Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming
I was walking my dog, and a man was staring at me like he hadn’t seen a woman before. He said some things harassing me and frankly I’m fed up with the behavior of men in my city.
When I confronted that man, he said that if I didn’t like it I should wear a cape and he kept yelling things and laughing at me.
– LO
Location: Pasto/Nariño/Colombia
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.
The necessity for a measure to combat verbal abuse toward women was first proposed by the non-profit organisation UMAR (Union of Women for Alternatives and Answers), which received funding in 2010 from the Dutch government to travel around the country and raise awareness of the issue.
“We found that most women had been verbally assaulted on the street and also that both men and women confused sexual assault with seduction or praise,” says UMAR head Maria Jose Magalhaes. “They didn’t know what assault was. There was an idea that it wasn’t serious because sexism is so ingrained in our culture.”
The radical Left Bloc party – which was founded by four feminists and whose leader, Catarina Martins, is the only woman leader amongst Portugal’s major parties – took the discussion of verbal assault to parliament in 2014.
Left Bloc MP and sociologist Sandra Cunha says the law was necessary to show that sexual assault is unacceptable.”
SAFER: NYC is a social enterprise founded by Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs graduate students, dedicated to engaging men in ending street harassment in New York City.
SAFER: NYC is currently working on a large-scale research project within the issue of street harassment in order to deepen our understanding of what solutions will have the most impact in making our streets safer for everyone.
As part of this research, they are conducting focus group conversations with small groups of adult men across NYC’s boroughs. These are 30-minute conversation with you and 5-8 of your male peers. They can provide some compensation to all participants as well as refreshments during the session. Furthermore, all participants will remain completely anonymous.
If you are interested or want more information, contact them at safernewyorkcity@gmail.com.
I was taking the subway in the afternoon and everything was going well until I got off the wagon. I took the stairs and a man going in the opposite direction said to me, “Hey, chiquita!”
I was 17 and he was probably three times my age. That time was my first experience of harassment ever. I had seen other women harassed, I knew there was an issue, but it had never been directed at me.
At first, I thought he was talking to someone else. It couldn’t be me, I was way too young for that. But there was nobody else around me. I then went through several stages.
At first, I felt disgusted that a old man would make a sexual comment about me.
Then, I felt scared and ashamed. What if he followed me or worse?
When I arrived home, I began to feel angry. I was angry that he had made me feel ashamed of becoming a woman, I was angry that he had made me feel scared when I shouldn’t feel threatened, even when I am alone.
I was furious that with one small comment, he had succeeded in a way: I was changed.
I think the worst part in this sad, yet enlightening story, is that most people around me told me that it was nothing, that men are men, that nothing could be done and even, that I should have taken it as a compliment towards my femininity.
Maybe I’m wrong, but shouldn’t a compliment feel reassuring and not threatening?
– Romane
Location: Subway
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.
I was walking down a fairly busy street on the sidewalk, wearing short-shorts, a tshirt, and converse with a snapback. I was at the corner and two guys in a truck with the window down yelled out at me and called me a skank. I’m actually a minor soo…
– Hkc
Location: City sidewalk
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.