HKearl, Author at Stop Street Harassment

Street Harassment Snapshot – July 3, 2011

July 3, 2011 By HKearl

Read stories, news articles, blog posts, and tweets about street harassment from the past week and find relevant announcements and upcoming street harassment events.

Street Harassment Stories:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story! You can read new street harassment stories on the Web from the past week at:

Stop Street Harassment Blog

Street Harassment in the News, on the Blogs:

* Huffington Post, “Egyptian Sexual Harassment Returns To Pre-Revolution Levels“

* Al Arabiya News, “Muna Khan: Keep on moving. Or why women-only transportation doesn’t have me jumping for joy“

* MSN India, “Roadside Romeo walks into women cops trap, convicted“

* CNN, “Mobile tech fights sexual harassment“

* ABC News, “New York Anti-Street Harassment Group Asks Women to Hollaback!“

* Care 2, “Guatemala Introduces Women-Only Buses“

* New Statesman, “Laughing matters?“

* Village Voice Blog, “Subway Masturbator Captured on Camera, Shamed by Brave Victim Online“

* The Times of India, “Police set up helpline for girls to tackle eve-teasing“

* Al Masry Al Youm, “The Sexual Harassment File: Do men consider women in harassment?“

* The Gothamist, “Hollaback’s Emily May Talks About Stopping Street Harassment“

* Daily News & Analysis, “Eve-teasing could now land you in jail“

Announcements:

New:

* There are only a few days left help fund Hollaback’s bystander campaign, “I’ve Got Your Back“

Reminders/On-Going:

* The UN launches a “Safe and Friendly Cities for All” campaign

* Sign Mend the Gap’s petition to address subway harassment in Delhi, India

* College students, enter the Hollaback essay contest, entries due August 1.

* Are you in Egypt? Use HarassMap to report your street harassers

* Have an iPhone? Download the Hollaback iPhone app that lets you report street harassers

15 Tweets from the Week:

1. Karnythia @CreoleSoul I am a headphone girl when I go out. So I miss all but the most direct efforts. I get a lot of street harassment.

2. iHollaback We are so grateful to NYC councilmember @bradlander for supporting our work in ending street harassment!

3. ArriannaMarie But honestly… I have had days where I had anxiety about leaving the house & walking down the street to work or class. #StreetHarassment

4. ruthie_dee @hkearl It happens so often I can’t even remember. Always makes me feel angry/self-conscious/humiliated though. #streetharassment

5. FinerFeminist I feel so strongly about street harassment I might tweet every line of this article separately.

6. HelenCLondon I’ve had a man walk past me, grab my bum but actually get his fingers somewhere they REALLY shouldn’t be #streetharassment.

7. The42BusDC if law enforcement responded to verbal and street harassment now, they could spend less time dealing with assaults and such down the road.

8. amandahess L.A. street harassment does not disappoint. Thanks, guy who aggressively offered to shake my hand throughout tonight’s Metro ride!

9. Cillygrrl14 So glad I can go outside again. Above about 25 degrees there’s so much sexist street harassment it’s not worth it.

10. thinkelizabeth just told a street harasser in DC “I can’t believe u just said that” and it stopped him cold. 1st time I’ve had success #streetharassment

11. femmeniste Last night, a guy who looked like a bargain basement Fabio got in my face to tell me I looked “so hot.” It was quite rude. #StreetHarassment

12. LizaEckert Dude just made kissy noise out of a delivery truck. Flipped him off. Should have taken picture. #streetharassment

13. thinkelizabeth just told a street harasser in DC “I can’t believe u just said that” and it stopped him cold. 1st time I’ve had success #streetharassment

14. ruthie_dee Strange as it may seem, I don’t actually enjoy being honked at, pervy fat man. #streetharassment

15. hiddenblackbird So, our car breaks down in Sioux City. Awesome. Let’s stand on the street corner and count how many people catcall at us!

Workshops to Address Street Harassment This Summer in NYC

July 2, 2011 By HKearl

SYDNIE L. MOSLEY DANCES PRESENTS THE WINDOW SEX PROJECT: COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

Workshops to Address Street Harassment This Summer: July 16 and August 20

Sydnie L. Mosley Dances is proud to announce its inaugural Harlem community arts and performance initiative, The Window Sex Project. Harlem women ages 18-35 are invited to participate in a FREE workshop ($10 for non-Harlem residents) on a Saturday, 10 am–3pm. Participants may choose to come on July 16 at Barnard College or August 20 (location TBA).

The workshops not only provide practical methods and resources for women to combat street harassment, but also empower women to define and celebrate themselves through healthy choices and artistic expression. More information and complete schedule is available at: http://www.windowsexproject.com.

The workshops aim to be a safe, supportive space for women to tell their stories about street harassment, when the general culture of this type of harassment encourages women to be silent as they walk NYC streets. By pairing story telling with dance, participants will take immediate action against sexual objectification, harassment and, at its worst, violence. Choreographer Sydnie L. Mosley will facilitate the creation of dance movement by workshop participants about their experiences, which will be used for the later creation of an evening-length dance work to be presented in Harlem.

Mosley says she was sparked by personal experience to start the project. “I realized that I needed to do something,” she explains. “I needed to take a stand, have some kind of response to street harassment. It happens every day. It happens not only in Harlem, not only in New York City; it happens all over the world. So now I am taking both political and artistic action.”

The Window Sex Project is a Harlem community arts and performance initiative produced by Sydnie L. Mosley Dances in partnership with Grosvenor House YMCA, Barnard College Dance Department, Barnard Center for Research on Women, Hollaback! NYC, RINY Media, INSPIRIT Dance Company, Ebony Eyes Artistry, The Body Shop Harlem, and Citizens Committee of NYC.

About Sydnie L. Mosley Dances

Sydnie L. Mosley Dances is a New York City-based contemporary dance company presenting works that seek to actively engage the audience’s physical and emotional senses with dance performance in addition to involving audiences in the artistic process. Choreographer Sydnie L. Mosley is an emerging voice in dance who often produces work that reflects real life experiences exploring, but not limited to, interests in black cultures and the experiences of women. The movement vocabulary reflects various styles of modern, ballet, and African dance, while dancers frequently use their voice with spoken text and audible breath. Choreographed works aim to move people through dance making them feel human with works that provoke a visceral reaction to the physicality on stage, or incite curiosity and conversation.

Contact: Soula Harisiadis, 410-916-1844, sydnielmosleydances@gmail.com

Turning harassers into frogs, blowing up their trucks!

July 1, 2011 By HKearl

Love this! Cartoon character Zatana uses magic to deal with all kinds of annoyances on her way home from her job late at night. My favorite is when she turned four street harassers into frogs! If only that were possible…

Related, I finally watched Thelma and Louise last night after hearing about it for years. While I knew the basic plot line, what I hadn’t heard about before was how after the same truck driver street harasses them three times, they end up giving him a talking to (e.g. “How would you feel if someone did that to your mother, your sister or your wife?). When he refuses to apologize and calls them nasty names, they blow out his tires and end up setting his truck on fire!

Take that street harassers!

Man convicted after harassing under-cover female officers

June 30, 2011 By HKearl

A not-so brilliant street harasser who solicited two under cover policewomen during an anti-street harassment sting in New Delhi, India, has been convicted of “outraging the modesty of women,” and may face up to a year in jail, plus a fine. I’m not a fan of the description of the crime (women are not modesty but we do deserve respect, men do, too), but the outcome is refreshing.

Via MSN India:

“Metropolitan Magistrate Shunali Gupta convicted Haryana resident Vinod under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for outraging the modesty of women, saying, ‘From the evidence led, prosecution has been able to prove the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.’ The court, which convicted Vinod, is yet to pronounce its sentence, which may be up to one year in jail besides the fine.

The eve-teasing incident dates back to September 23, 2005, when Vinod approached the two women head constables, waiting at a bus stand in Mangolpuri police station area. Vinod stopped his scooter near the bus stand and began uttering indecent and obscene words and making vulgar gestures.

“Aaj mausam bada suhana hai, tumme se kaun chal sakti hai, usko main paise de kar khush kar dunga, mere pas jagah bhi hai (Its a nice weather today, who among you can join me for a accompany? I will satisfy you with money. I also have a proper space for the purpose),” Vinod remarked when some cops waiting in plain clothes swooped upon him and arrested him.”

Lebanon:”Sexual harassment may just triple this summer”

June 28, 2011 By HKearl

Ivy, an anonymous blogger in Beirut, Lebanon, takes issue with a new Ministry of Tourism ad and feels it will promote street harassment.

The following is from her blog, opening with her street harassment experiences (which she has written about before):

“It could be an overtly–friendly smile from the old sleazy neighbor who may insist on inspecting your outfit as you step into your car.

It could be the big black tinted Range Rover that will drive parallel to you for a good ten minutes, blocking traffic only to pull down his window and graphically explain to you how we would like to have his way with you.

When he’s finally gone you somehow end up behind a pick-up truck full of men seated in the back, who won’t miss a chance to stare, wave, and laugh. Behavior similar to that of predators in a jungle informing the rest of the hungry pack that they spotted the prey of the day.

It could be the parking guy who leaves other parking cars struggling only to suddenly land right in front of your car door just in case you were to flash some skin as you made your rough exit. Sometimes you even swear he makes you park so close to other cars because he secretly enjoys watching you wrestle your way out.

It could be the nasty cab driver that won’t let you cross the street because he keeps honking at you for a ride, and when you finally tell him to MOVE, he’ll yell out a profanity.

It could be the car that finally stops to allow you to cross the street, only to see a guy and his buddy high-fiving each other and winking at you as you scruffily make your way to the sidewalk.

You finally enter the office, a big sigh of relief; you’re finally away from the zoo out there only to be greeted by the company driver who decides to give you the final inspection of the day as his gaze locks on your chest and says “ Bonjour Ya Amar keefna ilyom.?”

It could be you. So you hurry to the closest mirror, convinced you may be experiencing some sort of wardrobe malfunction, but you’re actually wearing a full-out pantsuit.

So thanks to our heroes at the Ministry of Tourism, sexual harassment may just triple this summer, since they’re now promoting Lebanese women in their campaigns to lure in more “hungry” male tourists!“

Boo, Ministry of Tourism, for using women as objects and creating an environment where it seems okay to objectify and harass them.

Activists in Lebanon recently participated in the June 20 day of blogging against street/sexual harassment and last year, the Lebanese League of Independent Activists launched cartoon character named Salwa who fights sexual harassment.

It sounds like these activists have their work cut out for them if the rest of the government’s attitude toward women is anything like that of the Ministry of Tourism!

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