Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Men think that my body is public property

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I go to school in Seattle, Washington, US. I have always lived in Washington. For me, street harassment started when I was in high school.

I started riding public transportation when I was 17, because I was in a program at my high school where I could take college classes and receive credit for both high school and college. I couldn’t get a car so I had to ride the bus. Over my time in high school, I was followed off the bus by grown men and harassed by a bus driver and several passengers.

I am 21 now, I go to school in Seattle, and the harassment has only gotten worse. I have been followed down the street by a man screaming at me and calling me a bitch because I wouldn’t stop to talk to him. I’ve been groped, grabbed by the arm, cornered on the bus, catcalled, honked at and yelled at from cars, you name it. Men have tried to get up close and invade my personal space when I refuse to talk to them.

The time I was groped, I was waiting at my bus stop in the International District. A man came up to me and started introducing himself and trying to have a conversation with me. I can’t remember what I said to him, but I made my answers short and tried to brush him off. When I went to put my headphones on, he tried to reach down the front of my shirt. At first I was so shocked that I couldn’t think of what to do, but then I managed to yell “Don’t touch me!” Other people waiting at the stop looked my way, the guy got embarrassed and left.

I have gotten increasingly wary of strangers because of this and the fact that I am catcalled two or three times a week.

So what I have been doing now is holding my head high, walking with a strong, purposeful gait, and trying to appear intimidating (which is hard to do when you’re 5′ 2″). I thought maybe that would make me less of a target. I yell back and I give people the middle finger. So far it hasn’t changed anything.

Everyone spends all this time telling us we should watch what we wear, where we go, what time we go out, etc. I just want to live my life and not worry if the guy that groped me would have stopped if no one had been around to see. Or if something worse will happen.

I am so sick of taking their shit. I’m sick of these men that think they are entitled to treat me however they want. Men that think my body is public property. I just want to walk down the street in peace.

– Lisa

Location: Seattle, WA

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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Crank up the Ipod

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Harassment started for me at a really young age. Around nine, perhaps. All of the harassers were in their twenties, thirties, forties, or fifties. It was a scary thing to have to be faced with every day as a kid.

My street is residential and I used to go pretty far out of my way to avoid a house where street harassers lived, and hung out in front of, in order to get to the nearest commercial street where businesses are. I had to get to this street multiple times a day for the bus, grocery store, bank, drug store, etc. Now I have an ipod and just crank it up as loud as I can and wince as I go by.

– anonymous

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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Update on Egyptian anti-harassment law

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In early January, a draft anti-sexual harassment law was introduced to parliament in Egypt. This week, a bill was presented to parliament’s legislative affairs committee and another bill was approved by the Justice Ministry so it can be presented to the committee in days.

Nihad Abu Al-Qumsan, head of the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR), applauds this update and said, “It shows the state is responding and changing … They are now understanding the significance of the issue.”

Efforts by the ECWR has shown that sexual harassment in public places is a big problem in Egypt. Bravo to them for all their work!

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Public helps crack the case

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Several months ago, a woman reported being inappropriately touched by a man while riding a bus in Ottawa. This week he was arrested, thanks to a police appeal to the public, which included a photo of the suspect. The suspect has been charged with one count of sexual assault and will appear in court in March. Kudos to her for reporting him, to the police for taking her complaint seriously, and to the members of the public who helped catch him.

By the way, he is 53, the woman is 29. It makes me feel extra icky each time I read about older men groping and grinding on women young enough to be their daughters.

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Tweet #ineveraskforit

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Image from Blank Noise

Blank Noise is in the midst of a new component of their “I Never Ask for It” campaign.

Background: To counter the insane amount of victim-blaming that goes on in India (and most other countries, including the USA) when women are sexually assaulted and harassed (or eve teased), they are collecting clothing to show the range of clothing women are wearing when they are harassed. People who engage in victim-blaming tend to say women were wearing Western or revealing clothes.

Image from Blank Noise

Latest campaign info: Anyone with a twitter account can help with their campaign by tweeting what they wore when they experienced any kind of sexual harassment, along with #ineveraskforit. They also offer a range of background images you can use for your twitter account. The campaign starts today and continues until Feb. 27.

If you are in India, here is information about how to be involved:

METHOD 1
1. collect clothes from friends and family
2. bring them to the venue
venues will be updated on the blank noise blog:
http://blog.blanknoise.org/2010/02/clothes-collection-drive-date-location.html

METHOD 2
1. organize a clothes collection drive in your college, city, office, neighbourhood
2. give us venue details and we will send you material required for an event.
3. inform us a week in advance
Method 2 is most challenging and Action Heroes will be given a certificate for participation.

METHOD 3
take a photo of the garment you wore when you experienced harassment. make that your facebook profile photo + status should read : I never ask for it.
Please upload the photo in the event’s album too and spread the word- I never ask for it.

Next clothes collection drives are on Feb 20, Bangalore, and Feb. 27, Delhi.

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