Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Poem: “Bitches”

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dude on the street says i am a f**king bitch

you a f**king bitch!
you ain’t too good for me
keep on walk’n bitch!

so i keep on walking
and walking
because it was daylight
and my dog was beside me
and i had faith, even if small,
in witness testimony
if dude decided to kill this bitch

because we all know what happens
when bitches refuse

bitches,
we wake up in this city
with a fight right outside our door

bitches,
we get dressed
knowing the eye-f**k disrobes the thickest layers
and the world
of all its pretense to justice

bitches,
we brush our teeth and ready our faces
not for the catcall or the hand on the arse
or worse
but for ourselves

bitches,
when we leave the house
we know the real issue isn’t us
but the men who feel entitled to our time, our bodies, our lives
and threaten to make our world contract
like a blast rewound

but a blast rewound is a blast in motion

bitches,
lets break the rotation of this storm

when the streets hold you hostage
turn around and bounce a bomb into
the eye of that storm
explode this cyclone

when the red fire of his words
hits the hillside of your flesh
fling that grenade
take in all the oxygen and
starve that fucker of hate

bitches,
we are not on the supply side
of male demand

we are soldiers in lipstick
with our own game to kill
in this average city
where breathable sidewalks
become battlegrounds
and we
its bitches

Michelle Marie has been harassed in the USA, Egypt and Costa Rica. She said, “I wrote this poem because I am sick and tired, sick and tired, sick and tired (I am sorry if it sounds angry but I am pissed as hell)”

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“Why must men do this to women?”

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This happened when I was in a public transit bus around noon. I was sitting right beside the window on the right side of the bus. There weren’t a lot of people in bus since it was a Saturday and this bus takes you to a university. The bus stopped at a red light and I noticed two men who wouldn’t stop looking at me. They looked old and intoxicated. They were pointing at me and exchanging words to each other. I tried my best not to look at them. One of them knocked on the window and said something. He then proceed to give me a ”kissy face’ and licked his lips.

I started to ignored him but he wouldn’t stop knocking on the window. It was a loud continuous knock and the rest of the passengers wouldn’t stop looking at what was going on. I was so embarrassed and angry at the same time. This actually makes me question my appearance. Is it because of the way I dress or how I do my makeup that makes men want to street call? Why must men do this to women? This is so wrong.

– Anonymous

Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba/Canada

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

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“A Gentleman’s Guide to Rape Culture”

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Hello! I want to point out this article, written by a man, which is titled ʺA Gentleman’s Guide to Rape Cultureʺ.

It is very interesting and I especially like this paragraph in which he describes, through a very explanatory metaphor, how a woman feels when she meets a man on the streets:

ʺ[…]Because when it comes to assessing a man, whatever one man is capable of, a woman must presume you are capable of. Unfortunately, that means all men must be judged by our worst example. If you think that sort of stereotyping is bullshit, how do you treat a snake you come across in the wild?

…You treat it like a snake, right? Well, that’s not stereotyping, that’s acknowledging an animal for what it’s capable of doing and the harm it can inflict. Simple rules of the jungle, man. Since you are a man, women must treat you as such.ʺ

– EZ

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Harassed age 12

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debo decir que desde hace ya mucho tiempo tengo muchas inseguridad a la hora de transitar por la vía pública esto desde que un día cuando tenía 12 anos de edad iba caminando tranquila y sin ningun miedo a nada, un hombre manejando una bici paso junto a mi, de repente senti como golpeo mi nalga y se burlo de mi, despues del acto huyo y su gorra se le cayó, al observar que se le cayo su gorra se regreso por ella valiendole que estuviera cerca de la gorra y que pudiera golpearlo o hacerle algo, el sinismo fue lo que hasta ahora no he entendido, no tienen miedo o respeto por las mujeres.

– LORENA

Location: querétaro

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

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New Reports Show Sexual Violence is Common

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This week there were two new reports released confirming the prevalence of sexual violence against children in the world and against women in the USA.

WORLD:

The UNICEF report “HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: A statistical analysis of violence against children” found that one in 10 girls worldwide have been forced into a sexual act, and six in 10 children ages 2 to 14 are regularly beaten by parents and caregivers. The report, drawing on data from 190 countries, paints a picture of endemic physical and emotional violence inflicted daily on children, mostly at home and in peacetime rather than on the streets or during war. Homicide is especially common in some of the Latin American countries from which children are fleeing by the tens of thousands into the United States.”

USA:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released results from a 2011 survey. It found 19.3 percent of women have been raped. “Additionally, nearly 2 percent of men have been raped; nearly 44 percent of women and 23 percent of men have experienced some other form of sexual violence; and 15 percent of women and nearly 6 percent have men have been stalked…When it comes to who is committing these acts of violence, 99 percent of female rape victims and the vast majority of male rape victims — almost 80 percent — said they’ve only been raped by men.”

It’s hard for me to comprehend these numbers… but knowing how many of my friends, family, colleagues, former classmates, and activist friends are survivors helps conceptualize them a bit. This is a rampant huge and devastating problem. It’s overwhelming. But at least what each of us can do is to NOT be perpetrators ourselves, mentor youth/children to have empathy and respect for others, and help survivors heal, including ourselves (as relevant).

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