Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

So many men think they’re entitled to women’s attention

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I was walking to work today (which, ironically, is working at a nonprofit devoted to ending domestic violence), and on the way there, got hissed and whistled at. I brushed this off, didn’t think about it really anymore. Then on my way home, 2 men stared at me and one leered and said, “Miss, you dropped something.”

I turned around quickly without bending over, as I thought it was a trick. There was clearly nothing on the sidewalk, so I said, “Nope, nothing of mine,” and continued walking. Another man behind me did nothing to help. At this point I was very angry and almost starting to cry.

I reached the next corner and 2 different men said I should cross the street now, as no cars were coming. Then one held his hand up and said, “I can carry you across the street.” to which I said “No thank you, I’m fine.” They then purposefully walked behind me for the next 2 blocks shouting, “Sure are fine” and, “Shake that” and hootin and hollerin.

– Anonymous

Location: Franklin Avenue and Nicolette Avenue, Minneapolis

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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Is Stop Street Harassment available at your library?

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I love visiting libraries and checking out books.

Growing up, on Saturday afternoons my sisters and I usually accompanied our dad while he ran errands. Often the first stop was the local library.

My sisters and I would pick out several books and start reading them as soon as we got to the car. Sometimes it was hard for my parents to get us to put them down again. In one family photo, I’m captured on film at age 10 vacuuming the house (one of my Saturday jobs) with a book in hand, trying to read and vacuum at the same time.

In college, I felt the best part about writing research papers was having an excuse to walk up and down the library stacks. I spent hours browsing through books, not infrequently finding myself sidetracked from the paper topic.

Today I still visit my local library at least once a month to stock up on books to read during my 2-2.5 hour round-trip daily work commute.

I appreciate that over my lifetime, I’ve been able to read hundreds of books for free. If I had had to buy every book I wanted to read, I simply wouldn’t have been able to afford it (what book lover would)?

And now my love of books has led me to write my own about a topic I am very passionate about: street harassment.

My book is relatively expensive (you can find it for 20% off online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble), and I know that $35 or $45 for a book is not realistic for everyone.

Thank goodness library books are free!

Does your library carry Stop Street Harassment in its catalog?

If not and if you want to become better informed about street harassment and learn how you can help stop  it, & if you want people in your community to as well, consider requesting Stop Street Harassment:  Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women for your local library.

On your local library’s website, they likely will have a page called “Suggest a Title” or “Suggest a Book.” To request the book, you will need to provide your library card number, the book title (above) and author’s name (Holly Kearl). If they need an age range, it’s for teenagers and adults.

“Golden Silence,” a woman who has shared several of her street harassment stories on this blog, requested Stop Street Harassment for her library and she just informed me that the library agreed to order it. So, folks in Arlington, VA, you can check it out in 4-6 weeks 🙂

I hope that you, too, will request the book for your library. It’s a fast, easy, and free way to help make this information accessible for everyone in your community.

(And if you happen to have an extra copy or are done with yours, you can always donate it to the library. When so many libraries, including mine, are facing budget cuts, that is one way to ensure your library can carry a copy.)

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Weekly Round Up: September 26, 2010

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Story Submissions Recap:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

In the News, On the Blogs:

Events:

Announcements:

12 Tweets from the Week:

  • dyanti Dear members of so called progressive community,careful when u harass a girl in the street. U might pick a wrong one,like me 🙂
  • jennifercwang Lovely. Street harassed by two obnoxious brobros last night. inappropriate! Hate this mantype. #iHollaback #streetharassment
  • LEVYandMarie Just another a-hole harassing me on my block #streetharassment on Twitpic twitpic.com/2rliv3 (cc @MarianneDiNaps)
  • CircaJoyLynn Wondering why I chose this bright red dress today. I really don’t want attention from strangers… #streetharassment
  • starlipswriters @rightsandwrongs The worst part of #streetharassment might be that harassers expect our silence. So speaking up & out is the thing to do.
  • TheUndomestic Yelled a nice “fuck you” to livery cab driver who slowed down to make kissing noises at me. #streetharassment
  • El_Amster Am surprised at lack of street harassment in Malaysia. Been here for 2 wks & not so much as a sidewards glance. I feel so free
  • KristyKakes Can’t I just go for a peaceful run without getting honked at, whistled at, or a catcall?
  • smartbunny When I saw a guy catcall a jogger, I yelled @ him, “Ooh a GIRL! I better yell something stupid 2 show what a MAN I am!”
  • SpreeWilson Street harassment is out of control here in NYC according to my female friends…An aquaintance even did a one woman play addressing it
  • DesiSanchez @iHollaback Random stranger feels it’s “sad” he can’t talk 2 pretty women in the street. Told him I feel it’s sad he feels the need to 🙂
  • ton_o_fun I just witnessed some creepy dude cuss out this girl walking down the st. bc she didn’t respond 2 his catcall. I don’t get men
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Street harasser sent home from work

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I work as a dog walker in NYC, and one afternoon I was walking one of my dogs and waiting at the corner of an intersection for a light to change. As I stood there, a truck for a very well-known delivery company drove by. The driver of the truck turned to ogle me (as he drove) and then made a disgusting, lewd kissing face / noise at me. I was horrified.

Fortunately, though he’d driven too fast for me to catch his license plate number, I recorded the exact time and location that the incident took place. That night, I e-mailed the company and notified them of the incident.

The company responded within 2 – 3 hours (not during normal business hours, either… I got an e-mail at 11 p.m.!). The person who wrote me was incredibly apologetic and informed me that he personally would find out who the driver was and attend to the situation himself. He gave me his direct number and asked if I could give a physical description of the driver, which I did.

A day later he e-mailed me again to let me know that the driver had been removed from the day’s schedule and sent home, and would have to attend meetings with an HR representative and the Director of Operations. It was great to feel like I could actually take action against street harassment and have my concerns taken seriously.

– Anonymous

Location: New York City, New York

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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Cross-border trade impeded by harassment

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Image from IPS News

In a UNIFEM study of 700 informal traders in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and border posts to South Africa, women report that harassment and sexual exploitation by border officials seeking bribes constitute their biggest obstacles.

And it’s not just a few women who are impacted.  In Zimbabwe, for example, about 70 percent of women are involved in cross-border trade as part of their livelihood.

Via IPS News:

“The UNIFEM study describes the effects of the traders’ operating environment on their health. A reliance on public transportation, poor maintenance, high costs and incidences of theft and sexual harassment mean that women traders face serious threats.

The difficulty of obtaining loans and start-up capital for small businesses forces many women traders to borrow money from “loan sharks” to pay for transport and purchase goods.

Corrupt border officials who take advantage of traders’ sometimes limited level of understanding of the customs process may also confiscate some their goods illegally.

Many are forced to engage in transactional sex along trade corridors to obtain accommodation, transport or get through borders.

Upon returning home, female traders – who may be gone for weeks at a time – may be accused of prostitution and stigmatised.

[Ottilia Chikosha, from the Harare-based Regional Export Promotion Women’s Trust,] said the major challenge is how to help women informal traders to enter the formal economy.”

The good news is that earlier this month, UNIFEM held a workshop with the South African government to address the barriers facing women economically and how to make public spaces safer for them. I hope that good strategies and ideas came out of it.

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