Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

What is your experience?

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Stop Street Harassment ally Dr. Kimberly Fairchild is conducting another study relevant to street harassment.  She needs your help! Please take her anonymous survey and share your experiences.

“I am conducting a psychological experiment involving judging other people’s attributes and perspective taking. Our research suggests that even from limited information people can make accurate judgments about the dominant traits, emotional reactions, and behaviors of other
people.  The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete.  If you are
interested in participating, follow the link below.”
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personality12 

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Quick thinking teen helps nab a subway masturbator

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Jiang's cell phone. Image via NY Post

Here’s a victory, pick-me-up kind of street harassment story.

Seventeen-year-old Annie Jiang was standing on an N train in New York when she realized a man was masturbating against her back. She took a cell phone picture of him and when she got to high school, told the dean. The dean called the police.

The next day she spotted him again at the Eighth Avenue stop. This time a detective was with her and arrested him. Daniel Barricella, 59, of Brooklyn, was charged with public lewdness, sex abuse and harassment.

Via the NY Post:

“Jiang said she was glad she can ride the train again in peace.

‘I was scared,’ she said. ‘He didn’t look creepy; he just looked like a normal man. I reported it to the police to keep him off the streets, so he can’t do it to anybody else. The technology really makes a difference.’

Jiang, the dean, and the police force are super stars!! Woohoo! Take that harasser.

As Jiang noted, it can be very scary when you’re being harassed, and if you’re too afraid or feel unsafe to do something at the time, reporting is a great option. As this story shows, it can make a difference.

(Thanks for the tip, Violet)

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Using stand-up comedy to raise awarenss about street harassment

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I love hearing how people are using their talents and expertise to speak out against street harassment. Lucé Tomlin-Brenner is speaking out and raising awareness through stand-up comedy.

If you’re in the DC-area, see her TONIGHT at “Bellylaughs in Bethesda” at Caddies on Cordell in Bethesda, MD, 8-10 p.m.

She explains:

“I’ve started doing stand-up comedy recently here in Washington, DC, and my material is all based on different times I’ve been harassed on the street or Metro, and I wanted to share my most recent video…I have battled lots of anxiety since I’ve moved here over just leaving the house because not a day has gone by that I haven’t been harassed, and most of it happens on Metro.

About a month ago this dude and his friends sitting across from me on the red line around midnight on the weekend kept making all of these blowjob insinuations about the bottle of water I was drinking. When I put on my headphones and ignored them they started talking about me being a bitch and just making fun of me in general.

I was really freaked out about it since I was alone and they were in a group. It got even scarier when the further out of downtown we got (I live in SS) they were not getting off the train and I was convinced they were going to follow me off when I got to my stop.

Luckily they got off one stop before mine, but I was so shaken up by it I was anxious my whole walk home. The next day I started writing these bits about the experience and I found being able to make fun of him and all the stupid things he said to me felt really empowering. I eventually polished these jokes into one whole bit that I performed at RFD in Chinatown about a week ago.

I was nervous about the crowd’s reaction because it was made up of mostly males… But to my surprise and delight the crowd loved it and lots of dudes came up to me afterward to compliment my writing and original material. It was so empowering to make fun of this asshole who harassed me in front of a room full of people and have them laugh and agree with me.

I think humor is a great way to show some more light on this issue because when done well comedy has the ability to set societal norms. Just think of how the average college Freshman still puts Animal House posters in their college dorms, and how that film has narrated Greek life on so many campuses to this day. Talking to all the dudes after my show about the material, many of them said they didn’t realize how much that kind of interaction affected or upset women. It was totez awesome to reach all these guys that never think about feminist issues.”

Way to go, Lucé!

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Op-eds, new websites & street harassment on TV

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With the fall weather finally setting in, it seems like there are fewer harassers on the street, and fewer stories for the blog.

In the meantime, here are a few anti-street harassment bits of news:

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Weekly Round Up: October 3, 2010

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Story Submissions Recap:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

In the News, On the Blogs:

Announcements:

Upcoming Events:

10 Tweets from the Week:

  • Elderta I just love that the guys at the automobile shop have taught their parrot to catcall women as they walk by. NOT.
  • khanyisile Street harassment. RT @Yo_lin: These guys called me names last time, now they wanna talk to me.. Mxm.. I wish there was another route home
  • SuzBomb I am so unimpressed with the kind of Vancouver street harassment &assaults I keep hearing about from friends/witnessing myself
  • msmagazine RT @Anti_Intellect: Sexual harassment on the street virtually never happens 2 me. #MalePrivilege You’ll get over it
  • rightsandwrongs So my pitbull was a victim of #streetharassment by a man in a car making kissy noises & yelling “what’s the matter, boy?” What.
  • DianeMassage to the man in the livery cab on washington and st marks, do not make me stop my bike to tell you to stop catcalling me! #streetharassment
  • HKearl & your sons not 2 harass rt @sfxmaven @mkylemiller It’s never too early to train your daughter about what to do about street harassment.
  • clembastow @ruminski plenty of men seem to think unwanted attention/street harassment is “okay” if they’re “polite” about it.
  • notesandrainbws Was wondering if dying my hair bright red would increase street harassment…yep. Decidedly yep. Ugh.
  • BLANK_NOISE attn GUYS! did you intervene? tell us how. we want stories of guys intervening to stop street sexual violence/ #eveteasing #bnguy
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