Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Freedom of Speech is Taking Photos of 3-11 Year Olds’ Private Parts in Texas!?

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Well, here’s some bad news.

Via The Guardian:

“A court has upheld the constitutional right of Texans to photograph strangers as an essential component of freedom of speech – even if those images should happen to be surreptitious “upskirt” pictures of women taken for the purposes of sexual gratification.

Criticising an anti-“creepshot” law as a “paternalistic” intrusion on a person’s right to be aroused, the Texas court of criminal appeals struck down part of the state’s “improper photography or visual recording” statute which banned photographing, broadcasting or transmitting a visual image of another person without the other’s consent and with the intention to “arouse or gratify … sexual desire”.

The case stemmed from the arrest of a man in his early 50s named Ronald Thompson who was stopped in 2011 at Sea World in San Antonio after parents reported him swimming with and taking pictures of children aged 3-11. The local district attorney’s office said that he tried to delete the photographs before his camera was seized and a police examination of it revealed 73 images of children in swimsuits “with most of the photographs targeting the children’s breast and buttocks areas”.”…

The appeals judges appeared to agree, stating that although “upskirt” type-images are intolerable invasions of privacy, the wording of the law is too broad. Presiding judge Sharon Keller wrote in the court’s opinion published on Wednesday: “Protecting someone who appears in public from being the object of sexual thoughts seems to be the sort of ‘paternalistic interest in regulating the defendant’s mind’ that the First Amendment was designed to guard against.”

The judges said that photographs were “inherently expressive”, like other artistic mediums such as films or books, and so the process of creating them, as well as the images themselves, was part of an American’s right to free speech because “thought is intertwined with expression”.

Taking photos of kids’ private parts with no permission to do so and no reason to be doing so should NOT be free speech. Kids — and anyone else photographed in that way — should have rights that trump the rights of a predator.

Also, looking at someone is very different from photographing someone, especially those kinds of photos. Who knows if he intended to share them online etc.

This is a very disappointing and disturbing ruling.

 

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The White House and NFL Tackle Sexual Violence

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Today is a big day for everyone who has been working for years — and many for decades — to see sexual violence prevention taken seriously in our country. And I mean real sexual violence prevention, not giving women (only) rape whistles and lectures about the buddy system, but prevention that focuses on education, bystander intervention, and changing cultural norms.

White House:

“It’s On Us” is the White House’s “new public awareness and action campaign designed to prevent sexual assault at colleges and universities, change the culture on our campuses, and better engage men in this effort.”

Via PBS:

“The campaign is being supported by partners who plan to help spread the message, including the NCAA, several collegiate athletic conferences and media companies with reach among students. The NCAA plans to promote anti-assault messages on screens at their championship events. Video game maker Electronic Arts will encourage fans to sign up to pledge to support the campaign through its online platforms. And media giant Viacom will promote the messages on websites, including for music channels MTV, VH1, BET and CMT.

Visitors to the website are asked to turn their social media profile pictures into the shape of the campaign logo. They are asked to use their name, email address and zip code to pledge “not to be a bystander to the problem, but to be a part of the solution.” The information is collected by Generation Progress, the youth arm of the liberal Center for American Progress advocacy organization with close ties to the White House.

The event comes as students are settling in for a new year on campus and follows other White House efforts that have been helping raise awareness about the problem that typically remained in the shadows. Research has shown most victims know their attackers, alcohol or drugs are often involved and only 12 percent of college women attacked report it to police.”

NFL:

Via NSVRC:

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center announces a multi-year partnership with the National Football League to address the far-reaching impacts of sexual assault and domestic violence. The NFL has pledged financial and in-kind support  to the NSVRC for distribution to support state and local sexual assault hotlines. The NFL is also pledging support to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

“We applaud the NFL for taking sexual assault and domestic violence seriously. We look forward to partnering with them and think it is a great model for influential organizations to support the work of sexual assault victim advocacy programs at state and local levels to ensure safety for survivors,”   NSVRC Director Karen Baker said.

As part of the partnership, the NSVRC will contribute resources that will be distributed to all NFL teams. The collaboration also will create ongoing opportunities to support people affected by sexual assault.

In August, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly announced the league’s new policies regarding sexual assault and domestic violence. “We clearly must do a better job of addressing [domestic violence and sexual assault] in the NFL. And we will,” Goodell said.

“By partnering with experts in the field of sexual assault and domestic violence, the NFL could become leaders in changing the pro sports culture by promoting equality and relationships that exemplify respect and consent,” said Delilah Rumburg, CEO of NSVRC.

Via AP:

“The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides domestic violence victims and survivors access to a national network of resources and shelters. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in 170 languages. Goodell noted that the hotline received 84 percent more calls from Sept. 8-15, and the organization said more than 50 percent of those calls went unanswered because of lack of staff.

The hotline will add 25 full-time advocates over the next few weeks that will result in an additional 750 calls a day being answered”

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International Museum of Women’s Exhibit “Imagining Equality”

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The International Museum of Women has a new online exhibit, Imagining Equality.

“Violence against women is one of the biggest barriers to gender inequality. But violence is not something men are born to commit, or women are born to be subject to. Violence is a social norm that too many cultures still tolerate or even cultivate. In this just-launched section of Imagining Equality about Violence, we hear from women survivors (and their male allies) around the world who reject victimhood, and instead are bravely confronting and advocating against violence – whether it be in their homes, their communities, or their nations.”

There is a section on #streetharassment.

“What would you say if you had an honest conversation with a street harrasser? Rebecca Audra Smith’s spoken word poem captures everything she’d say to the men who harrass women on the street, from sharing the collective struggle for women’s equality to reminding him of her individual humanity.”

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Will Kansas City Pass An Anti-Harassment Ordinance?

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Woo, great press this week for our Safe Public Spaces Mentees BikeWalkKC in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

Via Kansas City Star:

“‘We’re encouraging people to walk and bike more,’ Kansas City Councilman John Sharp said, ‘and they certainly ought to be allowed to do that without harassment.’

Broad anti-harassment ordinances are already on the books in Kansas and Missouri.

But before the end of the month, Sharp, chairman of the council’s public safety and emergency services committee, hopes to pass an ordinance that would outlaw threatening and dangerous behavior to protect “vulnerable road users.” That includes everyone from bikers, walkers and cyclists to people in wheelchairs or waiting at bus stops.

The ordinance is based on similar ones passed in Columbia, St. Louis, Independence and Greenwood, Mo., in the last five years. Sharp and advocacy group BikeWalkKC hope to have Kansas City’s ordinance on the books by Oct. 8.

That’s International Walk to School Day. Fifty years ago, half of American school kids biked or walked to school. Now it’s less than 15 percent at a time when many children are overweight and need more exercise.

But attempts to reverse that trend aren’t going to work, Sharp said, unless parents believe the streets are safe. Nor will anyone other than the bravest cyclists use the new bike lanes the city is striping across town if they’re fearful of being run off the road by aggressive motorists.”

Via KC TV 5:

“The Kansas City Council is considering an ordinance to crack down on harassment and threats for those taking a stroll or riding a bicycle.

The ordinance amendment is sponsored by Councilman John Sharp. He said he hopes to protect anyone from being made to feel uncomfortable…

The council’s public safety committee will discuss the issue on Sept. 25. If it passes out of committee, the full council could take it up as soon as Sept. 26.

The following is the proposed ordinance:

 Sec. 50-205. Harassment of a Bicyclist, Pedestrian or Wheelchair Operator

(a) The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them below, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Bicycle means any device upon which a person may ride, which is propelled by human power through a system of belts, chains, or gears, and may include an electric assist motor, and has wheels at least 16 inches in diameter and a frame size of at least 13 inches.

Wheelchair means any manual or motorized device designed specifically for use by a physically disabled person for means of conveyance.

(b) No person shall, for the purpose of frightening or injuring any person riding a bicycle, walking, running, or operating a wheelchair:

(1) Throw an object, direct a projectile, or operate a vehicle at or in such person’s direction; or

(2) Threaten such person; or

(3) Sound a horn, shout or otherwise direct loud or unusual sounds toward such person; or

(4) Place such person in apprehension of immediate physical danger; or

(5) Engage in conduct that creates a risk of death or serious physical injury to such person.

(c) Any person convicted of a violation of this chapter shall be punished for that violation by a fine of not less than $50, but not more than $500 or by imprisonment of not more than 180 days or by both such fine and imprisonment.”

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Help Fund New Film: Violation

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Violation is a short film that explores sexual violence against African American women through the lens of Shayla, a female combat veteran, and her experience with street harassment. Juxtaposing the experience of living in violent communities with the dangerous and unpredictable environment of war, Violation explores PTSD as a valid response to both.

Consider making a donation to their Indiegogo campaign today! (Violation is fiscally sponsored by New York Women in Film and Television and donations are tax-deductible.)

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