Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Football supporters on the train

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I was taking a train back from Manchester (UK) at around 8.30 last night, and to my dismay a load of drunk football supporters also got on and sat in the seats in front of me and behind.

I was quietly reading my magazine when some of the men in front started commenting on my hair and one leant round to try and talk to me. I responded calmly and he winked at me. No harm done so far, but definitely not appreciated attention.

Unfortunately, as the train ride continued the men started to get more rowdy and were looking for entertainment. They kept making incredibly rude and sexual comments in my direction, until I was too intimidated to get up and struggle to another seat with my suitcase. I was terrified, alone, and with nowhere to go. Most upsetting to me was that I never saw a member of train staff once during my ride who I could have spoken to, the trains are unsupervised, leaving those being harrassed to fend for themselves. I don’t know of any other form of public transport where this is so often the case, and yet I’m aware that this is a common occurance.

Eventually I got up to get off the train, only to be followed with comments about my ass and what they thought of it. I was scared that they would possibly follow me off the train, as they were egging each other on to run up and touch me. Luckily I got off fast enough and walked very quickly home.

Most shamefully was that other passengers, mostly other males old enough to be my dad (I’m 20) just sat and watched whilst this happened. Do they not realise that this was someone else’s daughter, or girlfriend, or sister?

I’m considering writing to the train company about my experience, as I do feel trains should be better monitered. There is no way I should be made to feel threatened to take a train home because of my gender. It is absolutely ridiculous that people can get away with this.

I would have spoken up about it, but I was worried that fueling the fire of several very drunk men who get off on being violent and intimidating was probably a bad idea.

I would really like to see more action taken on something that has become almost expected. It shouldn’t be this way.

–  Sophie,

Location: Manchester, UK

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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So chilling

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Via twitter, I was alerted to this chilling video that captures a huge group of men harassing and attacking women in the streets of Iran.

In the comments of the article, someone posted a link to a video clip from a film by a Dutch woman who goes to Iran to see what it’s like to be a female tourist. On camera, men grope her and harass her as she walks down the street. Next it appears she goes into a building to escape them and a security guard comes to talk to her and starts off by kissing each cheek and hugging her, which she allows b/c it seems like he’s just being polite and reassuring. But then he won’t stop and soon is seen groping her breasts while she fights to get away.

I feel frightened for the women. I feel frightened for all women around the world who face street harassment from men in public places. We must work to end this global problem!

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In Bangladesh, six street harassers go to jail

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Earlier this month, six young men in central Bangladesh were sentenced to seven days in jail for engaging in eve teasing, or street harassment, under Section 34 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This is the first time men have gone to jail for eve teasing.

A unit of the Rapid action Battalion (RAB-11) caught the accused young men harassing a group of female students from the Gono Bidyaa Niketon School, in Narayanganja District. They were arrested on the spot and tried the next day.

The police superintendent said the punishment was meant to serve as a warning to any potential wrongdoer. “It will prevent this type of crime,” he said, “which we are trying to eradicate.”

Their attention to this matter—which impacts women worldwide—has been spurred by an increase in the number of women committing suicide because of harassers. Recently, for example, 14-year-old student Umme Kulsum Elora killed herself by drinking pesticide in order to escape a 19-year-old man and his friend who had been harassing her in the streets for a year. Her family had talked to the man’s family and to school authorities but nothing changed. So she took matters into her own hands. So sad!

In Bangladesh, human and women’s rights activists welcome the prison sentence. They hope it will set a precedent and be used in future cases. They also hope it will deter street harassment from occurring. Me too.

When will police, legislators, and human rights activists in the United States pay attention to this issue? When will we have a law against street harassment?

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Tired of just writing about street harassment

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Three weeks ago when I was in Oregon, a man harassed me from behind bushes during my run. He scared me and made me feel unsafe as a woman runner, a woman in public, and a woman traveling alone. I blogged about it and then fumed about what else I should have done. Should I have called the police? Yelled at him? Tried to reason with him about the inappropriateness of his behavior? Tee-peed his house? Written up a fake citation and left it in his mailbox?

The truth is, I felt too unsafe to do anything but leave and never go back and I didn’t think the police would care.

So what I did was draw on my strength as a writer and I wrote and submitted an op-ed to the Portland, Oregon, newspaper, the Oregonian. Today they published it.

I’m glad to have my story and the plight of other women runners featured in a prominent newspaper so that hopefully it will raise people’s awareness about  the crap we put up with and how we don’t like it. But I’m also getting tired of just writing about street harassment. (Especially when what I write for online publications only seems to incite ignorance and harassment in the comments section, where men try to justify why they should be allowed to harass women. Aarrgh!!)

So now I’m plotting what my action will be and brainstorming what I can do in addition to writing about street harassment. And I’m glad there are already wonderful anti-street harassment activists (featured in my book) whose projects I can look to for ideas.

Thoughts? What type of action would you like to see happen?

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Salwa says, “fight sexual harassment”

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Salwa

The Lebanese League of Independent Activists (IndyACT) launched a new Anti-Harassment Campaign on March 30. Salwa is their animated heroine and star of a new social media campaign and her motto is “Fight Sexual Harassment.”

“’Our campaign ‘Adventures of Salwa’ comes at a time when young women cannot find any legal or social deterrent for sexual harassment in all its forms in any public place,’ said Leen Hashem, the campaign’s coordinator in IndyACT. ‘It is no longer acceptable for our streets to become a place where we are unable to walk, and being silent about such practices shows our weakness, so Salwa will speak.’”

I love it!

In addition to this new form of activism, anti-harassment activists started women-only taxi services in Beirut last year and now a Lebanese feminist group The Feminist Collective announced plans to launch a ride-sharing service, giving free rides to women waiting for taxis in the street, in an attempt to “combat harassment in taxis.” (RightRides in NYC offers a similar service, late at night on weekends.)

I love reading about the activism going on around the world to make public places safe for women!

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