Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Day 2: Anti-SH Week 2019

By

** TOMORROW, on April 9 – share info about street harassment all day on social media, use #StopStreetHarassment! Need images? Here are ones you can use! **

Day 2 of International Anti-Street Harassment Week!!

Here’s a photo album with samplings of offline and online action. Here are examples of offline actions:

Argentina:

Accion Respecto Tucuman shared the flyering and other street action they did the night before.

France:

Relous de BDX did chalking in Bordeaux, France.

India:

Jagori, Safe City Delhi and Safetipin held an outreach event in Bawana n Malviya Nagar.

Italy:

CatCalls of Turin did chalking.

 

Sri Lanka:

Bystander intervention is a pivotal point in countering high levels of sexual harassment in public transportation in #lka.  Oxfam Sri Lanka launched “The Not on My Bus” campaign which covers a series of steps to #CreateAScene as a responsible and vigilant bystander.

UK:

Bristol Zero Tolerance did an interview with @bbcrb about their campaign with @SustransSW Bristol-Bath Respectful Path – look out for more stencils & info on social media this week!

Campaign: “By joining with The Bristol Street Harassment Project for International Anti-Street Harassment Week [we at Sustrans] are highlighting this issue, stating that any kind of harassment is inexcusable and calling on people who are subject to or witness harassment to challenge the individual and/or to report it. We can all play a part in making the Bristol and Bath Path a place for everyone…

During International Anti-Street Harassment Week you can also get involved by:

  • Looking out for the stencils on the path and tweeting your photos to us at @BristolZT and @SustransSW using hashtag #EndSHbristol
  • Take part in the international Tweetathon on Tuesday 9th April using hashtag #EndSH and add your photos and comments”

U.S.

Pussy Division (Changing to FIST Feminists’ Intersectional Solidarity Troop) launched a new project in Philadelphia. They created an image using the city’s hockey team’s mascot Gritty and wheatpasted it around different neighborhoods.

Gritty says, “Only you can prevent street harassment.”

University of New Hampshire’s SHARPP office is hosting a virtual educational display on the second floor of the campus library.

Share

Day 1: Anti-SH Week 2019

By

Day 1 of International Anti-Street Harassment Week was exciting!!

Here’s a photo album (I’ll update it each day).

Groups from Australia to Argentina, from the US to the UK posted on social media across the day.

Here is a slice of what happened offline as well:

Canada:

Members of Hollaback! Ottawa did sidewalk chalking and flyering, despite cold weather!

Dominican Republic:

Groups in Santo Domingo, DR held an activity in Parque Colón. There were two back panels where people could write what they think about street harassment and what to do about it.  They also held a “rally” and performance so people could experience how hard it is for a woman to walk on the street and keep receiving comments about her body, etc. A local congresswoman, city council women, municipal police, among other citizens, participated.

The organizations involved included: the local government, Alcaldía del Distrito Nacional, along with UN Women, UFPA, and the institutions that are behind the campaign “Resetáte RD” against street harassment: Oxfam República Dominicana, Centro de Género de Intec, Instituto de Género y Familia de la UASD, Nucleo de Apoyo de la Mujer y la Confederación Nacional de Mujeres del Campo.

Guatemala:

OCAC Guatemala put up flyers in their community.

Germany:

Catcalls of Berlin did chalking

India:

Vanshika, Youth Outreach Officer at Safecity, launched the pilot session of Safecity Circles in Delhi for the first day of Anti-Street Harassment Week.
The circle talked about issues of Safety in public spaces. Joined by current and former volunteers, the conversation was very informative and engaging wherein everyone expressed their thoughts about safety, street harassment and how unsafe we are in public spaces.

Netherlands:

Catcalls of Rotterdam did chalking.

UK:

Catcalls of London did chalking.

Share

“To End Harassment We Need To…”

By


Dear Friends,
Today is the day! The 9th annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week is here. We hope you will join us.

Recently, AJ in Arizona shared a story about harassment she faced walking to work and how she dealt with it. She eloquently wrote about WHY she decided to do something about it.

Image by Miranda Smith

“I started thinking of everyone who has experienced harassment and those who will experience it, including my daughters. Suddenly it hurt too much to stay silent.

I know others may see what happened to me as no big deal, but I decided to send the message that harassment of any degree is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

She then went on to share her thoughts on how to stop street harassment:

“To end harassment we need to talk about it, write it down, share your story, and educate others. We need to support those who experience harassment by creating loving and supportive spaces where we can share and discuss our experiences. By opening up we will learn what harassment looks like in all its ugly forms. If we all know what constitutes harassment we can gain courage to step in and stop those behaviors.”

I agree. Please, always and especially this week, consider following AJ’s suggestions!

GET INVOLVED WITH THE WEEK – APRIL 7-13:

It’s not too late, if you will be leading or joining action, please complete this form to let us know about it. We’ll add it to the website!

Please tag @StopStHarassmnt in your social media posts or email pictures and write-ups about your actions to StopStreetHarassment@gmail.com. We will feature events across the week on our social media accounts and blog and in our annual write-up about the week.

YOU can make a difference!

-Holly
Stop Street Harassment Founder & CEO

P.S. Please consider a tax deductible-donation to support our work.

Share

“It was unwelcome behavior based on my race”

By

I work at the university and free street parking is scarce, so I left early to find a parking spot close to my building. I found my preferred spot was taken by a white truck, a trailer and three men in yellow construction vests. I found a spot a few yards down which meant I had to walk past them.

As I approached I heard one of them grunt a greeting and instinctively turned to see who had spoken. Immediately after seeing my face the 1st man asked his coworker if I was a Native girl. The second man said no. She must be African American, they mulled it over before the 2nd man settled on Cuban. They said this all while I was feet away, obviously in earshot.

At first I wanted to brush it off, but by the time I was inside I was fuming. I was uncomfortable, confused, and angry. What gave them the right to talk about me like that?

All the insecurities and fears of being a women of color in public washed over me. I struggled with what to do next. It seemed like too small an incident to report or even talk about but I couldn’t let the experience go.

I decided to call my husband who went into action. He went and collected the license plate number and the company name, and spoke with the men. Turns out they are not allowed to speak with the public. He even took it a step further and called the employer. When I learned they would be around the university on a project for a while, I filed a police report.

I still don’t know if I responded correctly. I am not one to make waves, even when it means standing up for myself. I struggled to know if my experience met the definition of harassment. I was not hurt or threatened, just ignorant men talking about my race as if I were an object.

It took time to realize that yes, it was harassment. It was unwelcome behavior based on my race. I lost 2 hours of work productivity and the feeling of security coming to and from work and that is unacceptable.

I started thinking of everyone who has experienced harassment and those who will experience it, including my daughters. Suddenly it hurt too much to stay silent.

I know others may see what happened to me as no big deal, but I decided to send the message that harassment of any degree is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Optional: Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?

To end harassment we need to talk about it, write it down, share your story, and educate others. We need to support those who experience harassment by creating loving and supportive spaces where we can share and discuss our experiences. By opening up we will learn what harassment looks like in all its ugly forms. If we all know what constitutes harassment we can gain courage to step in and stop those behaviors.

– AJ

Location: Flagstaff, AZ

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

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

Share

One Week Until Anti-SH Week 2019!

By

Dear Friends,
This week, “The Good Place” actress Jameela Jamil and Canadian journalist Joanna Chiu both raised important conversations in the news and on social media about street harassment by sharing their stories of experiencing and witnessing it, respectively.

Sharing our stories is an important way to not only raise awareness about the issue and show its seriousness, but research shows it can also help us feel better and recover more quickly from upsetting experiences.

April 7 (within Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the USA) marks the start of International Anti-Street Harassment Week — please join us and share your stories that week!


April 9 is an especially a good day to do so online, as we’ll host a global social media blitz and invite people all over the world to share stories and message about street harassment across the day, on all social media platforms, using #StopStreetHarassment. If you need shareable images – here are ones you can use!

If you need quick ideas for how to be involved offline too, here are four!

REMINDERS:
One week from today is the start of our 9th annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week, April 7-13! www.meetusonthestreet.org

If you will be leading or joining action, please complete this form to let us know about it. We’ll add it to the website!

If you’d like to be listed as a participating co-sponsor (we have participants in 15 countries so far!) and/or if you’d like to do a guest blog post, please let me know! Contact StopStreetHarassment@Gmail.com.

-Holly
Stop Street Harassment Founder & CEO

P.S. Please consider a tax deductible-donation to support our work.

Share