Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for July 2018

“Made me feel unsafe in a place where I usually feel safe”

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I had just gotten off from work after a 2-9 shift at a local restaurant. I stopped at the atm up the street from my house to deposit my tips from the day. While I was finishing up the deposit, a man walks in behind me and says “big winner,” to which I reply “yeah” without looking back. I retrieved my card and made for the exit, but the man was already standing to the side of me and goes “my turn” and then a few seconds later when I was at the exit he calls me a dick.

Not wanting to engage any further, I said nothing and made for my car. When I was about half way to my car, he runs into the parking lot and yells, “F**king c*nt!”

I sprint to my car and drive off as quickly as possible, thinking he is in pursuit. I drove to the exit of the parking lot and stopped to call the police. He saw me stop and was banging on the glass pointing at me from inside of the ATM. He must have figured I was calling the cops because he ran to his pickup truck and drove off. I decided it was not worth it to speak to an officer as I had no idea who this man was.

This incident made me feel unsafe in a place where I usually feel safe, it made me feel confused as to what set this man off, and it made me feel angry that he was able to get away with it. It also makes me feel bad for his next victim, as I’m sure there will be one.

Forgive me for not jumping up and down to befriend you at 10 p.m. while I’m completing an ATM transaction after a 7 hour shift. I will definitely be more cautious the next time and hope I am never caught in a situation like this again.

– BC

Location: Milford, CT

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

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

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New Book: The Right Amount of Panic

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Dr. Fiona Vera-Gray has written a new book on street harassment called The Right Amount of Panic: How Women Trade Freedom for Safety. It’s available for sale here.

Here’s a description:

Have you ever thought about how much energy goes into avoiding sexual violence? The work that goes into feeling safe goes largely unnoticed by the women doing it and by the wider world, and yet women and girls are the first to be blamed the inevitable times when it fails.

We need to change the story on rape prevention and ‘well-meaning’ safety advice, because this makes it harder for women and girls to speak out, and hides the amount of work they are already doing trying to decipher ‘the right amount of panic’. With real-life accounts of women’s experiences, and based on the author’s original research on the impact of sexual harassment in public, this book challenges victim-blaming and highlights the need to show women as capable, powerful and skillful in their everyday resistance to harassment and sexual violence.”

I was asked to give a quote/review for it: “By re-interpreting women’s daily safety strategies as successful forms of resistance, this book presents fresh ideas for sexual violence prevention.”

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“I called the comany and made a report”

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Street harassment happens to me on the daily. Being underage and harassed by old men makes me feel so uncomfortable. Today , a delivery guy for a big company said very inappropriate things, so I called the company and made a report.  While, no it didn’t help me feel better, I figure it may stop him from making other girls feel uncomfortable and unsafe in the future.

– Anonymous

Location: New York City, NY

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

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

Share

Apply: Social Media and Website Manager (Unpaid)

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SSH is seeking someone who can work 5-10 hours a week, primarily managing the organization’s social media and website content. This is an unpaid, remote position. This is an ideal job for someone seeking volunteer experience in the nonprofit field, a student seeking course credit and/or someone who is passionate about ending street harassment! We will be happy to work with colleges/universities to ensure that the experience meets the requirements necessary for course credit.

The main job duties would entail:

  • Posting information about street harassment on social media (primarily Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
  • Posting street harassment story submissions on the blog
  • Writing short blog posts about relevant issues in the news.
  • Conducting a few interviews for the blog with anti-street harassment activists or highlighting new anti-street harassment initiatives on the blog.
  • Writing up the annual 16 Memorable Stories of Standing up to Street Harassers article for the Pixel Project (see the 2017 article for an example), to be cross-posted on the SSH blog.
  • Coordinating SSH’s online action for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign (Nov. 25 to Dec. 10).
  • Assisting with #GivingTuesday (November 27, 2018) online fundraising.

The person would report directly to SSH’s founder Holly Kearl.

This position would start in late-August (exact date can be flexible) and conclude sometime in December (exact date can be flexible), with the option to extend into 2019.

Qualifications:

An ideal candidate will be:

  • An excellent writer.
  • Experienced at using social media, particularly for campaigns/causes.
  • A self-starter who requires minimal supervision.
  • Knowledgeable about gender issues and/or social justice activism.
  • Well-versed about what street harassment is and why stopping it is important.

Familiarity with online fundraising would be a plus.

Please send a one-page cover letter and resume/CV to Holly Kearl, stopstreetharassment@gmail.com by August 18, 2018.

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