimang’s New York Times op-ed “The Backlash against African Women” explores how “public strippings represent the front lines of a cultural war against women’s advancements in traditionally conservative but rapidly urbanizing societies. They aren’t really about what women are wearing. They are much more about where women are going.”

UK: Train passengers stood up for two Muslim women after a man threatened them with anti-Muslim slurs.

UK: After weeks of trying various tactics for dealing with street harassers along her route to work (this included men purposely blocking her path), Poppy Smart took the matter to the police. When her story was public, lots of people said she should get a thicker skin, change her route to work, and stop wasting police time. This led to lots of discussions and articles for and against her choice to report.

UK: A BBC reporter was street harassed while on air, filming a segment about street harassment.

USA: “A teenager from Louisiana required surgery after being attacked by a group of men who had harassed her while she was wearing a bikini.

USA: A young boy stopped a man who was street harassing a female runner.

USA: A young woman in Iowa City (USA) was murdered at a shopping mall by an entitled male mall security guard after she reported him for sexual harassment and he was consequently fired. In a separate incident, a group of men harassed a woman in Ames, Iowa, when bystander Cale Truhlsen stepped in to try and stop it. The other men attacked him, injuring him so badly he was hospitalized.

USA: “There is a moment in the McKinney, Texas, pool party video that’s both horrifying and absurd: when Cpl. Eric Casebolt manhandles, violently restrains, then sits on top of an unarmed, 15-year-old, bikini-clad black girl as she cries for her mother.”

*Matthew Jarrell. Image via Towleroad.com*

USA: “Ohio Gay Man Endures Gay Slurs, Savagely Beaten After Leaving Cleveland Gay Nightclub – The attack on Jarrell was so severe it caused his brain to swell and bleed and he lost 80 percent hearing ability in his right ear. As murders of trans people continue to rise, discriminatory attacks and murders of LGBT people remain a consistent, stark reality throughout the nation.”

NEW Art, Songs, Films and Documentaries:

Canada: “Dear Stranger” is a short and powerful film by a film student in Vancouver

India: “Stripped” is a social drama broaching the most sensitive and often neglected aspect of a woman’s life. This is a story about Ana, who is a modern working girl. She’s well educated and quite liberated. Yet, whenever she has to deal with the perversion of men around her, she feels violated. Otherwise, a brave woman, she finds the act of ogling very disturbing.”

India: Women shared their first street harassment stories.

Mexico: Read the powerful street harassment stories of 76 Mexican women in Fusion’s online exhibit “‘All the Time. Every Day’: Surviving Street Harassment in Mexico City.” Artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh spent a week there drawing portraits of women for her Stop Telling Women to Smile project, printing and posting them around the city.

Russia: Two men were harassed on video for holding hands walking down the street.

Saudi Arabia: A video that shows a group of young boys harassing two women sparked outrage.

UK: Through the ODD Arts and The Hideaway project in Manchester, young women share their street harassment stories.

USA: Empress Of’s “Kitty Kat” Is The Reponse To Street Harassment That Pop Needed

USA: 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.

USA: Through Immediate Justice, teenage girls share their street harassment and sexual harassment in school stories in this video and say, “I am not a cat.”

They also produced a documentary this year.

USA: Camonghne Felix performed the spoken word piece “Meat: A Reflection on Street Harassment” at The Strivers Row #BlackLivesMatter Benefit Show.

USA: Hollaback! commissioned filmmaker Aden Hakimi to make a video in which Michelle shares her street harassment stories.

USA: “Conversations About Street Harassment” is an interview series with LGBQT young people, created by transgender activist Charlie Kerr and mixed media visual artist Randon Rosenbohm.

USA: Here’s spot-on and sad social commentary about street harassment and how some men will only back off or leave women alone if they are visibly “taken” by a man.

USA: A man catcalls a woman during an anti-street harassment news report!

USA: “These teens in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. are not happy about the street harassment in the community – nor are they proud about their participation in these behaviors.” Read the accompanying Women’s eNews article.

USA: Tess Paras created the video “What If Catcalls were Cheeseburgers?” (NSFW…. here is a version that is safe for work)

USA: What happens when women street harass men using the “drive-by” tactic?

USA: “Julia Retzlaff, age 18, loves exploring her city and visiting friends all over San Francisco. But the fear of being sexually assaulted on public transportation is forcing her to reconsider going out at all. Produced for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Equity Workshop at TED 2015 in association with the Bay Area Video Coalition in San Francisco”

USA: “5 Things Women will Never Say” (“These reactions seem crazy, because you know you’re not really flirting.So, don’t be a creep.” – BuzzFeed)

USA: “Why That Viral [Cosmo] Video of Men Reacting to Street Harassment Isn’t Praise-Worthy”

USA: Taylor Yocom, a 22-year old photography student from the University of Iowa created the “Guarded” project to show what women carry to protect themselves, like mace or their keys, which they hold as a weapon.

USA: Both singers Alicia Keys and Jewel spoke out about unwanted sexual harassment and advances from men while in public spaces as teenagers and young women.

2015 Annual News, Research, and Activism Roundup (Part 1)

December 30, 2015 By HKearl

For the past several years, I spend hours during the final week of the year going through all of the stories and events that took place related to street harassment. Each year, more and more has happened and that is so extremely positive and encouraging!

Here are snippets and highlights from this year, broken down by topic (e.g. government-led actions, community activism, research, news, and videos) and by country. And it’s divided into two parts (here’s Part 2).

Note that many actions took place during International Anti-Street Harassment Week in April that are not included here. During the week, groups in 41 countries and 24 U.S. states participated.

I also want to acknowledge one of the biggest events of the year… UN Women hosted a Safe Cities Global Leaders’ Forum in June, and 140 people from 24 countries gathered in Delhi, India, to share ideas about the best strategies to address sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence in public spaces. Attendees of the conference included government officials, grassroots women, researchers, and staff from UN agencies that are implementing programs that form part of the agency’s Safe Cities Global Initiative (SCGI). Read the wrap-up report.

Government-Led Efforts:

Argentina: A bill was proposed to establish fines ranging from AR$100 pesos (approx. US$7) to AR$7,000 ($547), and aims to protect anyone who “self-identifies as a woman” from verbal or physical harassment. Furthermore, the bill proposes a “National Week against Street Harassment” be commemorated yearly from April 12 to 18.

Australia: Fiona Patten, a member of Parliament in Victoria, raised the issue of street harassment in Parliament. Later in the year, legislation introduced by MP Patten to limit protests outside abortion clinics passed.

Canada: In Vancouver, the transit authority and local Hollaback! chapter launched a campaign to “encourage witnesses on buses and other transit vehicles to make the decision to become active bystanders. As interveners, witnesses can take an active role in sending the message that harassing behaviour is unacceptable and victims are not alone… Victims of harassment can vent through an app, or share their stories online with the hashtag #YouCanEndHarassment.” People also used the hashtag: #ItsNotaCompliment

Canada: The Ottawa transit authority launched a new online tool for reporting harassment.

Chile: With the sponsorship of a few politicians, Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero Chile presented to Congress the bill called “Law for Street Respect.”

Egypt: Police in Cairo arrested 29 men for sexual harassment during the Eid Al-Fitr holiday.

France: “Stop – That’s Enough!” is the tagline used by the French government in their awareness campaign, in collaboration with rail operator SNCF and Paris transport chiefs RATP. The campaign includes posters in key places around Paris and flyering events. People can share stories using the hashtag #HarcèlementAgissons, which trended soon after the campaign launched. “The campaign also aims to remind the culprits that sexual harassment is punishable by law and groping can lead to five years in prison”

France: In Lille in northern France, the local government released a video showing some of the comments that passengers had been subjected to while out and about in Lille. The video, with English subtitles, includes one woman recount how someone asked her “Hi, can I rape you please?”…

Guyana: Witness Project, a local arts-based group, began tackling street harassment through a campaign that uses visuals and an online forum to capture attention and encourage conversation on the problem.

India: One hundred “SHE Teams” were formed. They entail police personnel in plainclothes mixing with the crowd outside colleges, popular hangouts, cinemas and in public transport to record what happens with hidden cameras. They then take any street harassers to the police station.

India: In the state of Odisha, people can report sexual harassment, violence, and domestic abuse through an ATM.

Nepal: Police gave self-defense lessons to women and girls in camps after a rise in post-earthquake sexual assaults

Panama: Ana Matilde Gómez, an independent member of Panama’s National Assembly introduced a bill that would criminalize street harassment. It would also outlaw bullying, stalking, racism and all forms of sexual harassment. It also calls for developing public policies aimed at preventing these problems.

Peru: The Peruvian government officially passed a law against street harassment, making it one of the few countries to have a national law! Costa Rica and Mexico also have ones.

UK: Jeremy Corbyn, Labour leadership candidate, revealed his platform to end street harassment, and cited SSH and Everyday Sexism in it!

UK: In London, a new campaign called “Report It To Stop It” launched to address sexual harassment and assault on public transit by encouraging passengers to report unwanted behaviors. Created by the Transport for London it includes a video for the campaign.

UK: More than 50 women marched through Liverpool city centre to ‘Reclaim the Night’ and stand up to sexual harassment.

USA: The Los Angeles transit authority launched an anti-harassment campaign called “It’s Off Limits.” It encourages passengers who see or experience sexual harassment to call the sheriff’s hotline at 888-950-7233 or report through the free LA Metro Transit Watch safety app. Later in the year, the Los Angeles Transit Authority released updated plans for addressing sexual harassment on their system.

USA: The DC City Council held the first-ever hearing on street harassment!

USA: SSH and Collective Action for Safe Spaces worked with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on a 2^nd wave of anti-harassment ads on the Metro system. Then we did an outreach day at five metro stops and crafted a survey instrument that will be used to survey riders about sexual harassment in 2016

USA: New York lawmakers voted to “establish the crime of improper touching or other sexual contact aboard the subway or other public transportation after an increasing amount of complaints from young women…The misdemeanor also applies to public buses or trains and carries a penalty of up to one year in prison.”

USA: Legislation that would make “upskirt” photographs illegal passed through the New Jersey Assembly’s judiciary committee.

USA: Oregon lawmakers advanced a proposal aimed at closing a loophole in state privacy laws that recently let a man go unpunished after he took photographs up a teenager’s skirt.

New Campaigns and Community-Based Actions:

Global: ActionAid International hosted a #SafeCitiesBecause global day of action on May 20.

Global: The Queer Review is a place where LGBTQ+ people around the world can share their experiences in a variety of places, like restaurants, bars, hair salons, and movie theaters.

Global: Hollaback! expanded their annual Holla:Rev to go global in London.

Global: On April 14, people globally took action to demand the return of the 230 Nigerian school girls who were still missing a year after they were kidnapped from their school. #BringBackOurGirls

Latin America: The Observatory Against Street Harassment campaign that started in Chile grew to include numerous other countries, including Colombia, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Uruguay. They all participated in International Anti-Street Harassment Week in April. In June, people across Argentina, Chile & Uruguay marched in the streets in outrage over violence against women!

Afghanistan: Kubra Khademi, a 25-year-old Afghan artist, wore metal armor as she walked the streets of Kabul for her artistic protest of street harassment called “Armor.” She was harassed so much she had to end the march early and go into hiding due to death threats.

Afghanistan: Men in Afghanistan took a stand for women’s rights.

*Argentina. Image via Christian Science Monitor*

Argentina: Women rallied under the hashtag ‪#‎NiUnaMenos and thousands marched in the streets to protest the increase of femicides.

Australia: The LISTEN collective has been working to address harassment at music concerts and festivals.

Australia: The Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission placed advertisements in Darwin city backpacker hostels and job centres after a number of reports of females being propositioned.

Azerbaijan: Men posted photos of themselves wearing mini-skirts to protest against the murder of a Turkish woman who resisted rape.

Brazil: Women shared their “first harassed” stories after sexual comments are directed as a 12-year-old girl. Quickly, the tag ‪#‎primeiroassedio was used more than 90,000 times.

Brazil: Four young women coders designed an anti-harassment app that lets users review restaurants based on how they treat women.

Canada and USA: New street signs about street harassment went up in New York City, Philadelphia and Toronto.

Canada: Women in Calgary organized twice to address street harassment. The first time was the campaign #SafeRedMile to advocate for safe public spaces around the Flames hockey stadium. The second was #SafeStampede during the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” a massive rodeo.

Canada: A reporter called out men who interrupt and harass women reporters while they are on air and that led to many discussions and other articles about this problem.

Costa Rica: Activists marched against street harassment, worked to introduce a new law, and launched a social media campaign targeting men.

Imprint Movement's new campaign. October 2015 — *Imprint Movement’s new campaign. October 2015*

Egypt: Imprint Movement launched a campaign comprised of comic strips in subway stations to raise awareness about harassment.

Egypt: HarassMap launched a “Harasser = Criminal” campaign in Egypt.

Egypt: Egyptian women used hashtags like #Idon’tFeelSafeOnTheStreet, #AntiHarassment and #ExposeHarasser on social networking sites to speak up about the daily sexual harassment they experience.

Egypt: “As Safe As Before” is a campaign in Alexandria, Egypt where “volunteers are split up based on gender, with the men dispersed to spot potential cases of harassment, and the women distributing information to girls and families about victims’ rights and encouraging them to report any case of assault to the police.”

Egypt: Uber and HarassMap are collaborating to train drivers how to address inappropriate behavior.

Germany: Teenager Elonë Kastrati started a global trend of posting feminine hygiene products around town, labelled “with different messages pertaining to street harassment, sexual violence and sexism.”

India: Breakthrough launched an anti-street harassment campaign called #AskingForIt.

India: College students launched the “Break the Cage” campaign to protest early curfews for female students, limiting their access to public spaces.

Iran: There were growing efforts to address acid throwing.

*SlutWalk Jerusalem. Image via ynetnews.com*

Israel: 400 people joined a SlutWalk in Jerusalem, protesting sexual violence, sexual harassment and the objectification of women.

Morocco: Women shared their street harassment stories.

Philippines: The ‪#‎FreeFromFear social media campaign launched as part of an anti-harassment program.

South Korea: Concerned residents in the Haebangchon neighborhood near Seoul formed a community awareness group People Unite against Street Harassment (PUSH) in response to an increased amount of sexual harassment in the area.

Turkey: A mini bus driver tried to rape Ozgecan Aslan, a student at Cag University in the southern province of Mersin, when she was the last passenger. He beat and killed her, cut off her hands, burned her body and tossed it into a river. News of her grisly death sparked outrage. The following weekend, thousands of people marched in black and online, the hashtag #sendeanlat (#tellyourstory) trended as women shared their stories of harassment and abuse.

UK: Nottingham Women’s Centre organized a summit to explore ways in which attitudes can be altered and behaviour changed to make public places safer for women.

UK: Both the Safe Gigs for Women and Girls Against launched campaigns launched to address sexual harassment, groping and assault against women at music shows.

UK: Rape Crisis UK teamed up with fashion photographer PEROU on new campaign #ThisDoesntMeanYes to dispel the myths around what constitutes consent. They photographed nearly 200 women and officially launched the campaign at www.thisdoesntmeanyes.com on April 15.

USA: Run Philly launched an “Incident Report” page that allows runners to log in incidents of harassment, physical assault, muggings and more that happen while they are running.

USA: A woman in Texas has been working to make street harassment illegal in her city through an online petition and meetings with the Austin city council.

USA: Lyft connects people who need a ride with trained community drivers. Along with CASS and Hollaback!, SSH collaborated with Lyft on creating sexual harassment training videos for their drivers.

USA: Community organizing group Brooklyn Movement Center launched its first “Anti-Street Harassment Bike Patrol” in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights “aimed at calling out people who hassle women on the street. Once a week, volunteers biked in groups of four to intervene in situations sparked by unsolicited remarks”

USA: Wearing her #whorepants: How one runner turned getting harassed on a run into a movement.

USA: “Pop to Stop” posters provide people with a silent protest/response to harassment.

USA: Teenage girls in Brooklyn created a mural depicting street harassers as zombies!

USA: Teen’s Instagram campaign #WhatMySHSaid sheds light on the horrible things harassers say.

USA: RunHers, Runner’s World, journalist Jen A. Miller and SSH co-hosted a tweet chat on street harassment and running.

USA: Geeks for CONSent worked with comic conference organizers to address sexual harassment at Comic-Con and Awesome Con.

USA: CTA Courage Campaign worked hard to get the Chicago Transit Authority to launch an anti-harassment transit campaign.

USA: Conceived by site-specific narratologist and writer Jay Pitter, #mysafetyselfie is a project that is curating selfies + stories from women highlighting spatial and social factors compromising their safety in public spaces.

USA: Shaun Bennet Fauntleroy and Flux Theatre Ensemble produced #SpeakUp: The Street Harassment Plays and it featured five monologues written by playwrights who have been asked to reflect on their feelings as victims of street harassment.

USA: In North Carolina, a college class created a participatory map to document ‪‎street harassment in their city.

USA: Girl World in Chicago created downloadable and shareable anti-harassment cards.

USA: On International Women’s Day, UN Women hosted a walk from their headquarters to Times Square in New York City. SSH joined the Brazil anti-street harassment group Chega de Fiu Fiu and the American group Voices of Men to send the clear message that street harassment is an issue we must address globally if we want to see equality for women!!

*Activists in Zambia. Image via All Africa*

USA: An artist stood for 8 hours in a San Francisco gallery window to raise awareness about street harassment.

Zambia: Women took a stand against street harassment, including by organizing a march.

Here’s Part 2.

USA: My Suit of Armor

December 30, 2015 By Correspondent

Sara Conklin, Washington, DC, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

It’s finally starting to get cold this winter and I’ve breathed a sigh of relief. As a girl from the Sunshine State, throwing on winter apparel shouldn’t feel empowering – the idea of stuffing my body into multiple layers of fleece and faux-fur hooded parkas is about as foreign of a concept as the idea an apartment wouldn’t come with an air conditioner or saying “you all” vs. “ya’ll.” But, I’ve noticed an important change in my attitude when winter arrives that directly correlates to my experience as a woman walking in the city.

You see, I wear my coat like armor. It might not look like it conventionally, but I do. My armor protects me from unsolicited attention and non-consensual interactions that I so desperately try to avoid. Whether the feminist inside me screaming, “dressing modestly is a patriarchal concept of oppression!..” likes it or not, the more layers I wear, the less harassment I experience.

You cringed reading that, didn’t you? I cringed typing it. The hairs on my neck stood up at the thought of disappointing my peers who are working so hard to overthrow the policing of women’s dress and bodies. After all, shouldn’t a woman deserve respect regardless of a skirt versus a long coat? Ah yes, that would be the day. But, we currently live in a world where countless individuals believe that the more skin I show is a direct invitation into conversation and interaction. And so, for my entire life, I’ve been instructed to dress modestly, appropriately, and decently to fit a standard of dress that doesn’t attract attention; clothes that allow me to slip by unnoticed in a world that has standardized expectation for nearly everything in my life.

I live in Washington, DC and some days are hot like Hell. Summertime heat waves hit like a tidal wave and the whole city is sloppy with sweat. On these days, I, like everyone else, want to wear clothes that keep me cool. But, there is also a part of me that knows more skin means more attention and that means more unsafe situations. Is the risk worth it? The real issue is that this scenario is characterized as a “risk” in the first place.

Would you believe me when I told you one of the worst moments of my life was witnessing a mother on the subway whisper to her young daughter, “Cover her mouth when you yawn or else boys might get the wrong idea?” That was a horrible moment. Other horrible moments include the day I saw a young woman in a beautiful sundress which she clearly loved, lose her confidence in an instant when a man yelled something about her legs. Or, when I told my friend I was frustrated being repeatedly harassed by the same man on the sidewalk and he replied, “Honey, that’s what sunglasses and iPhone headphones are for.”

Because if it isn’t just the coat, it’s sunglasses to block my gaze, headphones to drown out sound, and a change of suitable clothes in my gym bag that act as tools to blockade the unsafe pieces of the world around me. I was unconsciously creating a physical barrier between the world and myself to gain back a little more control, or rather, any control at all.

I am embarrassed that I feel somehow responsible for reinforcing a dictatorial concept. Each time I change what I wear to be perceived as more modest I feel progressively more angry and resentful. When I pop in headphones to silence potential commentary, they’re getting away with it. We all deserve respect no matter what we wear. But, until I get that respect, I will wear my winter coat like armor, my sunglasses like a mask, and my headphones like a personal white noise machine.

Sara works in fundraising events at an organization that empowers women who face homelessness through recovery, wellness training, and housing. She runs her own photography company (saraconklinphotography.com) and a popular website that seeks to connect the world through pictures, sarapose.com.