Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

DC Metro does not track sexual harassment complaints

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Tomorrow a group of Washington, DC-area residents and activists will share their experiences of sexual harassment on the DC metros and buses during the DC City Council’s performance hearing of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Chai Shenoy, co-founder of Collective Action for Safe Spaces/Holla Back DC! will open the testimonies and I’ll conclude them.

If you’re a DC resident who has been harassed or seen harassment occur on WMATA, you can still sign up to testify tomorrow (it will take place approximately 1-3 p.m. at the John A. Wilson Building) or write up to a 2 page testimony to submit for the record. RSVP ASAP to shannon AT collectiveactiondc DOT org

Apparently WMATA does not even track sexual harassment on their system and there is no dedicated hotline for reporting it. Unsurprisingly then, they have no PSA campaign as do many other major commuting cities. Consequently, we have three main recommendations when we testify tomorrow, including requesting a dedicated line for reporting sexual harassment and a PSA campaign telling people not to harass and what to do if they are harassed.

On Sunday, the Washington Post covered our intended action – and the story was reprinted today in the commute paper The Express. I want to respond to the following excerpt from the article (and please read the response of Collective Action for Safe Spaces and the response of a writer for the Washington City Paper.):

“Metro Transit Police Deputy Chief Ron Pavlik said his department takes reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault incidents seriously. He says the transit police have have not seen an increase in reports of indecent exposure, rape or other types of sexual assaults.

According to Metro, 84 cases involving sexual offenses were reported to Transit Police last year. They included one rape and 40 cases of indecent exposure or other sexual acts. Of the 40, 12 involved arrests.

Officials said Metro does not track sexual harassment complaints. But Pavlik said passengers who think that they have been sexually harassed should report the incident to Transit Police. Officers receive sensitivity training in handling such complaints, he said.

He cautioned, however, that a variety of behaviors could be considered harassment.

“Someone telling another person: ‘You look good. Can I have your phone number?’ — you may not like it, but I can’t arrest the person,” Pavlik said.

Reports including sexual assault and indecent exposure are investigated, he said.”

My response:

1. Wow, only sexual assaults and indecent exposure is being tracked? That’s not good enough. Most harassment is what they’re not tracking: sexual comments, sexual noises, leers, and whistles. No wonder Metro doesn’t think this is a problem — they don’t allow the full range of experiences to be reported/tracked.

2. Most gropes/grabs, a form of sexual assault, is not reported as a sexual assault because many people don’t realize that’s what it is. 84 reports of sexual offenses is likely quite low compared to the reality, then, especially when rape itself is so under-reported.

3. Without sexual harassment being tracked/reported, I guess Deputy Chief Pavlik had to use his own imagination to explain what women face: being told they look good, followed up by a polite request for their phone number. Or at least I hope that’s why he gave the example he did and not because he purposely wanted to downplay or dismiss the seriousness of sexual harassment. Regardless of his reasons, this is the outcome:

a) He simplified and distorted what actually happens in cases of harassment. Instead of someone saying,”You look good. Can I have your phone number?” (which, yes, is legal) street harassers tend to include sexually explicit language that’s inappropriate to use with a stranger and/or they often will not leave the woman alone after getting a “no” or a blank stare. Instead, the person will leer, follow, grab or continue with verbal comments until the woman feels harassed.

b) He ignored the context. A woman who has been grabbed, followed, attacked, mastrubated at or on and verbally harassed before (and most women have) may be pretty suspicious of any guy who approaches her and says a line like that, whether he intends to harass her or not.

c) He bristled up at the thought of “hitting on someone” being considered harassment and he supported the sexist idea that it’s fine (or at least legal) in all contexts to approach a woman and evaluate her looks and ask for her phone number. I bet 95% of women who ride the bus or the metro are just trying to get from Point A to Point B, not trying to get asked out on a date or have a stranger comment on their appearance. And if they do want to get asked out, they may want to be asked a few things about themselves first or have some light chitchat. Real life is not a movie or a gum commercial.

Again, if you’re a DC resident who has been harassed or seen harassment occur on WMATA, you can still sign up to testify tomorrow (it will take place approximately 1-3 p.m. at the John A. Wilson Building) or write up to a 2 page testimony to submit for the record. Let’s show them that sexual harassment is a real, widespread problem and that it constitutes more than just “Can I have your number” comments and thus, deserves real attention from WMATA and the city council. RSVP ASAP to shannon AT collectiveactiondc DOT org

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“I want to enjoy my coffee break without being eyeballed”

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Today was the second time I’ve experienced a creepy guy in the cafe at London’s Wellcome Collection. I’d been working in the library solidly for about four hours and was looking forward to a well-deserved coffee and biscuit break, so went down to the cafe. I choose a window seat right in the corner with my back to the cafe so I could read my book in peace.

Despite the cafe being half empty, a guy sat directly next to me (the window seat areas aren’t massive, so it’s an odd choice). I immediately clocked him as a potential problem, and sure enough, he starts the performative posturing: sighing loudly, throwing papers onto the desk in what I presume is supposed to be a masculine and assertive fashion, tapping his pen, etc., etc. He hasn’t bought anything from the cafe, and is evidently more interested in watching what I’m doing than filling in his many pieces of paper.

I’m so sick of this – it happens a ll the time, that a guy is clearly trying to get attention by making me feeling uncomfortable, yet it’s not enough for me to be able to ‘complain’ about it. Lately I’ve taken to simply getting up and moving elsewhere (as I had to two weeks ago when a guy chose, in an almost empty train carriage, the seat directly opposite mine) and that’s exactly what I did today. I want to enjoy my coffee break without being eyeballed and made to feel like I’m ‘fair game’ by having the audacity to take a break from my work in the middle of the afternoon.

Predictably, almost as soon as I pointedly moved to another area, he decided to leave, having obviously finished all that important paperwork….

– Jen

Location: Wellcome Collection Cafe, London, UK

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Snapshot of street harassment stories, news, announcements & tweets: February 19, 2012

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Read stories, news articles, blog posts, and tweets about street harassment from the past week.

** 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

HarassMap Egypt

Resist Harassment Lebanon

Many of the Hollaback sites

In the News, on the Blogs:

* Hura, “For the Harassers Only: Yemeni Women are not Prostitutes“

* The Sydney Morning Herald, “Low expectations, not necklines, to blame for misogyny“

* Jezebel, “Woman Gets Super Sweet Valentine’s Day Note Asking Her Not to Dress Like Such a Whore“

* Daily News & Analysis, “These women will bring you to your knees“

* Maps4Aid, “Street Sexual Harassment: 20 year old Student saves sister from molesters, beaten up.”

* IAfrica.com, “Miniskirts paralyse Joburg” and Washington Post, “South African women wear miniskirts, march through Johannesburg to protest sexual harassment“

* Khaama Press, “Afghan women suffer street harassment“

* NZHerald, “Friend watches girl’s ‘violent’ assault“

* The Morung Express, “A view on Dimapur“

* Women’s Web, “Talking about Street Sexual Harassment“

* Oppression is Yucky, “trigger warning sexual assault, street harassment, disordered eating, mental health.”

* Women Speak, “I felt like the perpetrator“

Activism Announcements:

New:

* College men in the USA share tips on how men can stop street harassment

* Women in South Africa marched against street harassment; women in Afghanistan held an event showing art and a documentary about street harassment

Reminders:

* SSH founder Holly Kearl is quoted in the March 2012 issue of Cosmo magazine with advice on dealing with gropers. Read an extended version of her advice on the blog.

* If you live in the Washington, DC-area, you can testify about harassment on the Metro system at a hearing on Feb. 22. Details.

* What were you wearing when you got stared at or street harassed? Submit your photo

* Start planning for International Anti-Street Harassment Week, March 18-24

* 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

10 Tweets from the Week:

1. @SpookSquad I can relate to that very high level of stress. MT@hkearl: woman w/PTSD says #streetharassment can cause her 2 have panic attacks, disassociate

2. @froovyjosie I think I am going to write a blog post about street harassment. And how f*cking frustrating/scary it can be. ARGH

3. @Lailaelrefai writing dissertation about sexual harassment in #egypt. sources are hard to find. please link me to any reports or books you know of. #EndSH

4. @iHollaback We’re on a call with our site leaders developing a cross-site cross-culuture survey on #streetharassment!

5. @NadaHKandil Walking to the bus stop with my neighbour,got followed by a construction worker who only stopped when a taxi driver shouted at him :/ #EndSH

6. @dopegirlfresh street harassment begins seems to have one source: a sense of entitlement. nobody owes you a hello. IDGAF what you think.

7. @WomenSpeakPro Street harassment makes women change their routine, become defensive and wary, as if they’re the perpetrators. womenspeak.tumblr.com/post/177142043…

8. @tanya_elena @hkearl actually, #sexualharrassment is much better on #wmata than Ny #mta. If only so much wasn’t from agency staff…

9. @jesseadamsstein Good opinion by @Jo_Tovey on sexual harassment on the street: as women well know, it’s not about what you’re wearing bit.ly/x2VpiI

10.  @jatshea I frequently give the finger to men who catcall me.

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Marching in South Africa, Art Exhibit in Afghanistan

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March protesters, via Africa Review

Here are exciting updates about activism that took place today in South Africa and Afghanistan.

South Africa: Six weeks ago, two teenagers wearing miniskirts were harassed and groped by a group of 50-60 men at a taxi rank. This was reminiscent of a sexual assault on a woman wearing a miniskirt in the same area in 2008. That attack led to a huge march. Well, the most recent bout of harassment has too.

Via BBC News:

“Hundreds of South Africans have marched in Johannesburg [today]…The organisers said they wanted to end “patriarchal views still entrenched in parts of South Africa’s society”.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest incidences of rape.

Some men, particularly from traditional and rural backgrounds, believe women should not wear revealing clothing, says the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.

Minister Lulu Xingwana is going all out fighting for women's rights. PHOTO: TEBOGO LETSIE

The ruling African National Congress Women’s League said it had called the march to emphasise that women had the right wear whatever they wanted without fear of victimisation.

Several cabinet ministers and the governor of Gauteng province were amongst those taking part.

During the march, Women’s Minister Lulu Xingwana warned that she would close down the taxi rank if such harassment continued.”

It’s encouraging to see so many government officials involved, condemning the harassment. Via Mail and Guardian:

“”The scourge of women abuse threatens to erode many of the hard-earned gains of the liberation struggle. It denies women their birth rights. It condemns them to a life of fear and prevents them from being productive members of society,” said Minister of Women Lulu Xingwana.

Afghanistan: Young Women for Change (YWC) is hosting an art exhibit and poster sale today and tomorrow (2-5 p.m. each day) to raise money to create a safe, harassment-free Internet cafe for women (donate online). Many of the pieces of art and posters address the issue of street harassment in Afghanistan.

They’re also airing a new documentary on street harassment called, “This is My City too,” produced by Anita Haidary, YWC Co-founder and a film student at Mt. Holyoke College in the USA.

Via YWC - members of the group select the posters to display in the exhibition
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Showing cleavage without putting out equals cruelty to men?

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Women should cover up their cleavage or else put out because otherwise, they’re  being confusing and cruel to men. It’s their fault they make men lash out with leers and gropes if they don’t allow the men to “get with” them.

I wish I could report this idea was straight out of The Onion (fake news) but it’s not. It’s from a woman’s opinion-editorial.

Via Jezebel:

“Bettina Arndt argued in the Sydney Morning Herald that “everywhere you look, women are stepping out dressed provocatively, but bristling if the wrong man shows he enjoys the display.” (Remember, it’s summer down under.) Arndt writes:

[Men] are in a total state of confusion… Sensitive males are wary, not knowing where to look. Afraid of causing offense. And there are angry men, the beta males who lack the looks, the trappings of success to tick these women’s boxes. They know the goodies on display are not for them. These are the men most likely to behave badly, blatantly leering, grabbing and sneering. For them, the whole thing is a tease. They know it and resent it.

There’s nothing new about arguing that scantily-clad women drive helpless men to distraction — or worse. SlutWalkers and Talmudic scholars (among others) have made the case over and over that nothing a woman wears (or doesn’t wear) can cause a man to rape her, but their voices are often drowned out by those who ridiculously insist on outsourcing all male sexual self-control to women.

In Arndt’s case, she goes beyond merely holding women responsible for their own rapes. Her op-ed implies that women who don’t cover up are committing an act of cruelty against most men, most of the time. Arndt claims that a conventionally attractive woman who shows off her cleavage “is advertising her wares to the world, not just her target audience, and somehow men are expected to know when they are not on her page… But as we all know, many men are lousy at that stuff — the language totally escapes them.”

Wow, her op-ed is very insulting to men and makes them sound like full grown, spoiled brats who will lash out if they can’t have their way (and apparently their way is being with any woman who shows cleavage). She also assumes all men are heterosexual.

She also places fault for leering and groping with women! I’m so over victim-blaming.

People need to look at cultural norms and the manufacturing of sexy and whether or not a society has respect for women instead of blaming women.

In some indigenous cultures where women are topless or in places like Hawaii where women walk into grocery stores in bikinis, they do not face high rates of rape or oogling as a result, because that’s the norm. People are used to it.

Too often, the media sexualizes breasts and actively encourages people to oogle them as a way to get them (heterosexual men) to buy products. The media and a general disrespect for women also fosters the notion that men are entitled to look at women and are even entitled to touch them, and if women don’t like it, they’re the problem!

Meanwhile, there are countries where women are considered teases because of the cultural norm that they shouldn’t show their wrists or ankles in public. One cleric in Saudi Arabia even advocated for a hijab that only allowed women to show one eye because, he claimed, two eyes were too seductive.

Women wearing hijabs and long, modest dress are still groped and harassed in many countries – in Yemen, over 90 percent of women had been the target of street harassment, including groping. This doesn’t happen because they are showing skin but because women are so devalued and discriminated against that men think it’s okay to treat them that way.

So to reiterate – showing breasts is not a problem by itself. Especially when you consider how women with large breasts can wear tshirts and their breasts are still visible and they can wear tops that may give less busty women no cleavage but will give them cleavage. What are they supposed to wear? Burlap sacks? No. Breasts aren’t the problem, instead the problem is the way our society fosters the notion that men are entitled to look and touch and disrespect women’s wishes for being looked at or touched.

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