With only 11 days left in 2013, I took some time today to reflect and calculate and feel grateful!!
Listed at the end of this post are 100 people and groups who gave substantial time, work, ideas, expertise, and/or money to Stop Street Harassment (SSH) in 2013 because they, too, want to live in a world where everyone can safely navigate through public spaces.
As many readers know, SSH is my passion project that I do after and between my paid work. Funded only by in-kind donations of time and skills and some monetary donations from people like YOU, I am so proud of all that SSH has achieved this year, thanks to SSH’s board members, volunteers, interns, donors, correspondents, blog contributors, mentees, collaborative organizations, and media allies. THANK YOU.
10 Stop Street Harassment Achievements in 2013:
1. Correspondents: In January SSH launched a Blog Correspondents Program with two cohorts of 30 people total from 9 countries and 5 continents who collectively wrote more than 100 articles across the year. They illuminated street harassment issues in their community and raised awareness.
2. #EndSHWeek: In April, around 150 groups from more than 20 countries and 6 continents participated in SSH’s annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week. It raised an incredible amount of attention with rallies, marches, events, sidewalk chalking and online activism.
Wrap-up report | Photo album | Storifies from the five successful tweet chats.
3. Stop Trivializing Street Harassment: In April we launched an on-going list of “Campaigns against Companies that Trivialize Street Harassment.” In collaboration with groups like Collective Action for Safe Spaces, this year SSH was instrumental in pressuring Lego, Bare Escentuals, and Skirt Sports to drop offensive products, marketing, or messaging.
* Add your name to the 32,000 signatures in our current campaign asking YouTube to remove Simple Pickup’s YouTube Channel – it’s an instruction manual for men to learn how to street harass women.
4. Celebrating 5 Years: In late May/early June, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a successful Happy Hour in Washington, D.C. where we honored community leaders, activists, and organizations who’ve addressed street harassment in important or unique ways, including D.C. City Council Member Muriel Bowser and the Metro Transit Police. We also hosted an online auction fundraiser.
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5. Mentoring Activists: In July, we launched a Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Program. Across several months, we worked with activists as they implemented their proposed plans: workshops in high schools in Afghanistan, focus groups and a community event in Cameroon, and three short films and a community event in Chicago.
* Make a tax-deductible donation to SSH to help us expand to 10 mentoring sites in 2014.
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6. #50Stories Book & Tweet Chat: In September, I released a short, fun, empowering book, 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers, with stories submitted to or featured on the SSH Blog. SSH held a very successful #50Stories tweet chat, managed by SSH social media volunteers & interns, that trended briefly in the USA and led to many news articles on the topic.
* Buy the book in paperback for $10, or Kindle for $6.99. 50% of the profits will help fund SSH’s work.
7 . Know Your Rights: In December, SSH launched a state-by-state toolkit, Know Your Rights: Street Harassment and the Law. We held a briefing event in Washington, D.C. where the lead author, SSH intern Talia Hagerty, presented an overview of the toolkit and its purpose.
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8. National Study: SSH continued to fundraise for the first-ever national survey on street harassment (cost: $47,000). I also conducted four focus groups in NY, CA, and DC with demographics like queer women of color and men in the LGBQTI community. The focus groups will supplement the survey and both research findings will inform a national report.
* Make a tax-deductible donation to SSH to help fund the study.
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9. Rallies, Events, Campaigns: SSH was involved in LOTS of events and collaborative activism this year, including:
a. Rallies and Marches:
* SSH joined thousands of groups in more than 200 countries on Feb. 14 for One Billion Rising.
* SSH staff marched in both New York City and Washington, D.C. to support racial equality and to demand justice for Trayvon Martin.
* SSH tabled at the Rally Against Rape in Arlington, VA.
* SSH hosted a sidewalk chalking event in Arlington, VA.
* SSH spoke and tabled with Collective Action for Safe Spaces at SlutWalkDC.
b. Talks: At the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in NYC, I presented on sexual harassment in schools for my day job and moderated a panel for ActionAid. I gave talks on street harassment at a high school in NYC (x2), campuses in WI and NY, bookstore in PA, a Veteran’s Administration Hospital in PA, an event for summer interns in Washington, D.C.
c. Conference Presentations: I presented on street harassment at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, the International Coalition Against Sexual Harassment, the National Sexual Assault Conference, with co-presenter FAAN Mail.
d. Key Meetings:
i. In Feb., SSH and Collective Action for Safe Spaces met with the transportation authority in Washington, D.C. to discuss next steps in a campaign to stop sexual harassment on the transit system. The meeting was part of a global day of action when grassroots women and women’s organizations in 50 cities met with government
ii. In Feb., SSH joined Hollaback Bmore for a meeting with the Baltimore Health Department to discuss collaboration around the issue of street harassment.
iii. In Nov., Hollaback! Philly organized a city council hearing on street harassment and SSH board members Nuala Cabral and I testified. In a meeting afterward with Councilmember James Kenney, he pledged it was not “a one and done day,” but that he was committed to collaborating with them.
10. Blogging, Articles and Media Coverage:
a. There were 550 posts on the SSH blog, including personal stories and highlights of street harassment news and activism
b. I wrote 16 published articles related to street harassment for outlets like Ms. (both their blog and print magazine), Bitch (both their blog and print magazine), Women’s Media Center, Fem2Pt0, Feministing, and BlogHer.
c. SSH received tons of media hits, including: Washington Post, Guardian, NPR, MTV, Salon.com, Slate.com, Feministing, HuffPost Live, Ebony Magazine, LOOK Magazine (UK), Bridget Magazine (Germany), and the Smithsonian’s Blog.
* SSH Board Member Relando Thompkins joined me on the Talk2Q radio show to discuss street harassment, racial profiling, and victim-blaming. Download the podcast of the show.
THANK YOU SSH Community —
| Board Members:
Anna Bavier Interns: Talia Hagerty Contractors: Amy Mistrine Safe Public Spaces Mentees: Phaydra Babinchok Crucial Online Helpers: Soraya Chemlay
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Blog Correspondents:
Carla Avenia |
Volunteers:
Katie Broendel Assisted with Focus Groups: Brenda Bethman |
Key organizations with whom we worked in 2013:
| Key Collaborators:
Brooklyn Movement Center |
Donated Space or Food for SSH Events:
Alliance for Justice Key Media Allies: Bitch Magazine
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