Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“I may have to find a new route”

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While cycling in early evening a few weeks ago, a man (probably in his 30s, shaved head, light brown skin tone – appears to live or at least park his car on the estate at the southwest end of Jubilee Street – avoid this area if you’re female!) in a silver car passed far too closely, rolled down his window, and yelled ‘I’m going to f**** you and then kill you’.

I unfortunately ran into him again tonight. I was waiting at the red light to cross Commercial Road and continue on Jubilee Street. There were no cars around when I reached the intersection. He pulled up behind me and began revving his engine and driving forward, forcing me into a busy intersection and then leaning on his horn to intimidate me, honking away despite the fact that the light was still red and I had nowhere I could go. He passed me when the light turned and swerved at me as he did, eventually turning in to the same estate parking lot he turned in to the previous time. This is a street I frequently have to cycle down – I may have to find a new route.

As a female cyclist in London, harassment is the norm. It tends to take a darker turn in Tower Hamlets though, with threats of rape and murder replacing the usual ‘lucky saddle’. Seeing this man twice has been exceptionally scary. I got his registration plate and reported him to the police after the first incident but was told they could not help on such matters.

– Anonymous

Location: 2 Jubilee Street, London, e1, England

EDITOR’S NOTE: I talked with two anti-violence groups in London and they said police SHOULD take this kind of report seriously. “Depending on how she reported initially (either by calling 999 or 101) I’d recommend her reporting another way – i.e. going into the police station or calling 101 if she’d called 999, and making sure the report is taken by getting a CAD number…This may help set up a quicker response by police if this happens again with same perp (as she can then quote the CAD number).”

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Get Ready for a Good Night Out

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By Kendra Corbin, SSH Intern

Sexual harassment in bars is a terrible obstacle for many women just looking for a night out with the girls. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. To be honest, I can’t speak from personal experience about the sexual harassment that occurs specifically in bars. My personality falls more along the lines of, “Let’s binge-watch Netflix together this weekend” rather than, “Let’s go out to a bar this weekend.” While I might lack first-hand experience with sexual harassment in bars, I understand that it regularly happens to countless women and LGBQT individuals. Whether walking down a street or having some drinks in a local bar, all people deserve to feel safe in any public space.

Hollaback London‘s new campaign intends to make that happen. The fellow anti-street harassment organization recently launched the Good Night Out campaign. This campaign’s goal is to keep nights safe and fun by eliminating sexual harassment in bars and clubs. Hollaback London will be providing training for staff members, resources, and posters to participating venues. The strategically-placed posters will emphasize that sexual harassment will NOT be tolerated. The posters declare:

We want you to have a good night out. 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.

Participating establishments will sign a pledge vowing to make their environments safe and welcoming for all. Hollaback London encourages patrons to tweet to @hollabackLDN about their experiences using the hashtag #goodnightout. This campaign is a wonderful step to making London’s nightlife harassment-free.

A similar project, Safe Bars, exists in Washington D.C. Safe Bars is supported by Collection Action for Safe Spaces and the self-defense organization Defend Yourself. This project works directly with local nightlight venues to provide safety training for the staff, increase awareness of sexual harassment, and promote safety for all customers.

It is common knowledge that sexually aggressive behavior is prevalent in bars, hence the necessity for the aforementioned projects. However, a new study found that alcohol is not the sole factor to blame for sexually aggressive behavior in bars. Rather, it found that male aggressors intentionally target inebriated women. If you need an example of what constitutes sexually aggressive behavior, Jezebel featured an article on ABC’s new series Mixology. A short trailer shows the male characters hunting for drunk women at a bar. The normalcy of their behavior (and the fact that it’s meant to be funny) is repulsive. While the show is fictional, their behavior is not. This is why campaigns such as Good Night Out and Safe Bars exist.

Overall, every person has the basic right to safety in all public spaces. Alcohol has the ability to coexist with a fun, healthy environment as long as patrons and staff members respect one another. These great organizations and campaigns will continue to ensure that nights out are fun and safe for everyone.

Kendra Corbin is senior at Shenandoah University. She is majoring in Mass Communications and minoring in Women’s Studies.

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International Women’s Day 2014: 5 Ways to Make Streets Safer

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Equality for women “remains the great unfinished business of the 21st century,” Hillary Clinton said at the UN yesterday, in her International Women’s Day speech. “No country in the world, including my own, has achieved full participation.”

This is true and street harassment is a symptom of that inequality. Women feel less safe than men in public spaces in every country and sexual harassment in public spaces (as well as in schools, workplaces, places of worship, and homes) is the main reason. The lack of safety keeps many women out of public spaces. That is not equality.

We deserve a world where everyone has equal access to public spaces and the resources and opportunities there. We must speak out and demand it and work toward it.

Here are five ways you can help make the streets safer:

1. Share your story – bring attention to this problem. If you’re not impacted by this issue directly, read the stories of those who are to better understand why this matters.

2. Plan to participate in International Anti-Street Harassment Week, March 30 – April 5. Bring attention to this issue in your community and work toward solutions.

3. Find ideas for dealing with the issue, including the toolkit Know Your Rights: Street Harassment and the Law and the new book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers

4. Become a male ally, speak out when you see a guy harassing women. Mentor young men.

5. Donate $10+ to help fund the first-ever national study on street harassment in the USA — we can better address the problem once we know more about what is happening, where, to whom and by whom.

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Massachusetts set to ban upskirt photos

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The Massachusetts legislature moved swiftly this week to fix a law that resulted in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling it was legal for a man to take photos up women’s skirts in public places.

Via Al Jazeera America:

“The new law passed both houses of the Massachusetts legislature in startling quick fashion Thursday, and now goes to the desk of Gov. Deval Patrick, who is expected to sign it Friday.

“We can send a message out there, to the women especially, that this type of action will not be tolerated — now will be illegal under Massachusetts law,” said Speaker Robert A. DeLeo after the new legislation passed, according to the Boston Globe.

The legislation says anyone who tries to photograph another person’s sexual or intimate parts without that person’s consent would face a maximum penalty of more than two years in jail and a $5,000 fine. The penalty would jump to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine if the victim is under 18.

Distributing such photos of a child is punishable by a $10,000 fine or 10 years in prison.”

Wow, I guess legislators can move fast when they want to. I hope the governor signs the updated law.

But did you know, there are other states where non-consensual upskirt photos are legal? For example, they are legal in states like Alabama, Nebraska, and Oregon. Learn more in the SSH Know Your Rights toolkit.

It’s time every state that allows upskirt photos updates its law. They can get guidance on the best language to use from other states like Hawai’i and Washington.

Hawai’i’s law Violation of Privacy in the Second Degree says it is illegal if a person intentionally “covertly records or broadcasts an image of another person’s intimate area underneath clothing, by use of any device, and that image is taken while that person is in a public place and without that person’s consent;”

Washington’s Voyeurism law specifically states it is illegal for someone to take photos or videotape of the intimate areas of a non-consenting person’s body under circumstances where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, including public places.

No one should have to worry about someone taking violating photos of them in public spaces, but should that happen, everyone deserves the right to legal recourse, no matter where they reside.

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“I make a disgusted face and look away”

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There are too many incidents to recount. Whistling and ogling are the most common by far.

I have developed I great non-verbal response to harassment. If someone says anything and/or stares at me and my body, I stare at their body, avoiding eye contact (which only encourages them), and focus on their gut (which, nine times out of ten, is an expansive target). I stare long and hard so that I know they see me looking at their body. Then I make a disgusted face and look away as I pass by.

It’s a non-confrontational technique, but I find most men look away from me after getting a small dose of the flip side of their own behavior.

– Anonymous

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