Archives for June 2016

Afghanistan and Canadian Efforts

June 30, 2016 By HKearl

Afghanistan:

Check out the new HarassMap campaign in Afghanistan where people in the country can share their street harassment experiences.

Canada:

Via CBC:

“With the Calgary Stampede just a week away, a social media campaign using the hashtag #SafeStampede is gearing up.

Organizers say they want to spark a conversation about sexual harassment, consent and respectful behaviour.

“I think changing attitudes is what’s going to change behaviour,” said Elizabeth Booth, one of the community advocates who started using the hashtag during last year’s event.

A lifelong Calgarian, Booth says she loves the Stampede, but she sees a dark side to the debauchery.

“There’s a lot of alcohol and just this long-standing tradition that it’s a time to misbehave,” she said.”

“Are you really not ashamed at all?”

June 28, 2016 By Contributor

I was wearing shorts, a little above my knee length, and coming back from college that day. It was a hellish experience so I wrote this:

Those eyes,
When they move,
Don’t you know I see them?

I see them as they plunder my legs,
And slowly,
my whole body.

My body is mine.
“MINE!,” rings a bell?!

Those eyes,
Shameless, lustful,
Can you look at you with those same eyes?

Those same eyes,
That same face,
Are you really not ashamed at all??

Just so you know,
I see them.

Don’t you know?
I see them.

I see them
And I’m furious.

– Adishi

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

I believe there is a desperate need for more women to reclaim public spaces and fight against the “Why are you here?” stares that we get.

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

Plane Assaulters & Perv Busters

June 27, 2016 By HKearl

First, I cannot even believe that a SECOND man was arrested this month for groping a teenage girl seated next to him on an airplane.

An Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Anchorage was recently diverted to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport mid-flight. A 23-year-old man allegedly repeatedly groped a 16-year-old girl seated next to him. Another man in their row intervened and alerted the flight attendant who then notified the pilot. The pilot diverted the plane and the assailant was arrested in Seattle.

In a similar incident this month, a man groped a 13-year-old girl seated beside him on an American Airlines flight. The flight attendant saw it and moved her and he was arrested at the airport.

What is wrong with these men?? I’m angered by their predatory behavior and blatant disregard for the feelings and bodily autonomy of the girls. And I’m grateful for the bystanders on the planes who took action to stop the abuse.

But in better news, I am loving the new “Perv Busters” effort that launched last week in New York City. We need a similar effort in every community!

Perv Busters - photo by Matthew McDerrmott, via NY Post — Perv Busters – photo by Matthew McDerrmott, via NY Post

Via the New York Post:

“Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa…was training an all- female group called the Perv Busters. Their mission: Finding and shaming subway perverts.

“You know the signs that say, ‘See something, say something’? Well, we’re doing something,” said Sliwa, 62, who founded the Guardian Angels in 1979.

After the MTA backed out of a plan to deploy eight MTA cops to battle a recent surge in subway sex crimes, Sliwa decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I’ve got eight girls doing what the transit cops apparently can’t do,” he said.

His crew gathered at Columbus Circle at 8 p.m. Friday for their first night of prowling for “weenie wavers.” …

“We all know what it’s like to be harassed and followed. But you don’t have the right to complain if you don’t do anything about it,”
she said.

The team’s youngest member, 13-year-old Veronica Pagan, is a third-generation Guardian Angelette. She sported her grandmother’s beret.

“I joined because I wanted to make them proud, but I also did it for myself. I want to show guys that we are not weak, we can step up just the same,” Pagan said.

After a demonstration on how to handcuff, the girls lined up in formation on the subway platform.

Silwa ordered everyone to board, break off into pairs and stand in the doorways on lookout.

“The first thing we have to work on is the look. If you’re standing there all smiley, people won’t take you seriously,” Sliwa said.

Sliwa then instructed the Angels to hand out the official Perv Busters flier.

Rider Daniel Martinez, 33, was excited that the Angels were back, and asked Sliwa how to join.

“I just think it’s beautiful. It’s about time that we see women step up and be warriors. We need more Joan of Arcs in our city,” Pagan said.

“I felt furious and afraid to go outside for the rest of the day.”

June 27, 2016 By Contributor

Yesterday I was walking home from the store and a man chased me down the street (running) and asked me to stop. He uncrumpled a dollar bill and awkwardly and without making eye contact said that he was conducting a survey and would pay me a dollar if I told him about the panties I was wearing. I told him I would not participate and dejectedly he asked if I still wanted the dollar. I said no and called the police as soon as I was home. I felt furious and afraid to go outside for the rest of the day.

I felt like a prisoner in my home who had no rights to go outside while someone else had the right to try to buy sexual fantasies from me. I also felt confused because when I refused that man my first thought was not to protect myself — it was that I would never sell such information and hurt my boyfriend. He’s a wonderful man and he deserves absolute loyalty. He helped me cope and feel safe after this event. But I should have thought of myself first.

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

I think that all public schools with children 13+ in them should have mandatory rape signage so people have resources and information. I remember that it wasn’t until years after being raped as a high schooler that I saw a poster that said, “It’s still rape even if they don’t say no.” and realized that I had in fact been raped even though I didn’t scream and fight back when I was ordered to have unwanted sex because I didn’t want to alert the perpetrator’s whole family.

– AN

Location: Mount Vernon, Washington

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

USA: A FedEx Driver Harassed Me

June 25, 2016 By Correspondent

Ginger Skinner, NY, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

Last May, just seconds after hopping on my bike in front of my Brooklyn apartment, I hear, “Mmm. Can I go with you?” I slow my bike and turn around to see a FedEx driver staring back at me. I yelled, “You really shouldn’t harass people while you’re on the job.” His response: “F**k you.” Followed by several more “f**k you’s.”

The driver’s comments were no different than those hurled at me almost daily from row house stoops, in corner stores, supermarkets, parks, gyms, and on and around public transit. “Hey baby’s,” “How you doing’s,” and “Mmm mmm mmm’s,” that seem innocuous, yet too often leave long-term side effects: anger, anxiety, shame, and hypervigilance. Still those men had not delivered packages to my home. Packages I regularly signed for. I worried that my speaking up and defending myself might have inadvertently encouraged more harassment.

Five minutes later, I was on the phone with a FedEx “specialist.” After opening a claim that included a detailed description of the delivery person, the specific location, and time of day, she repeatedly assured me that FedEx would handle the situation according to their policies, and that they’d follow up with me. She ended the call with “FedEx takes these matters very seriously.” Weeks passed. No follow up.

Had I done the right thing in reporting the harassment? Yes. I think so. Street harassment is often a precursor to more aggressive forms of violence. Had I really wanted the driver to lose his job? Certainly not. What outcome had I expected? At the very least, I knew that I wanted to be listened to and believed—and for FedEx, as promised, to take the matter seriously.

A basic search of Twitter turned up people who clearly wanted the same. A jogger who was catcalled by a FedEx driver. A woman aggressively catcalled by a FedEx worker inside her apartment building. A man whose wife was sexually harassed by two FedEx drivers. A woman who tweeted at FedEx after one of their drivers made kissing sounds at her. Another woman who upon calling FedEx to complain about harassment was “pretty much laughed at” by the customer service rep. This story. And this one. And here’s one about a UPS driver. And this incredibly disturbing story about a U.S. Postal Service worker.

No complain alert line for customers?

Like most companies, FedEx has an employee policy in place that addresses workplace sexual harassment. The anti-harassment policy on the company’s website states that:

Unwelcome sexual advances and other inappropriate personal conduct are prohibited. We strictly prohibit, and will not tolerate, any type of harassment or any acts that create the potential for harassment, either in terms of individual employee morale or in violation of applicable laws.

There’s also a mechanism for reporting violations – the FedEx Alert Line.

I wondered, did the same policy apply to customers? So I reached out to FedEx’s media department, but after two weeks and no response, I ended up on the phone with Dave from Customer Advocacy. I asked, “Does FedEx have policies or other measures in place that protect customers and communities members from harassment by FedEx employees?” Dave responded, “We are not able to reveal FedEx policies over the phone or on our website. Our policies are confidential.” Then a long pause, and, “We will deal with a situation when we have one.”

I ended the call with Dave, disappointed, but with a clear message for FedEx and other companies that claim to take harassment seriously:

Whether or not it affects to your bottom line, your employees’ actions directly impact your company’s reputation. At the end of the day, the employee that harassed me is wearing a uniform and driving a truck clearly marked with your company’s name. I urge you to consider stronger policies that discourage harassment by your employees and protect the communities you serve. By not addressing it, your company is essentially doing its part to preserve rape culture.

Ginger is a full-time reporter and long-time New Yorker with over 10 years of experience writing about health and wellness. Ginger is also a member of Brooklyn Movement Center’s No Disrespect anti-street harassment team, and is dedicated to deepening the conversations surrounding the causes of gender-based harassment and violence, and the intersections of race. Follow Ginger on Twitter at @ginger_skinner.