We’re in the final month of the Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Program Pilot, and the three projects are wrapping up nicely!

Last week, I posted a report about the group in Kabul who did workshops in high schools on street harassment.

Here are brief updates on the groups in Buea, Cameroon, and Chicago, USA:

Cameroon

Group leader Zoneziwoh has been talking about the issue with various groups of people throughout her community. For example, she talked with women street vendors and found: 1)  Women are harassed by unknown men walking by. 2) Women like the restaurant/ bar attendants, the one selling banana on roadside, maize etc been harass by clients. They fear to speak out against it for fear of losing their clients. Many people talked about reporting as being time consuming.

She also held a focus group with 10 participants who participated in activities to explain what street harassment means to them and several conducted an audit about places where they feel safe/unsafe. She aims to hold a community event by mid-October to further bring attention to the issue of street harassment.

Additionally, this week, Zoneziwoh attended the Youth Forum preceding the African Regional Conference on Population and Development and she was able to speak about the need for policies that address sexual harassment in public space harassment.  Her recommendation was adopted and is currently included in the draft for the International Conference on Population and Development as the need to “Make public spaces safer for all, especially persons within the LGBTI community and young women.”

She believes this the first time that such a recommendation has been made about street harassment!

Chicago, Stop Calling Me Baby: Film Screening and Spoken Word

Group leader Phaydra: We have held a few meetings to work out the proposed film ideas. One meeting was composed of feminist activists and another with comedy writers. After receiving input and feedback we decided to concentrate on making one good film to satirize street harassment. We are working on a parody of dating commercials where the couples met via street harassment. We know this is a ridiculous scenario and hope it will emphasize how ridiculous it is to street harass. We will screen the film along with showcasing stand up comedy about street harassment and other common issues women encounter daily on October 13 in Chicago. It is free and open to members of the public! Info & RSVP.

 This pilot program is funded through the generous donation of Carlynne McDonnell. 

Help us expand this program in 2014 to work with 10 groups/sites with a tax-deductible donation to Stop Street Harassment. All donations made right now will be matched by a generous donor.