Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

300 Organizations Sign Letter to D. Trump

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Women in the United States are alarmed by a Trump administration agenda that has already done grave harm to families across the country and undermined essentials rights and protections. That’s why today, Stop Street Harassment joined more than 300 organizations across the nation that advocate for women’s rights, equality, justice and inclusion in sending a letter to the president urging him to build a more fair, just and equal nation.

The letter outlines six domestic policy areas that are critical to women and all families, and upon which the community will evaluate the Trump administration’s success.

Going forward, we hope this list of priorities will be a resource for the administration and members of Congress as they make policy decisions, as well as the media, advocates and anyone who cares about how women fare during the president’s tenure. As we note in the letter, when the country’s 157 million women have an equal opportunity to succeed, our entire society and economy benefit.

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“I just hope my sisters and friends haven’t or won’t ever experience the same”

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When I turned 16 I was very excited to go out and get a job of my own. I went to the downtown area of my city, going from place to place asking for job applications. I was waiting for the light in the crosswalk to change, and a car pulls up at the red light next to me. The guys in the car rolled down their windows and shouted at me, “Hey baby, how’s it hanging!” and they continued to whistle and jeer at me until their light changed. I ignored them, but I knew from how hot my face felt that it was turning a beet red. In a little city that is typically so liberal and very accepting, I didn’t expect it. It baffles me that guys maybe 4 or 5 years, or maybe even more, would shout like that at a teenage girl. Or any woman for that matter. I think back on it now and again and I wonder what possessed them to do that. I just hope my sisters and friends haven’t or won’t ever experience the same, whether it’s to a lesser degree like my own experience, or if it’s something greater.

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

Support each other. Call out the person if you see harassment.

– Gwen H.

Location: Main Street, Royal Oak, MI

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.

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February Global News Round-Up

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Here are the global news stories that caught my attention this month:

Witness Project in Guyana

Women in Argentina held a topless protest over men’s censorship of their bodies in public spaces.

Calls for bystanders to stop sexual assault in festival crowds in Australia.

TBILISI-Safari Union launched an anti-harassment campaign in Georgia, including legislation and education suggestions.

Members of the Witness Project in Guyana put up posters that say “It’s Not a Compliment. It’s Street Harassment.”

The punk band Sløtface in Norway is tackles street harassment and rape culture in their video Bright Lights.

In Pakistan, sisters Zara and Zoya Khan stood up to street harassers, garnering national attention.

A senator in the Philippines introduced the national-level Senate Bill 1326 to address street harassment.

A national study conducted by UNFPA in Sri Lanka found that 90% of women and girls have faced sexual harassment on public transit.

Women in Trinidad ask men to leave them alone during Carnival.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Manchester (UK) during the annual Reclaim the Night march.

A Sacramento (USA) artist did an audio art project on street harassment called “This is What It Feels Like.”

The Muslim self-empowerment group WISE + two Muslim girls created a self-defense toolkit.

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“It didn’t stop until I left the country”

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The street harassment went on practically everyday when I was 12-14. Every time I walked to and from school I was leered at, and often men three times my age winked or remarked at me. I was never touched, thank god (though I have been before, just not on the street). I remember walking by a man and I had an over-sized jacket on, looking like a mess, yet he still felt the need to go, “Oh my god…”. I never replied. I was taught not to, though I often scratched my face with my rude finger. It didn’t stop until I left the country.

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

TEACH PEOPLE THAT IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO STREET HARASS. If you’re a victim, there is nothing you can do. It’s too threatening. The only people who can make things somewhere safer are the ones doing the endangering in the first place.

– Anonymous

Location: Lebanon

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.

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Philippines: It’s Not Fun to Get Catcalled in the Philippines

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Ken Rodrigo, Makati City, Philippines, SSH Blog Correspondent

Women, girls and members of the LGBT+ in the Philippines continue to face the terrifying experience of being catcalled on the streets and other public spaces. This can make the experience, for both the locals and tourists, not fun! Fortunately, in the recent years, there is a growing recognition of the issue of gender-based harassment most apparent in catcalling. This can be attributed to a number of factors such as the rise of the LGBT+ movement and the availability of awareness promotion instruments such as the social media.

Platforms such as Facebook, blogs and interactive online news provide venue for discussion and exchange. In the Philippines, an ally of the Stop Street Harassment movement is a public Facebook page called ‘Catcalled in the Philippines’ founded in June 2016. In an interview I conducted with creator Raymond Peter Campiglio, he said he felt the need to provide a platform for people who suffer catcalling and other forms of abuse in public spaces. For him, there is a “lack of empathy and understanding regarding acts of personal violation.” It is also his intention to show that catcalling is not an isolated incident or happens because of the victim’s fault, but a social issue that is prevalent and must therefore be addressed.

Catcalled in the Philippines currently has nearly 16,000 likes and counting. It is a community where members are free to share their stories and learn from each other’s experiences. Apart from catcalling, issues such as sexual violence, the rape culture, and the various manifestations of misogyny in Philippine media and politics are also discussed.

Facebook: a double-edged sword

According to Raymond, the overall response to Catcalled in the Philippines is supportive, but he also stressed the challenges to his cause. He said: “I was surprised with the divided stance of a lot of people. Most of the supporters are female yet there are some female detractors as well. It showed me that internalized misogyny is more prevalent than I imagined. The overall response is support but a lot of the pushback are from people who feel that mobilization against it is a form of cultural disobedience.”

He also labelled Facebook as a double-edged sword, that while it is one of the widest and quickest ways to spread positive ideas, it does the same for negative ideas. For someone who simply wants to help address catcalling, he was shocked with his experience of being reported, causing the page to be paralyzed. He claims “the reporting system can be weaponized as a form of censorship and silencing.”

A message of hope

Asked to give a message to the public, Raymond said: “I want them to know that there will always be someone who is willing to help. Cliché as it sounds, they should never give up hope that the streets will be safer but patience will be needed. Apart from that, courage. Courage to stand up against it, even the courage to ask for help.”

Raymond explains that what he does is dedicated to his mother who as a single-parent raised him with values such as respect, passion and conviction to defend what he believes in, no matter the outcome.

Something bigger

Earlier this month, Raymond was invited by the Office of Senator Risa Hontiveros to participate in the press conference of the senator’s Safe Spaces Bill. The bill which aims to eliminate catcalling on a national scale is currently deliberated in the Senate. Additionally, a Catcalled in the Philippines website is a work in progress according to Raymond.

Ken is a teacher of international studies at a university in Manila. After law school, she traveled to Denmark and eventually studied in Malmö University in Sweden where she earned her master’s in Human Rights. You can contact her at krnrdrg@gmail.com or on Facebook.

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