Correspondent, Author at Stop Street Harassment

Germany: Women-Only Transit Options

April 21, 2015 By Correspondent

Lea Goelnitz, Berlin, Germany, Blog Correspondent

In more than one dozen countries, women-only public transportation is chosen as a short-term (or mid-term!) solution to street harassment. These countries are as diverse as Japan, India, Brazil, the Philippines and UAE, and offer sex segregated compartments in their trains or subways. In India public buses have benches reserved for women, entire trains for women and a women-only carriage in the Delhi metro. On the platform of the metro stop, the pink sign marks the “safe” area.

As the latest example of women-only transit, in the beginning of April the Guardian reported that there would be a new women-only rickshaw- service in Pakistan. The founder was fed up with facing daily harassment and now offers safe rides in pink rickshaws. I disagree with celebrating this business idea too much if the reason for the need of such women-only services is not sufficiently seen as a problem. We have to address the root causes.

Although I used to ride in the women-only carriage in Delhi and I guess it created a certain feeling of safety, I always felt like I was being put on display. Having all the women gathered in one space surrounded by men felt awkward. It is frustrating to know that these women-only spaces are a big move away from a gender equal society and from achieving real safety. Through sex-segregation, men do not need to adjust to a society in which women are equal and have the right to be in public spaces. The onus is on women to change.

In addition to women-only trains there are taxi services for women, which are even more widespread. There is SheRides in New York, Cab for Women by Women in Delhi and the Women´s Night Taxi in Hannover, Germany. In Germany there are also women-only parking lots, which are the ones closest to the building.

These interventions and businesses run by women create a safe option for women who otherwise might not go out or who will feel uncomfortable when they are out. As long as politics and culture fail women, this might be the only way to go. On the upside, in most cases it even provides women with economic empowerment. But of course even that is not perfect; the few female drivers may face safety issues as long as they are in the male-dominated space of taxi waiting lanes and rest areas.

Since January one of the major taxi companies in Delhi incorporated women drivers, catering to female passengers as well. This might be a small step forward. At least the men driving for this company will have to get used to having female colleagues.

In order for women to be safe, more women need to be out in public, as passengers and drivers.

Lea works in journalism and women´s rights and is involved in the women´s rights NGO Discover Football, which uses football as a tool for empowerment and gender equality. Follow her on Twitter, @LeaGoelnitz.

USA: Researching Street Harassment in Texas

April 21, 2015 By Correspondent

Madison Ford, Texas, USA, Blog Correspondent

My neighborhood in Texas is relatively safe. I know since I’ve jogged through its streets three times a week since I moved here in June. I know where I can run freely, eyes closed, blood pumping, without being startled by a car horn and a smug smile. I walk my dog every day before dark. And every morning, I check my email for a little summary of all the crimes that took place within a two-mile radius of my address. I know that my neighborhood is safe. But despite the fact that the only crimes anyone is committing around here are almost always nonviolent, I can’t leave my house at night without one of my male roommates coming with me.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be conducting research on street harassment through the honors program in the Sociology department at the University of Texas at Austin; I had a unique experience in designing my survey in that I was basically asking people if they had been harassed in the same places I was getting harassed. Their anecdotes in the free-response portions rang true with some of my own experiences and while it was nice to know I wasn’t alone, it made me angry that so many people are experiencing the same frustrations. It was interesting to see other places in Austin where I may not visit frequently be listed as street harassment hotspots. Mostly Central Austin, where there’s lots of foot traffic and everyone is out in the open.

The most difficult thing about conducting my survey was attempting to gather responses. What I had anticipated as being one of the simpler parts of my project quickly became the most challenging aspect of it, but I think there’s a good reason I had trouble getting participants. Female students in our university have been receiving many survey research opportunities regarding their experiences with sexual violence, sexual harassment, and their experiences on the college campus and mine was just one of them. Although much work remains to be done in the fight against sexual violence and sexual harassment, the national conversation is taking a turn in the right direction. It was almost a year ago that the list of colleges under Title IX investigations for mishandling sexual assault and sexual harassment was released, and the dialogue has only grown since then. Research is not only being conducted by concerned undergraduates like me, but by universities themselves in order to make sure they make a serious effort to create safe and welcoming environments for everyone. Although female students may be undergoing survey fatigue, it’s nice to know that so many people are taking the concerns of college students about their campus climate seriously.

Conducting my own research has been an academically challenging but ultimately fulfilling experience and I feel much more comfortable talking to people I know and people I don’t know about the issue of street harassment and its wider implications for addressing sexual violence across the world. I’ll have to spend the next few weeks hunched over my computer during the data analysis process, but maybe one day the research I’ve done will inspire a young researcher as I was inspired by so many studies before me.

Madison is a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Texas at Austin studying literature and sociology. Follow her on Twitter, @madiford222.

Australia: Is Street Harassment a Police Issue?

April 12, 2015 By Correspondent

Tara Willoughby, Canberra, Australia, SSH Blog Correspondent

[Content Note: links include descriptions of violence and harassment]

It is difficult to write about street harassment in Australia without writing about the criminal justice system and ultimately, police. Whether as responders or as harassers, police often take a central role in media discussions of street harassment. In my final post as a blog correspondent, I hope to outline where police fit in with people’s experiences of street harassment and also make an argument about what they should be doing to deal with this issue.

Do people report street harassment to police?

As has been discussed many times (including in my March blog correspondent article), the types of behaviours that constitute the majority of street harassment in Australia are often not easily reported to the police. Of the countless stories and conversations I have been a part of concerning street harassment, only once have I heard of someone reporting an incident of street harassment (being ‘egged’ from a moving car) to the police. And even in those serendipitous circumstances where the victim happened to have a notepad and pen on hand and the car happened to move away slowly enough to catch the licence plate number, the process of reporting was still a considerable investment of time and effort.

Do police act on street harassment?

Police can only take substantive action on individual instances of street harassment if they are against the law. While many types of harassment are crimes in Australia, many are not. The responses of police to reports of even criminal street harassment can be quite mixed. International law firm DLA Piper (writing in conjunction with iHollaback! And Thomson Reuters) note that “in practice, “one-off” incidents of minor street harassment, such as using offensive language in public which is not threatening, will often not be investigated by the police.” Police in the incident I described above spoke with the young man responsible for throwing eggs to tell him to ‘pull his head in’. Other reports describe police responses as anything from non-existent to actively hostile.

In a broader sense, police in Australia have taken some steps to address street harassment as a larger phenomenon. This includes speaking out about sexism and violence against women and acting in partnership with local government and communities to attempt to design safer public spaces. However, to date, police have not taken any high profile stances targeting street harassment specifically.

Do police commit street harassment?

Short answer, yes. Like any large group of people, within the police there are those who behave inappropriately and deliberately harm the people around them; at the beginning of 2014, 1 in 40 New South Wales police officers had been convicted of a criminal offense. Police forces around Australia have well documented issues with sexist, racist and homophobic violence.

What SHOULD police do?

There are two main reasons why police ought to take action on street harassment.

Firstly, addressing street harassment is within the stated goals of the police. NSW Police, as an example, states its goals thus: “We aim to protect the community and property by preventing, detecting and investigating crime [and]… maintaining social order”. The many forms of street harassment which constitute crimes in Australia fit directly into this credo, and if we acknowledge those which don’t as part of a self-perpetuating spectrum of violence, then addressing these forms of street harassment must be part of effective policing.

Secondly, interactions with police around harassment (either reporting harassment from other members of the public or experiencing harassment from police themselves) are identified as the key area where relationships between police and young people have become confrontational and hostile. Maintaining functioning relationships with the community is vital to effectively fulfilling the role of the police, since they rely on people trusting them and providing them with information.

How?

As addressed above, addressing individual instances of street harassment on a case by case basis has not been effective for police or victims so far, and it will not help to change the attitudes that allow people (including some police) to engage in street harassment with relative impunity. Police are one of many influential public entities that can help to create change in our society. In order to actually make a difference to this issue, they must commit to working with the wider community in partnership to eliminate the prejudices and violence-tolerant attitudes that support street harassment in Australia today.

Tara works with AWAVA (the Australian Women Against Violence Alliance) indulging her love of social media. You can find her on Twitter as @angelbird72 or @Tash_Because or being silly as one half of the ‘slice-of-life’ podcast Heaps Funny But.

Brazil: When did we become enemies?

April 9, 2015 By Correspondent

Juliana Guarany, Brazil, Blog Correspondent

The discussion over street harassment – and violence against women in general – has grown to a level of insanity on the Internet. I have been watching several debates online ending in a series of mutual insults from men to women and vice-versa. On one side is the argument that men are only trying to give a compliment to a stranger. On the other side, women say that this behavior is invasive and annoying, to say the least.

Of course we can find women and men on both sides, but essentially, this has turned into a battle of the sexes in a very aggressive way. Whenever there is an argument against street harassment, a man shows up to show how offended he is by being accused of harassment just by saying a girl is pretty. Or even trying to prove he knows better and women should listen to him. On the other hand, women – mostly feminist activists – simply can’t deal with men anymore and the minute a man decides to talk he receives aggressive answers (not that they aren’t justifiable, this simply happens).

What I don’t understand is: if women are saying this behavior is bad, why is it so hard for men to acknowledge that and simply stop? Why do men counter-argue it by saying it wasn’t their intention to be mean?

Intention vs effect

I’m sure a strange man would not have the intention to hurt a strange woman on the street, but this is the problem right here: no matter what the intention is, the effect of it is unwanted by women. For that reason, and for that reason only, they should stop.

It’s like getting a meat dish for a vegetarian everyday because you think that dish is good, even though the vegetarian doesn’t like it. Just stop!

Instead of stopping, men become aggressive and Internet debates are filled with hate and we can see men and women growing apart. This movement is hurting both sides and not having much of an effect on those who actually practice violence.

So, what should be done?

First of all, if you are a man, think about your actions towards women in general and notice if, maybe, you tend to invade their personal space uninvited. It is important that you pay attention to it and respect a woman just as you would respect another man. Change that and you will be ok.

Now, if you are a man and you don’t catcall and you do respect everyone’s personal spaces, I guess there is no reason for you to be offended by it, is it? So don’t get offended if you’re not the target.

Now, if you’re a woman, know this: it’s hard not to get offended by hurtful responses online, but keep the debate to an upper level, otherwise aggressiveness will just take over.

It is important to understand that a message of respect is being passed here and if we act aggressively, the only message that goes through is more violence.

When we elevate the debate, there is a chance to get the message across and create collaboration. Let’s try not to look at every man as an enemy, so then we can get along and respect each other.

Juliana is a fellow from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and, together with Hamburg University, in Germany, is creating a digital campaign to connect all feminist initiatives around the globe. Read her blog Whistleblower and follow her on Twitter, @juguarany.

USA: Rolling Stone’s Failure is Our Opportunity to Believe Survivors

April 7, 2015 By Correspondent

LB Klein, Georgia, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

Content warning: sexual violence and media attention

In late 2014, Rolling Stone released an extensive article entitled “Rape on Campus,” that included the story of “Jackie,” a student who reported that she was gang raped in a fraternity. On Sunday night, the Columbia School of Journalism released an investigative report on how Rolling Stone mishandled their reporting of this story. Some have interpreted Rolling Stone’s journalistic failure as a sign that the pervasive public health problem of sexual assault, particularly on college campuses, is overblown. While journalists should certainly use Columbia’s report as a teaching tool, this debacle should have no bearing on how we view the endemic issue of sexual assault on campus or the necessity that we believe survivors. In fact, believing survivors is more important than ever.

I’m grateful to have had many survivors of sexual violence trust me with their stories. I’ve received these stories whispered in anonymous hotline calls; revealed through the course of twelve hours in an ER or full years in the courtroom; screamed into microphones at speak outs; or given to the world through public activism or anonymous reports. These survivors have been strangers, clients, friends, significant others, and family members. I also see a survivor every day when I look in the mirror.

If I did not have this lived experience as a survivor, advocate, and activist, there are countless studies on the endemic nature of sexual assault in our communities and on our campuses. For every survivor who tells their* story publicly, there are countless others who choose silence as the best decision for their survival. Our culture so endorses the silencing of survivors that speaking out is considered exceptionally brave. The scope of gender-based violence spans all spaces in which we live our lives from the bedroom to the boardroom to the street. Even though street harassment occurs in a public place, speaking out about it is rare and survivors fear the consequences of calling it out, even anonymously.

I have watched the horrified faces of hundreds of survivors as they turn over choices no one should have to make in their minds. Risk scrutiny or to stay silent? Seek justice or to stay silent. Seek solidarity or stay silent? Each choice has drawbacks and is subject to endless public or private criticism. Many survivors choose silence or telling only a few people, chosen strategically. Even after this careful deliberation, survivors are still blamed, betrayed, and called “liars” and “crazy” by the loved ones and systems they hope will help them.

Many survivors certainly live in fear of their abusers but all survivors live in a greater fear of disbelief, harassment, criticism, isolation, community retaliation, loss, and judgment. Survivors who have gone public or sought justice face these issues on an amplified scale and the backlash they face shows other survivors the costs of coming forward. The response to Rolling Stone’s poor reporting choices is yet another example to survivors that if one story faces scrutiny, all survivors will be assumed to be lying.

Over the past few years, I have read many stories of people faking a cancer diagnosis to solicit donations for their own personal gain. This exploitation of real tragedy is clearly far more nefarious than journalistic or police investigations have even insinuated “Jackie” to be. These stories of faked illnesses for cash, however, have not inspired us to question friends or strangers when they disclose their suffering to us. We don’t ask, “are you sure you really have cancer? I hear a lot of people lie about having cancer, can you show me your medical records? Are you sure you’re not just looking for attention? You look fine to me, do you really need time off of work or school to get treatment for cancer?”

As a culture, we become collectively appalled that someone would make up a cancer diagnosis, and anyone who tries to use one of these stories as evidence that “cancer survivors lie” would be lambasted. The same consequences should be dealt for those who disbelieve the staggering numbers of survivors of sexual assault on college campus due to scrutiny applied to one story. Even if “Jackie’s” story is patently false, it should not lessen our outrage when we hear about sexual violence. In fact, the response to “Jackie’s” story should cause us to redouble our efforts to believe survivors. This backlash is a reminder of how far we still have to go to foster a survivor supportive culture that is truly intolerant of sexual violence.

Our culture is a rape culture. Through disbelieving survivors, we perpetuate abuse, violence, and trauma. According to FBI crime statistics, about 2% of reports of rape prove false, which is consistent with false reporting of other violent crimes. I would much rather give the unwavering benefit of the doubt on the side of that 98%, especially knowing that the reaction a survivor receives when disclosing what happened is the single best predictor of the severity of their trauma reaction and time it will take them to heal.

While none of us truly know “Jackie’s” truth and lived experience, even if her story could be proven to be fabricated, I remain steadfast in my stance that we must believe survivors. If “Jackie” is a part of that 2%, the potential debunking of her story does not cause the other 98% to evaporate. The public attention to rare false reports, however, does cause survivors to remain silent. The spectacle created by the Rolling Stone story requires us to increase our public, unapologetic support of survivors. We must recognize the suffering of survivors that is exacerbated by the attention paid to this one story and this one article. There has been immense harm done to survivors through this very public scrutiny of one case. Because of Rollins Stone’s failures, we must commit to believing survivors now more than ever.

*I use “their” as a gender neutral pronoun to refer to survivors, recognizing that women and trans people disproportionately experience sexual violence but men are also sexually assaulted, particularly before the age of 18. The vast majority of perpetrators are men but there are perpetrators of all genders.

LB is an Atlanta-based advocate, student, educator, and consultant who has dedicated her professional and academic career to ending gender-based violence, supporting survivors, and advancing social justice. You can follow her on twitter @LB_Klein.

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