Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

FOX News is wrong about street harassment

By

Via Media Matters

Funny… I just finished writing an article about street harassment and the media in which I made the case that mainstream media is largely shifting its coverage of street harassment from saying it’s a compliment to portraying it as a serious issue. Well, FOX News just made itself an outlier.

Via Media Matters:

“Fox News hosts defended the practice of catcalling, insisting women should “let men be men” and downplaying the harmful impact widespread street harassment has on women.

On the August 28 edition of Fox News’ Outnumbered, hosts highlighted a New York Post opinion article that suggested women “deal with” “flattering” catcalls. Co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle defended street harassment saying, “let men be men,” and, “look, men are going to be that way. What can you do?” Guest host and Fox contributor Arthur Aidala reenacted his personal signature “move” — aiming a slow round of applause at women on the street, which one host said she’d find flattering.”

I know FOX is kind of a ridiculous “news” source, but they do have a large viewership, so this disturbs me.

I feel like a broken record explaining why FOX is wrong. So I’ll just say this much:

1 – Street harassment is not a compliment or flattering. It’s disrespectful, it’s objectifying, it’s someone speaking about you without your consent in a public space.

2 – It’s also often scary or unsettling. Almost half of all women have experienced some kind of physically aggressive form of street harassment in public places in the USA and that can make seemingly “harmless” catcalls feel scary too… we don’t know when someone will escalate into something worse.

3 – Street harassment is not just men saying “hey baby” to a pretty woman. Street harassment is the manifestation of systems of oppression, be it sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ablism, racism, classism, etc. Anyone who is discriminated against in other arenas of life has probably been harassed on the street.

4 – Street harassment begins for most people when they’re teenagers. By adult harassers. How creepy is that?

5 – Sexual harassment/street harassment is NOT “natural” for men. It’s learned behavior. One obvious piece of proof is that many — maybe even most — men do NOT street harass.

It’s NOT a compliment.

Share

Help More People in the UK and Ireland Enjoy a Good Night Out!

By

From Hollaback! London:

“Since March 2014, we’ve been working with pubs, clubs, bars and venues across London to prevent harassment and create safer nights out. The response has been overwhelming. Now, organisers across the UK and Ireland want to bring Good Night Out to their towns and cities. We’re fundraising £5000 to make this happen – watch our crowd funding campaign video and find out more.

Good Night Out is a pioneering new campaign designed to transform the way pubs, clubs and bars handle harassment and assault at their establishments. We’ve designed a pledge which we invite venues to sign up to, which reads:

‘If something or someone makes you feel uncomfortable, no matter how minor it seems, you can report it to any member of our staff and they will work with you to make sure it doesn’t have to ruin your night.”

Upon signing up to our campaign, all participating businesses

  • display our pledge posters informing customers what to expect
  • fully brief staff on the new addition to the workplace policy
  • have access to our special training workshops for staff
  • are named and linked to on the Good Night Out website
  • feedback regularly to us for advice and support about dealing with harassers

Since March this year, we’ve worked with venues, pubs bars in clubs ranging from local bars, to 1000+ capacity venues to improve their safety policy. We’ve had 100% positive feedback from the venues we’ve worked with so farwho include Village Underground, Dalston Superstore and Fabric. Since launching, we’ve been inundated with enquiries from organisations and activists across the country who want to see Good Night Out in their area, so we’re working with them to make this happen!

Here are some of the venues we’ve already worked with across London.

We’re now organising with groups around the UK and Ireland from Sheffield to Galway, Glasgow to Kent, Limerick to Oxford, Brighton, Bristol, Norwich, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Coventry and more to get the message out and ensure we have a real impact on the way the nighttime economy deals with harassment, whatever form it takes.”

Share

#StandWithMonica and #FreeEisha

By

Via ACLU

Transgender women of color face some of the highest rates of street harassment and violence of any demographic. Here are two of these women who need our help:

Via ACLU:

“When Monica Jones left her house on the evening of May 17, 2013, she expected to hang out at a local bar and restaurant and meet up with some friends. But for transgender women of color, just walking down the street can be a criminal act.

Especially in Phoenix, Arizona, where literally “any bodily gesture” can be sufficient evidence that you are intending to engage in prostitution.

When an undercover officer saw Monica Jones, a black transgender woman, walking down the street just a few blocks from her house, in an area that the officer described as being “known for prostitution,” that was enough to convince him that she intended to engage in prostitution. It was on that basis that he approached and stopped her.

In April of this year, Monica was convicted of violating this overbroad and vague law. Today she appeals that conviction, and the ACLU, along with other advocacy and civil rights organizations, filed a brief in support of her appeal.

We #StandWithMonica because transgender women of color should be able to walk down the street in their neighborhoods without being arrested, or worse, for simply being themselves.”

Via GLAAD:

“A trans woman of color, Eisha Love, is currently facing attempted murder charges after she was attacked by two men outside a gas station on Chicago’s West Side. According to a Change.org petition calling for Love’s release from prison with over 2,000 signatures at this time, she was with a friend when two men began harassing them with slurs and epithets, and Love was struck in the face.

As Love and her friend rushed to escape the attack in their car, one of their attackers standing near the vehicle was permanently injured. Later, Love turned herself in for the injury and was charged with 1st degree attempted murder. If convicted, she faces 10 years in prison….You can read more about Eisha’s story and support her by signing and sharing this Change.org petition, and by using hashtag #FreeEisha on social media”

Share

“You may not speak to women so disrespectfully and expect no consequence”

By

While walking in NYC, I stopped to take a picture of wood work on a door. As I turned to leave, the uniformed doorman of the building told me I was blocking the door and had to leave. I actually thought he was kidding because I was leaving and there was no one else in the doorway or on the sidewalk at all. So I laughed, pointed this out, and took two steps away. That’s when he called me a bitch. I’ve never been called this name before — I am a middle-aged, elementary school teacher and this word is not in my expressive vocabulary. I turned back and he repeated himself. I moved closer to see the name on his tag and he told me his name was Patrick McKay, asked if I needed him to spell that for me and told me that he only had to be nice to the residents of the building.

He laughed at me and said, “Who are you going to complain to?” The answer, Mr. McKay, is anyone who will listen, including the management of your building the NYPD, the mayor’s office and any online source I can find. You may not speak to women so disrespectfully and expect no consequence.

– CBS

Location: The Greenwich Club Residents, NYC

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

Share

“He was there, he saw yet he did nothing”

By

Living in London as a young, single 20-year-old could not be more exhilarating or dangerous. With over eight and a half million people living in the city and countless more visiting there is a wide spread of cultures and social norms. Although cat calling and street harassment are daily occurrences sometimes the harassment can escalate.

Walking home from a late night at work I noticed a luxurious Mercedes drive past. A couple of minutes later I noticed the same car drive past again but this time at a slow pace 10 meters behind me. Eventually the car pulled up beside me and tried to engage in conversation, I had my headphones in and pretended I couldn’t hear them until they leant on the car horn. I told the men that I had no interest in talking to them and continued to walk on at which point two of the doors of the car opened and the men came running towards me. I sprinted for the door to my building and entered before they reached it. They stood there pounding on the glass and pulling on the door.

For the next few days I contemplated what had happened and wondered whether I had encountered these men before. If I protested against cat calling and the regular street harassment I faced, would this have happened? Was this my fault for not standing up for myself more often? However, the answer to all of these questions is NO. These incidences happen due to the lack of societal pressure, the acceptance of rape culture and the lack of support women feel in the streets.

During the incident there was a man on a bike who witnessed what happened. When I spoke to the police, I asked whether the man had reported the incident – he hadn’t.

And to be honest, that’s what scares me the most. He was there, he saw yet he did nothing.

– Mariann

Location: London, UK

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

Share