Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Colombia: What would you do to stop street harassment?

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By: María Paulina López, SSH Correspondent

One day, my sister came home saying she was upset that every time she walked from the bus stop to home a man watching her on the other side of the street yelled sexual comments. Imagine having to deal with this every single day! In my own experience, these abusive situations piss me off.

I decided to do something about it, but the problem was, that guy knows where we live and that scared me a little. So my sister’s boyfriend went and talked to him, asking for respect and safety for the women who walk on that street (he didn’t mention specifically my sister, so I suppose she wasn’t the only one) and that was it… he never did that again anymore. What would you do if someone’s being sexually harassed in a public place?


This video is an exact representation of a situation that a lot of people have to live every day: being sexually harassed on the streets.

What would you do? And that’s a question for all of you…what would you do if see someone being harassed on the street? I truly admire all those who did something, not knowing the people on that street were actors. I admire those around the world who care about these abusive situations.  It depends on the situation, and how safe you feel in that place, but you can take a lot of actions to stop Street Harassment:

* Show support, like the woman on the video;
* Call security, if you can;
* Make a video/photo to show the authorities;
* Ask them to stop it and to respect, like one of the guys on the video;
* See if you can identify the persons who are harassing and denounce the abusive behavior to their superiors; ask the person who’s been harassed if it’s fine and take her/him to a safer place.

Please, let’s don’t stay quiet or continue your walk without doing anything. This behavior is abusive, and affects millions of people around the world, especially women. We need safer public spaces for everyone! And this video is evidence that we can take individual actions to fight it directly, to make justice, and stand for a better world.

“The opposite of love is not hate, its indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, its indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, its indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, its indifference.” – Elie Wiesel

Maria is a psychology student, social investigator, and sexual educator. Follow her on Twitter, @MPaulinaLopez.

 

Colombia, pequeñas acciones que significan un gran cambio.

Un día mi hermana llegó a casa quejándose de lo cansada que estaba de que cada día, cuando caminaba de la parada de autobús a casa, el vigilante de la acera de enfrente le gritaba comentarios sexuales, ¡imaginen tener que lidiar con esto cada día de sus vidas! Entonces decidí hacer algo al respecto, el problema era que ese hombre sabía exactamente dónde vivíamos, y eso me asustaba un poco. Por eso, el novio de mi hermana fue y habló con él; le pidió que respetara a las mujeres que pasaban por el frente (no mencionó directamente a mi hermana, entonces supongo que no era la única). Y eso fue todo, a partir de ese momento, él nunca le volvió a decir nada a mi hermana cada vez que pasaba por allí. ¿Qué harías si ver que alguien está siendo acosado sexualmente en un lugar público?

Este video es una representación exacta de una situación que mucha gente tiene que vivir cada día: ser acosados sexualmente en las calles. ¿Qué harías tú? Y esta es una pregunta para todos… ¿qué haría usted si ve que alguien es acosado sexualmente en un espacio público? Realmente admiro a todos los que hicieron algo en ese video, y a todos aquellos alrededor del mundo que cada día se preocupan por detener estos abusos. Todo depende de la situación, y de cuán seguro se sienta en el lugar donde está ocurriendo el abuso, pero todos podemos tomar muchas acciones para detener el Acoso Callejero:

  • * Da apoyo a la persona, como la mujer del video.
  • * Llama a seguridad, si puedes.
  • * Haz una foto o video para mostrarle a las autoridades.
  • * Pídeles que se detengan y exija respeto,  como uno de los hombres en el video.
  • * Trata de identificar a las personas que están acosando y denuncia su actitud abusiva a sus superiores; asegúrate que la persona que es víctima esté bien y llévala a un lugar más seguro.

No hay que quedarse callados, o pasar de largo ante una situación así. Este comportamiento es abusivo y afecta a millones de personas diariamente en el mundo entero, sobre todo mujeres. ¡Necesitamos espacios públicos seguros, donde podamos caminar con tranquilidad! Y este video es prueba de que podemos tomar acciones individuales para luchar contra estos abusos directamente, hacer justicia, luchar por un mundo mejor.

“Lo contrario del amor no es el odio, es la indiferencia. Lo contrario del arte, no es la fealdad, es la indiferencia. Lo contrario de la fe no es la herejía, es la indiferencia. Y lo contrario de la vida no es la muerte, es la indiferencia.” – Elie Wiesel

Estudiante de psicología, investigadora social, educadora sexual MPaulinaLopez.

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“I don’t owe any guy out in the street anything”

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Just a few months ago, maybe in November, I recall planning to cook a hearty dinner for my daughter and her father. I had to go to the store to get a can of vegetables. My daughter’s father suggested that I go to the supermarket, which is like, a good five minute walk from our apartment. It was rather nippy that day, so I was in no mood to walk there. I decided to go to the discount store, which is just around the corner from us. When I got to the discount store, I walked to the aisle that has the paper and plastic products and grabbed a box of aluminum foil. Afterwards, I walked down the canned goods aisle. Halfway down, a man in maybe his early to mid-forties said to me, “How you doing” very suggestively.

Now, usually when this happens, I speak back but only if the person is sincere with his greeting. I am not the kind of female that never speaks, but if a guy is just merely being a creep, then I just ignore him. That is exactly how this gentleman, no this ass hole was behaving, so therefore I didn’t speak back. He didn’t deserve a nice hello, in my opinion. I just simply didn’t say anything back. I didn’t roll my eyes, suck my teeth or anything. But this guy had then replied, “Oh well, right back to you too!”

I then turned around and said, “Excuse me, sir, but I didn’t say anything ignorant to you.”

That’s when he answered, “Well, you the one thinking you too good to speak to somebody!” I was at this point very offended and replied, “I don’t think I’m too good for anything, but you’re a pervert and don’t deserve a hello from me, so you need to leave me alone.”

I then turned to walk away, but the guy pushed me down from behind. I started to get up, but he then pushed me back down and said, “Well, fuck you then, bitch!!!” I leaped up angrily, stormed out of the store after him, but once outside, he threatened me for coming out of the store. Another guy tried to hold him back from hurting me, all while cursing him out for his conduct, as well as everyone else that was looking on. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he had a little girl with him at the time. A terrible way to act in front of a child.

Anyway, that experience just showed me that while it’s okay to be polite and speak to someone once in a while, I don’t owe any guy out in the street anything, especially if I don’t know him. Period.

– Betty Miller

Location: Philadelphia, PA

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#Outcry: Street Harassment, Everyday Sexism, Germany Cries Out

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By ProChange, SSH Correspondents

Outcry sounds out across Germany. 30,000 tweets are posted on Twitter by affected women within 48 hours.

What’s happened?

Sexism in the Pirate Party (a young political party in Germany).

Ok, we’ve heard about that. Mr. Brüderle of the FDP (Liberals in Germany) harasses a journalist (Laura Himmelreich). She writes about it. But we read such articles daily. How usual that the attention is diverted from the problem: “Why did the journalist wait until now to talk about it?”

The woman is given the guilt: “Women that can’t deal with dirty jokes shouldn’t go to the bar at night.”

It gets minimalized: “She shouldn’t make a big deal about it.”

It’s made out to be her personal problem to deal with: “Taboo-breaking. How can she write this.” The same as always.

Anne Wizorek jumps in, throws out the hashtag #Aufschrei (#Outcry) on twitter. The hashtag gets noticed from our use and the use of it by other activists. Within 48 hours there are 30,000 tweets written from women who otherwise wouldn’t trust themselves to write about sexual harassment. The press joins in and reports.

The tweets are taken seriously and put into print – the alleged sexist behaviour comes back to bite the perpetrator in the end. Comments from internet trollers are identified and disqualified.

Today in television news, it’s reported on and tomorrow evening there will be a program broadcasted on the topic. We wrote a long letter to the editorial office about international Stop Street Harassment.

#Aufschrei: Street Harassment, alltäglicher Sexismus, Deutschland schreit auf

Ein Aufschrei geht durch Deutschland. 30 000 Tweets (Kurzmitteilungen) auf Twitter von betroffenen Frauen innerhalb von 48 Stunden. Was ist passiert?

Sexismus in der Piratenpartei (eine junge Partei in Deutschland). Gut, das haben wir gelesen. Herr Brüderle der FDP (Liberals in Germany) belästigt eine Journalistin (Laura Himmelreich). Sie schreibt darüber. Solche Artikel lesen wir täglich. Wie üblich wird abgelenkt (derailing): “Wieso berichtet die Journalistin erst jetzt darüber?”  Der Frau wird die Schuld zugewiesen: “Frauen, die mit zotigen Witzen nicht klar kommen, sollten abends nicht an die Bar gehen.” Es wird bagatellisiert: “Sie soll sich nicht so anstellen.” Es wird versucht, in die private Schiene zu schieben: “Tabubruch. Wie kann sie das nur schreiben.” Alles wie immer.

Anne Wizorek steigt ein, schlägt das Hashtag #Aufschrei vor. Von uns und allen anderen Aktivistinnen wird der Hashtag bekannt gemacht. Innerhalb von 48 Stunden sind jetzt 30 000 tweets geschrieben worden, von Frauen die sich sonst nicht trauen, über sexuelle Belästigung zu schreiben. Die Presse steigt ein und berichtet.

Das Neue: Sie werden ernst genommen und gedruckt – das beklagte sexistische Verhalten disqualifiziert endlich auch den Täter. Die üblichen Kommentare der Trollfraktion werden als solche erkannt und disqualifiziert.

In den Fernsehnachrichten wurde heute berichtet und morgen abend gibt es eine Sendung zum Thema. An die Redaktion haben wir einen langen Brief geschrieben über das internationale Stop Street Harassment.

The German-based group ProChange is comprised of women from Dortmund who are activists for women’s rights.

Editor’s Note: Thanks, Hölly Patch, for the very quick translation assistance.

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Egypt: Harassment during #Jan25 Anniversary Protests

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Yesterday was the anniversary of the Jan. 25 revolution in Cairo, Egypt, and with many protests planned that day at Tahrir Square, anti-harassment groups prepared for an increase in incidents of sexual harassment and assault. Unfortunately, their preparation was necessary. Via Twitter & Facebook:

@OpAntiSH: Initial count of mob sexual assaults we know of are around 19 cases, at least 6 needed medical attention #EndSh #OpAntiSH #Jan25 #Tahrir

@HarassMap: “There were approx 19 cases of sexual assault/rape cases (that we know of), 6 requiring medical attention according to the first count. We managed to help 2/3 or more of these cases but the situation is critical.”

@Beltrew: #endSH team doing amazing job trying to help women who are being attacked.It’s happening everywhere. I swear this must be organised #tahrir

@HarassMap: “another eye witness report of mob sexual assault in #Tahrir yesterday where some ppl used flamethrowers, knives & clubs to try to push the attackers away. #OpAntiSH #endSH #HarassMap”

Via Global Post:

“Several cases of sexual assault have been reported from Tahrir Square, as growing protests and confusion offer a cover for the harassment. According to sources on the ground, women are being groped, verbally assaulted, and harassed in the crowds.  As the crowds continue to gather in Tahrir at nightfall, women’s safety is a growing concern. Several volunteer forces, including one using the Twitter handle @TahrirBodyguard, is offering protection to women who are in Tahrir. Others are patrolling and intervening in incidents they see.”

Via Women’s eNews:

“”The main objective is to get the girl out. It is crisis management,” says Eba’a El-Tamami, marketing and communications unit head for HarassMap.

Based in the capital, HarassMap collects data about harassment, conducts community awareness and outreach programs and is part of a campaign called Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment-Assault, which draws strength from a coalition of groups. The organization’s goal, says El-Tamami, “is to counter what we suspect are organized, mob sexual assaults.”

Verbal sexual harassment is a common nuisance on Egyptian streets. However, HarassMap and other groups claim these mob attacks constitute something far more sinister. “We think it’s organized and planned,” says El-Tamami. “We think it’s probably paid thugs, but we don’t know who is paying them. There are quite a few eye-witness reports . . . People who have had this happen say it’s very difficult to imagine this is random or sporadic . . . . I don’t want to speculate but there are definitely people who have interest in positioning the square as dangerous and make protesters look like harassers or thugs.”

Not only has the Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment-Assault coalition undertaken work on the ground to try to keep women safe, but they also offer additional services. On their Facebook page, they wrote today:

“We don´t only intervene in mob sexual attacks, we help provide support (legal/medical/emotional) through our network of lawyers and doctors. If you need support, or know of someone who does, and/or for questions/inquiries what to do, please call us on our hotlines 01202390087 01016051145 01157892357 or online (Twitter @OpAntiSH, Facebook, Email opantish(at)gmail.com). Please share this”

I applaud these brave individuals for doing what no other group or government agency would do: ensure women’s safety as they exercise their political right to protest and shape their country’s agenda and empower women to fight back!

“@OpAntiSH: Most inspiring moments of yesterday, is when attacked women right after assault asked to join #OpAntiSH! This is RESISTANCE! #Jan25 #Tahrir“

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Canada: Headphones Are a Woman’s Best Friend

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Photo via TheWip.net

By Terris Schneider, SSH Correspondent

I’m a total music nerd. Any time I step out from my apartment, my headphones are attached to my ears.

Then there was the week where I lost my headphones in a pile of all my stuff. Now I couldn’t listen to the 90’s One-Hit-Wonders station on Songza. Devastating. Even worse, that was the week where I discovered just how bad street harassment was in Vancouver because my headphones couldn’t protect me.

That particular week, I was cat-called by guys in cars on three separate occasions. The worst incident was when I was walking down my street and a group of men started grunting at me à la Tim the Tool Man Taylor. My instinct was to sprint down the street.

A couple weeks back, I went to a girl’s night with some of my lovely friends where we delved into the topic of street harassment. They all felt the same way that I did – they hated it, it was threatening to them, and they wished it would stop. Each one of them had a horrifying story to share too, unfortunately. And of course, there was the incident with my best friend last year. She was waiting at the bus stop at Richards and Hastings and a man looked at her and then pointed to his erection. She called me in horror, not sure what to do except get away.

What’s also disturbing to me is people’s laissez-faire attitude when it comes to street harassment. When you bring it up to certain people, they don’t really see the big deal. Unfortunately, it’s been burned into our brains that we have to accept street harassment, that it’s harmless, and that we should take it as flattering.

So what’s the deal with street harassment? (said in a Jerry Seinfeld-esque voice). Why should we stand against it? Here are a few thoughts of mine.

Threat of Rape

If we turned the tables on men and harassed them on the streets, there is little threat of rape to them from women. Plus, there are so many trauma victims roaming the streets day or night, suffering from hyper vigilance. The statistics in British Columbia are mind boggling: 1 in 2 women in B.C. will have experienced sexual assault or attempted sexual assault in their lifetime, and aboriginal women in Canada are five times for likely to be sexual assaulted than non-aboriginal women. Not to mention, a rape crisis center in Vancouver has a wait-list of 9 months for one-on-one trauma counseling.

Which brings me to my point, you don’t know who is going to feel really threatened and traumatized when being street harassed. That being said, victim or not, a woman should be able to walk down the street in peace without being harassed.

Harassment Turned Life Threatening

Earlier this month in Vancouver, a woman named Claudia Rylie was harassed on the SkyTrain when a guy took unwanted pictures of her. He then proceeded in stalking her down the street, making it one of the most terrifying experiences of her life. The Surrey police did nothing about it, but now the VPD is looking into it because it might be related to another sexual assault. You can read the story from VanCity Buzz to get a better idea.

What truly disturbs me is some of the comments left after this story. Mostly blaming the woman (shocker!) because she is an alleged sex worker, and claiming that she was doing the whole thing for attention. Yet another way to excuse rape culture. Notice, there is no one putting the blame on the harasser, who may have assaulted another person and was so creepy, that a woman followed Claudia from the SkyTrain to make sure she was okay.

Here are some of these disturbing comments (remind me never to read comment threads):

darkeclipseCollapse

fuck this girl she wants attention

Whistler

This woman is a thrill-seeker and getting readers riled up with this story is exactly the fuel she wants. She loves being photographed, but I’m sure usually for money. This has been a great promo for her line of sex work, and the VPD would also have her pegged immediately. A streetwise woman carries pepper spray, knows NOT to make contact with her stalker, and many other ways to be safe, like walk beside a stranger and explain what’s happening. A smart businesswoman would not publicize an incident like this, pleading for public sympathy. Claudia, there are video cameras throughout the transit system and you know it. I’ll bet there never was a man in black except in your fantasy.

But then there are awesome people like Kevin to give us some hope:

Kevin

And this is exactly the reason we have this problem is this mindset. Just because someone models or works in the sex industry as a professional does NOT mean it’s ok for them to be sexually harassed.

Thank God For Headphones

I’ve since found my headphones and will no doubt continue to use them as my security blanket against creeps. I wish I could live without them, but hopefully one day I can roam the streets fear-free if people finally start cluing into this stuff.

Terris is a professional wordsmith (freelance writer) based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. You can read more of her work on her blog, or follow her on Twitter and Facebook. 

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