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“He sneered something derogatory at me”

May 28, 2016 By Contributor

I was home from graduate school. One afternoon I went out for a jog around the neighborhood where I grew up. I turned the corner and saw a young guy on a bike. “Whatever,” I thought and kept running. Bike guy saw me and decided to hop his bike onto the narrow sidewalk, coming towards me. I was forced to move out of his way as he sneered something derogatory at me. I think it’s over but I lapped the block (because I know exactly how many laps are a mile), and I saw and heard him again. And again. And again. One time, he even beckoned me to run alongside him. I ignored him, of course. The last time, he rode really close to me and said something extra nasty and disgusting again. Fortunately I didn’t see him again after that.

Did I mention that more than half of the block I run around is the location of an elementary school?!

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

Educate everyone, especially kids, about how it’s not appropriate to harrass other people – they aren’t there for your pleasure or appreciation, they just want to do what they have to do and move on, enjoying life and being safe!

– Anonymous

Location: Leahy School, Lawrence, MA

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.

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Filed Under: Stories, street harassment

#WEcount: Reclaiming our Streets for Women

May 27, 2016 By HKearl

The Women’s Equality Party is a political party that was founded last year in the UK. One of their agendas is addressing violence against women, including street harassment. Last week I had the honor to Skype with one of their co-founders and their Head of Policy & Partnerships, Halla Gunnarsdóttir. We brainstormed possible policy solutions they could suggest or campaigns they could run.

Fortunately, the new mayor of London Sadiq Khan identified the issue in his campaign, specifically on public transit, saying: “Women face specific challenges on our transport network that are not currently being addressed.” He promised, “As mayor I will take these problems seriously.”

And the Women’s Equality Party has already taken measures to begin to address the issue. The have campaign called #WEcount: Reclaiming Our Streets for Women. Here’s info from their website, including how you can participate:

“WE are now extending #WEcount across the UK so that women right across the country can make their voices heard and say: this must stop,” said Sophie Walker, leader of the Women’s Equality Party.

“WE are asking our supporters to post photos of their hands on social media with the hashtag #WEcount, showing a postcode or place where they have experienced sexual harassment, assault or verbal abuse. Alternatively, they can email their photos to WEcount@womensequality.emailnb.com to be posted anonymously.”

The campaign also includes a film featuring Pavan Amara, who built the “My Body Back” project after being attacked and has helped hundreds of women who have been assaulted to reclaim their lives.

Women can mark their experiences on an interactive map of the UK (wemap.org) by dropping a Google-maps-style pin. In London, this map will be on display for the week on a dedicated billboard at Westfield shopping centre, Shepherd’s Bush.

And in a digital first, the campaign will be brought to life for Londoners with the use of a new visual browsing app, BlippAR.

WE have painted 10 physical markers – which show the Google maps pin transformed into an exclamation mark – at locations around the capital, from the Houses of Parliament to Parliament Hill. People who ‘Blipp’ the mark will receive a host of content and information about the campaign, as well as details of what support is available.

Walker added: “An estimated 400,000 sexual offences against women occur in the UK each year. Despite their frequency, the majority of these incidents are unreported, and women are left feeling unsafe and unable to walk without fear on their own streets. WE want to reclaim our streets.”

“WE are the only party who are making the sexual abuse and harassment of women a political priority. WE will show that women right across the UK are affected by this every day – and that every one of us counts.”

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Filed Under: Activist Interviews, Resources, street harassment Tagged With: campaign, england, London, mapping, women's equality party

“I wish everyone could be treated equally”

May 27, 2016 By Contributor

I am thirteen years old. I was cat-called for the first time today. I had heard about cat-calling happening before, in America and all that, but I didn’t think it would happen in Ireland, or to someone so young like me.

I was walking home from school. There was a girl in front of me who was about a year older than me and a large group of boys in front of me. No, this story is not where you think it is going. It was not the group of boys that cat called me. A man (who looked about 25) was getting into his car with his friend. Next, I see the window rolling down and the man says, “Hey, ladies.”

I was mortified but I ignored him and kept looking down. He was laughing as the car drove off. The girl in front of me seemed to be ignoring the man also. I saw the group of boys looking behind them multiple times, smiling as they did it. Even if I did look older, (which I don’t – I have a flat chest and backside, I’m average height and I don’t wear make-up during school days) I believe it is still completely unacceptable to be cat-called, no matter what you look like or how old you are. I wish everyone could be treated equally. It’s horrible that so many women and young girls like me have to face these situations.

– Anonymous

Location: Ireland

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.

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Filed Under: Stories, street harassment Tagged With: first, ireland, older harasser, young age

Spanish Translation Volunteer Opportunity

May 26, 2016 By HKearl

Can you speak/write in English and Spanish? Do you want to help address street harassment? Here’s a perfect volunteer opportunity for you, if so!

This summer, we’ll be partnering with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) and Defend Yourself (DY) to launch the first-ever national street harassment hotline. The hotline will be offered 24/7. As part of the set-up, DY and I am preparing materials that will be used by RAINN’s staff when they take calls. Because the hotline will be offered in both Spanish and English, we need to translate some of our materials into Spanish for the RAINN staff to use with Spanish-speaking callers.

There are about a dozen web pages or articles that would need to be translated into Spanish by June 15. Here are three examples:

https://stopstreetharassment.org/about/what-is-street-harassment/ | https://stopstreetharassment.org/strategies/moment/ | https://medium.com/@hkearl/five-reasons-why-street-harassment-is-serious-15221720f1b7

Let me know if you would have any time in the next 2.5 weeks and be willing to translate one or two (or more) of these items. It would be a huge, huge help. And not only will the translated information be used to help the hotline callers, but it will be posted on the SSH website period, so Spanish speakers coming to the website would be able to gain more information than they can currently because of your help.

In return, I’ll list you in an acknowledgements section on the forthcoming hotline page and also send you some SSH swag in the mail as a thank you!

You can contact me at hkearl @ stopstreetharassment . org. Thanks! – Holly

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Filed Under: SSH programs Tagged With: hotline, spanish, volunteer

Let Us Walk! Stickers Against Street Harassment

May 25, 2016 By HKearl

 This is an excerpt from the Art of Growing Leaders 2015-16 Highlights, shared with their permission:

“The Art of Growing Leaders [in Philadelphia, PA] introduces young people ages 10-14 to multi-cultural rites of passage traditions, and provides them with creative leadership skills to help them discover their strengths and bring them to their communities. In the culminating project, students embarked on one specific creative social action project to improve their school/community.

Young women from Camp Sojourner, Girls’ Leadership Camp participated in  ArtWell’s The Art of Growing Leaders and created this public guerilla art project to speak out against street harassment. Students designed stickers and gave them out and spoke with hundreds of people on April 30 at the Sojourner Truth Walk in West Philly, sparking important conversations. One parent told us this topic was not appropriate for her child, as she was too young and had not experienced harassment, only to be corrected by her daughter who told her mother that she was no stranger to being harassed. This led to a dialog and new awareness between this mother and her daughter. We are proud of these young women in creating such a powerful,
straightforward, and important project.
“

Camp Sojourner Final Social Action Project - May 2016

 

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Filed Under: Activist Interviews, street harassment Tagged With: art, philadelphia, stickers, youth

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SSH will not publish any comment that is offensive or hateful and does not add to a thoughtful discussion of street harassment. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, disabalism, classism, and sexism will not be tolerated. Disclaimer: SSH may use any stories submitted to the blog in future scholarly publications on street harassment.
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