Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

April 2015: Recent Street Harassment Videos

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Join Films:

““Stripped” is a social drama broaching the most sensitive and often neglected aspect of a woman’s life. This is a story about Ana, who is a modern working girl. She’s well educated and quite liberated. Yet, whenever she has to deal with the perversion of men around her, she feels violated. Otherwise, a brave woman, she finds the act of ogling very disturbing. Given that, it’s not seen as a crime, she feels helpless and is forced to go through the process day in day out. The movie, narrates the story of a normal day in her life, what happens around her and what she feels inside.”

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

“Julia Retzlaff, age 18, loves exploring her city and visiting friends all over San Francisco. But the fear of being sexually assaulted on public transportation is forcing her to reconsider going out at all. Produced for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Equity Workshop at TED 2015 in association with the Bay Area Video Coalition in San Francisco, Calif”

FAAN Mail created short videos featuring Philadelphia people’s stories at their International Anti-Street Harassment Week event on April 12. Watch them all on their YouTube channel. Here is one example:

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Street Harassment Law Introduced in Argentina

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Last week in Argentina, a new anti-street harassment law was proposed.

Via PanAm Post:

“The bill would establish fines ranging from AR$100 pesos (approx. US$7) to AR$7,000 ($547), and aims to protect anyone who “self-identifies as a woman” from verbal or physical harassment. Furthermore, the bill proposes a “National Week against Street Harassment” be commemorated yearly from April 12 to 18…

Raquel Vivanco, coordinator for Womean of the Latin American Matria (MUMALA), also lent her support to the bill. ‘Street harassment should be considered a crime, because women should not be intimidated and harassed. It does not only have to do with our privacy but also in the way it limits our free movement.'”

Earlier this month, Aixa Rizzo‘s video against street harassment went viral.

Peru passed a law against street harassment last month and laws were introduced in both Chile and Panama this spring.

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Help Nepal

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4.18.15 Activista Nepal's Safety Pin march for International Anti-Street Harassment Week
4.18.15 Activista Nepal’s Safety Pin march for International Anti-Street Harassment Week

It’s been 24 hours since the devastating earthquake hit Nepal and the death toll has jumped to more than 2000. We have many activist allies there and are relieved to have heard from everyone now. They are all safe.

If you want to make a donation to help those who are injured, without a home, etc, here is one place to do so.

Another way to make a difference is to donate to our 2014 Safe Public Spaces Mentoring team Women LEAD Nepal. This is what they just shared on their Facebook page:

“As we pass the 24 hour mark on this first morning after the earthquake, a lot remains unknown about the extent of the damage and causalities, and the effects this tragedy will have over the coming months and years. What we do know if that Nepal is going to need a lot of help, and that the international community needs to empower and support local individuals and organizations to rebuild their neighborhoods, cities and nation.

Women LEAD stands by all the individuals, communities and organizations who are mobilizing to provide disaster relief on the ground in Kathmandu. We believe it will be important for adolescent girls and young women to play a strong role in rebuilding Nepal through coordinating and participating in immediate relief work, and in long-term efforts. Therefore, we are committed to supporting the WLEAD community in Nepal as they identify and respond in real time to their own communities’ most pressing needs.

We ask for your financial (and technical) support as we provide our staff, LEADers and partners with the resources they need to effectively respond to this disaster. All funds donated will go directly to our leaders and the projects they choose to run to help their communities in this difficult time. Select the “Nepal Earthquake Reconstruction Efforts” option under the list of programs to earmark your donation.”

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Acid throwing in Iran

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Rezvan Moghaddam, an influential leader for women’s rights in Iran, asked me to share this information on the blog (and here is a full article she wrote about acid throwing in Iran):

Sohila is a 26-year-old Iranian law student who loves to read. She is a victim of an acid attack. She was attacked and sprayed with acid on 9 October 20014, at 6 pm, in the streets of Bozorgmehr,  by a man on a motorcycle wearing a helmet who was accompanied by cars in the front and rear (a white Pikan and a black Pejot).

In November 2014 , she had an unsuccessful eye surgery. Sohila’s  mother asks, “What was the crime of my daughter? Why she is a  victim of this outrageous act?”

Sohila and her mother asked women’s rights defenders to support her for surgery.

Sohila is just one of the victim targeted by Islamic fundamentalism because she was not wearing Hejab. Her father said: the world should not forget these victims, women’rights defenders should be their voice.

Join this Facbook page against acid throwing and follow this blog to keep up to date with this issue and how you can help stop it.

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“I just needed help. Those men were following me”

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I was 20 and in Philadelphia for summer break. I was walking down the city street on my way to have lunch with my dad at his office around 11:30 in the morning. It was a summer day and I had a skirt and shirt on. I had gotten a couple looks so I put my cardigan on and tried to make myself look smaller. Then I noticed this group of guys kept following me down the street. It was a residential street not super busy but plenty of apartments with stoops. The men started talking to me in Spanish saying really horrible things (they didn’t know a blonde girl could speak Spanish). I felt them getting close and close and the their words started getting louder.

I suddenly saw a group of women, maybe in their 30s, talking on a stoop saying goodbye to each other. I walked up to these strangers and said loudly, “Hi, it’s SO good to see you guys sorry I’m late,ʺ and joined them on the steps away from the street and the men. They looked at me like I was crazy and said ʺhello?ʺ Once the men past us I turned to them and said, ʺI’m so sorry I just needed help. Those men were following me.ʺ

They could tell that I was scared and offered for me to sit with them for a few minutes to calm down. I later went to lunch with my dad.

I wish I didn’t have to ʺcover upʺ to avoid being bothered. I wish our society told men to just KNOCK IT OFF and have some self control instead of telling women to take responsibility.I wish I lived in a world where I didn’t need to come up with creative solutions to avoid being harassed. I wish it just didn’t happen in the first place.

– MAC

Location: Philadelphia, PA

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

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