Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Meet the New Social Media Volunteers!

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Stop Street Harassment is growing fast and five brand new social media volunteers are helping spread information and resources. through:

Twitter: @stopstharassmnt | @nostharassweek |
Facebook: Meet Us on the Street Page | Youtube | Pinterest

I’m excited to have them on board and I’m excited to have you meet them. They each manage a weekday so you can say hi to them on their day!

* Carla Avenia is a translator and blogger living in France who loves to support causes dear to her heart during her free time. (She volunteers Thursdays.) Her photo is by Norman Acosta.

* Christina Brown is a New York City graduate of Hunter College who majored in Sociology. She has an innate desire to understand and change the negative attention towards women that she is both a target and witness of every day. She wants to improve the streets for her nieces and nephews. She wants to help be apart of creating a safer world for all women and children. One of her favorite quotes, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph, is for good people to do nothing,” by Edmund Burke. (She volunteers Mondays.)

* Julie Mastrine is an activist, feminist, and writer working in the PR industry. Her work has been featured on outlets such as the Huffington Post, Mashable, Forbes, and many others. You can follow her on Twitter. (She volunteers Fridays.)

* Yasmine Nagaty is a Political Science graduate and an aspiring writer from the American University in Cairo and currently works at the Egyptian NGO Misr ElKheir. You can follow her on Twitter. (She volunteers Wednesdays.)

* Veronica Weis is a communications specialist in Washington, D.C. She’s worked in a media and communications capacity for a variety of social justice organizations. In 2011-2012, she served as an AIF President Clinton fellow in India, focusing on digital strategy and online media for Breakthrough, a human rights organization. As New Media intern at the ONE campaign, she worked as a blog contributor covering emerging topics in international development and human rights. Her writing and photography has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Gender Across Borders, the ONE blog, Women Make News, among others. You can follow her on Twitter. (She volunteers Tuesdays.)

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Classroom Lesson Plan for Download

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A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Jake Winn, a Peace Corps volunteer and a youth development facilitator in northern Azerbaijan, on the Russian and Georgian borders. He is also a member of Peace Corps Azerbaijan’s WID/GAD (Women in Development/Gender and Development) executive committee.

He said, “Inspired by your ‘Shit Men Say to Men Who Say Shit to Women on the Street,’ some of my male students made their own Anti-Street Harassment video. The title, “Ay Gardash! Kishi Ol!”, can be translated to, ‘Hey man, be a gentleman!” We now plan on distributing the video throughout the country, along with a lesson plan and discussion questions for other volunteers to use with their own students.”

He recently sent me the lesson plan and said Stop Street Harassment readers were welcome to use it!

Download it: Street Harassment Lesson Plan (English) | Street Harassment Lesson Plan (Azerbaijani)

Thanks, Jake!

If anyone else has classroom resources on street harassment they’d be willing to share, please let me know. This site is all about idea and resource sharing.

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Hurricane Sandy: 5 Stop Street Harassment Activities to Fill Your Time

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I know a lot of Stop Street Harassment’s readers are on the American east coast (and so am I), so if you’re like me and are stuck in doors, waiting to see what will happen and you have some extra time on your hands, here are some ideas for what you can do.

1. Watch it on YouTube!

There are SO many humorous, poignant, and get-your-blood-riled-up YouTube clips about street harassment. On the Stop Street Harassment YouTube channel, you can find 142 relevant videos. One of my favorites is the Shit Men Say video that was released for Meet Us on the Street: Street Harassment Awareness Week in March. (There’s also a decent selection of videos here.)

And if you  have time to watch a whole movie, War Zone, a documentary about street harassment, is now available for free online. (FYI – there is a very triggering 911 call near the end of the film.)

2. Pin it on Pinterest

Stop Street Harassment is new to Pinterest. Check out our boards and share some of your own street harassment-related images.

3. It’s time for an Art Project

Are you in need of an art project? Illustrate one or some of these stories where people were able to shut down their street harasser! Art work will be added to the SSH website and social media accounts. Email to: stopstreetharassment AT yahoo.com

4. Read all About It

As long as you have internet, there are tons of blog posts and articles and even books you can read about street harassment. There are nearly 900 street harassment stories on the SSH blog, plus dozens of interviews with activists. If you’re academic-leaning in your reading pursuits, there are many street harassment articles available online for free. If you have a Kindle, you can purchase and read my book, Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe & Welcoming for Women for $15. One of my favorite books about street harassment activism is also available for Kindles: Hey, Shorty!: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets.

5. Share Your Story

Do you have a street harassment story you want to get off your chest? Have you shut down a street harasser before and want to inspire others to do the same? Share your story and it will be added to the collection of stories on the SSH website.

I hope all the East coasters are dry, safe and with electricity!

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Digest of street harassment news: October 28, 2012

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** Sign up to receive a monthly e-newsletter from Stop Street Harassment ***

Street Harassment Stories:

Share your story! You can read street harassment stories on the Web at:

Stop Street Harassment Blog

Collective Action for Safe Spaces

HarassMap in Egypt

Bijoya in Bangladesh

Resist Harassment in Lebanon

Ramallah Street Watch in Palestine

Name and Shame in Pakistan

Safe Streets in Yemen

Street Harassment in South Africa

Many of the Hollaback sites

Street Harassment In the News, on the Blogs:

* Ahram Online, “Egyptian women organise ‘Catch a Harasser’ to demand respect during Eid“

* Ahram Online, “Egypt’s cabinet plans new law to fight sexual harassment“

* The Guardian, “A conspiracy of silence allowed sexual harassment to stay routine“

* Fox News, “Egypt activists meet resistance as they campaign to stop sexual harassment during holiday“

* Egypt Independent, “”

* Pakistan Today, “Are women-only parks the answer to street harassment?“

* The Atlantic Cities, “In India’s Cities, Separation Doesn’t Mean Safety for Women“

* Nooga.com, “Women walking: A lady’s perspective on street harassment“

* Ebony, “I Ate So Men Wouldn’t Pay Attention To Me“

* Brandeis City Blog, “Street Harassment in Brussels“

* Rebel with a Cause, “Stop harassment: It’s not sex, it’s oppression!“

* Sian and Crooked Rib, “Yes, i do look lush. No, you don’t need to tell me.”

* Daily News Egypt, “Heya: Youth initiative seeks to empower women“

* Daily Nexus, “Student Groups Launch Campaign to End Catcalling in Anticipation of Halloween“

* The Times of India, “Eve-teasers beware, lady cops on prowl“

* Daily Bhaskar, “City might just be safer for girls from now on“

* Gulf News, “Egypt vows crackdown on sexual harassment during Eid“

* BG News, “Event to raise awareness for street harassment“

Announcements:

New:

* There are only a few days left in the Razoo campaign to raise funds for a national street harassment study – please donate!

* Penn State students demonstrated against street harassment

* There are now anti-sexual harassment ads on the DC Metro cars (before they were on the platforms)

* Egypt Hotlines for harassment complaints during Eid: 16048, 08008883888, 25747295 and 01150118822. Spread the word.

* The FX show Totally Biased covered street harassment this week!


Reminders:

* There are new anti-street harassment groups in Australia and Nepal

* Read an interview with Tatyana Fazlalizadeh about her beautiful art work against street harassment

* What did street harassment look like in 1945?

* @Shefunionwomcom We are collating stories of women’s experiences of street harassment. If you have a story please email it to womens.committee@shef.ac.uk

* METRAC released a free “Not Your Baby App” to provide responses you can use when experiencing harassment

* The Adventures of Salwa campaign has a hotline for sexual harassment cases in Lebanon: 76-676862.

* In Bangalore, India, there is a helpline for street harassment 080 – 22943225 / 22864023

* Report #streetharassment in Pakistan at @NameAndShamePk, email nameandshame@ryse.pk, SMS 0314-800-35-68 or online at http://www.nameandshame.pk

15 Tweets from the Week:

1. @thetrudz: I don’t like that Axe body spray for men. It smells like street harassment, STDs and despair.

2. ‏@MaiE_89  Don’t understand how one of the holiest days of the year can turn into a fest for sexual harassers. Depressing. #EndSH #Egypt

3. @mfatta7  I don’t advise any woman to go to downtown alone or in company of others #endSH

4. @HollabackSF On my way to watch #SFGiants game near ballpark: “Hey can I have a kiss? For the Giants?” THERE’S NO #STREETHARASSMENT IN BASEBALL!!

5. @sana2 Walking in the streets with pepper spray and a monopod for self defence happy Eid indeed #EndSH

6. @Chell_Dunphy  I think it’s really important to create dialogue about public/street harassment. Any time I bring it up, people are shocked by the stories

7. @WhoaWhitney Creepers catcall at me, and I mentally turn into Buffy.

8. @Fengxii Oh god I just witnessed a group of men catcall irl and now I feel sick and disgusted and unhappy.

9. @captainmorganj instead of ignoring men who catcall me I got the gumption to start giving the dirtiest looks back I can muster

10. @porcinea A loud “compliment” & a wolf whistle on the way to pick up Mr. X. A catcall returning from taking him to karate. #everydaysexism #bikeNYC

11. @SACETN Street harassment is not a compliment.

12. ‏@OaklandElle  BTW, have noticed a significant reduction in street harassment when wearing feminist patches.

13. @MearaKoh You know what guys? Being cat called at 9am doesn’t really put me in the smiling mood, no matter how much you ask #StreetHarassment

14. @LionEnvy Street Harassment Is Not A Compliment Flowy Dolman Tee also dropped online today. Pick this sassy piece up t http://instagr.am/p/RGd_2aIw5N/

15. @generoCITY_ #BSU Mr. & Miss Junior present Hey Baby: The violence behind Street Harassment http://instagr.am/p/RGEwE3JT08/

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