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#16Days of Activism: Hosting Youth Workshops (Day 13)

December 7, 2015 By HKearl

Nov. 25 – Dec. 10 are the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. To commemorate the week, we are featuring 1 activism idea per day. This information is excerpted from my new book Stop Global Street Harassment: Growing Activism Around the World (Praeger 2015).

Street harassment begins at a young age for many people. More adults are recognizing this and the importance of creating spaces, like workshops, for youth to talk about their experiences and brainstorm strategies of resistance. Youth workshops have taken place in countries like the United States, Cameroon, and Germany.

In March 2012 in the United States, female youth organizers at the Brooklyn, New York-based nonprofit Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) hosted “Bring Your Brother Day” to talk about street harassment. The young women of GGE “felt strongly about the importance of bringing the young men in their lives into their work to counteract sexual harassment and gender-based violence,” wrote community organizer Neferiti Martin and intern Katie Bowers for the SSH blog. “The workshop grew out of youth organizers’ concerns that the conversation around street harassment and gender-based violence is taking place primarily among women. By reaching out to the young men in their lives, youth organizers are working to build allies.”

The three-hour workshop explored gender stereotypes and how they impacted the lives of young people and included street harassment story sharing and a discussion about how young men can be allies to young women. “The young men were thoughtful, open, and engaged throughout the workshop,” wrote Martin and Bowers. “Their comments and opinions added new depth to the conversation and reflected the positive influence of the awesome young women in their lives.”

Wearing orange shirts that said “Stop Street Harassment,” 25 youth aged 15–19 attended a street harassment seminar in Buea, Cameroon, in December 2013 that was organized by Zoneziwoh M. Wondieh, the leader of Young Women for a Change, Cameroon (WFAC). In small groups, the youth shared their stories of harassment, ranging from whistling to grabbing and touching. “African baby,” “Fine ass,” “My size,” and “Pretty butts” were examples of verbal harassment the girls said they had faced. One boy shared how he had been sexually harassed by a man and how it made him understand better what his female peers experienced on a regular basis.

For six hours the youth listened to guest speakers, learned steps for dealing with harassers, and engaged in role-play and debates with the goal of being ready to mentor others and speak out against harassment in their community. As an outcome of the youth seminar, WFAC launched an SMS text campaign to send educational text messages about street harassment to anyone who wants to receive them on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Wondieh posts tips and information over social media, too. She estimates that she has reached 1,000 youth through her various efforts, and she’s having an impact. For example, a young man recently told her that thanks to the information she shares, he has “reconsidered what he thinks is proper behavior toward women.”

In Germany, the women in the group ProChange recognize that the best place to start educating people about street harassment, sexual violence, and sexism is in schools, so in 2014, they created violence prevention and assertiveness workshop trainings for students ages 9–12 years old. So far, they have held one workshop and are working to secure more funding to be able to lead more. “We want to achieve a shift in their mindset so that the youth can be self-confident and free from role models and stereotypes,” they told me. “In our view it is important to start at an early age because they are already surrounded by stereotypes and influenced by sexist advertisements and media … [We want them] to be empowered to choose their own ways.”

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#16Days of Activism: Raising Awareness on Campuses (Day 12)

December 6, 2015 By HKearl

A growing number of colleges and universities from Egypt to the United States have been addressing street harassment, often during Sexual Assault Awareness Month or in conjunction with International Women’s Day or International Anti-Street Harassment Week. They host workshops and street demonstrations, write sidewalk chalk messages, distribute materials, screen documentaries like the 1998 film War Zone, and create their own videos.

In 2012, members of Pennsylvania State University’s Triota, the women’s studies honor society, held an anti-street harassment demonstration on a busy Friday afternoon in October in downtown State College, Pennsylvania. They held signs proclaiming their anti-harassment message and even included specific remarks that had been yelled at them during their time at Penn State like “Hey girl, you want my big dick?” and “I’ve always wanted to cross a fat girl off my list.” They also held up anti-street harassment messages like “It’s not a compliment; it’s harassment.” Julie Mastrine, one of the organizers, wrote about it for the SSH blog:

Don’t be mistaken: these types of incidents aren’t rare in this town. Street harassment is a widespread problem in State College, where nearly every woman I know has experienced some form of it: catcalls, taunting, lewd remarks, leering, sexually objectifying remarks, you name it. And this type of harassment functions as part of a larger issue in this town: rape culture. We saw a lot of stares and furrowed brows from passersby. Only a few people approached us to express their support, but it doesn’t matter—getting this issue in the eyes and ears of the State College community is important if we want to combat harmful behavior and attitudes toward women.

In Egypt, college student Holly Dagres created the Fight Harassment 101 (FH101) workshop in 2012 to educate female students about harassment and the use of self-defense. For 10 weeks at the American University of Cairo, 15 students took part in FH101 for two hours a week. Dagres wrote for the SSH blog about how the workshop entailed sharing information and stories about street harassment and then practicing self-defense for 90 minutes. She wrote: “It gave them a sense of empowerment to defend themselves in the worst-case scenarios. At first they were shy about sharing their experiences, but once they found it was a common occurrence and learned that it was not their fault, they felt the need to fight against it

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#16Days of Activism: Making Businesses Safer (Day 11)

December 5, 2015 By HKearl

In the United States, a few advocacy groups have worked with businesses to make safer spaces for customers and community members. In 2011 in Arizona, the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault, for instance, launched Safe Streets AZ to address street harassment, particularly harassment targeted at LGBTQ youth. One component of the campaign is Safe Sites. Staff at restaurants, bookstores, and coffee shops take a 30-minute Safe Sites training, which then allows the establishment to be listed as a place where youth can seek safety if they are facing street harassment or feel unsafe. Nearly 30 businesses have gone through the training, and it is endorsed by the Pima County Small Business Commission, the Southern Arizona Chamber of Commerce Alliance, and the Pima County Public Libraries. Each site is listed on a Google map on the Safe Streets AZ website.

Inspired by the Good Night Out campaign in London, the members of Baltimore’s Hollaback! Bmore launched a Safer Spaces Campaign in 2013. They work directly with a business to ensure its current employee guide and/or security policies are comprehensive and sensitive to experiences of gender-based violence. Then Hollaback! Bmore provides a free training workshop on street harassment basics and crisis response that includes role-playing real-life situations. Once a majority of employees have gone through the training, they sign a pledge, hang an informational poster (provided) in plain view, and receive the Hollaback! Employer’s Guide to Ending Street Harassment. Hollaback! Bmore then supports and advertises these spaces on its website. So far, eight venues are completely trained, two are being scheduled, and 14 more have expressed interest.

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#16Days of Activism: Working with Nightlife Venues (Day 10)

December 4, 2015 By HKearl

Groping, grinding, and verbal harassment are common problems at nightlife venues across the world. Groups in both England and the United States have programs to address and combat this unfortunate reality.

Nightlife harassment stories make up a significant portion of the stories submitted to the Hollaback! London website. Co-Directors Bryony Beynon and Julia Gray wanted to do something about it and lucked out when in 2013, one of London’s biggest and most famous clubs, fabric, contacted them acknowledging that it had a harassment problem. Beynon and Gray worked with the club to create the first anti-harassment policy of its kind in the United Kingdom. “The results were amazing,” Beynon told me. Kristi Weir, the press officer at fabric, agreed, saying, “We’ve received some really positive messages from women thanking us for taking this stance and having their backs since we started publicising the campaign.”

After their success at fabric, Beynon and Gray created the Good Night Out Campaign and launched it as a London pilot on International Women’s Day in March 2014. Only a few months later, it spread across the United Kingdom and Ireland, and within a few more months, 95 licensed premises had signed on to the campaign. The women told me the establishments range from “superclubs to tiny pubs, university union bars, from theatres to pizza joints” and that more are signing up every week.

The women customize the program to meet each establishment’s needs and only move forward once everyone there is committed and will sign the pledge, which in part reads: “We want you to have a Good Night Out. If something or someone makes you feel uncomfortable, you can speak to any member of staff, and they will work with you to make sure it doesn’t have to ruin your night.” The premise must post this pledge very visibly around the venue. This is “so that customers really see them and are aware that they’re in an environment that doesn’t tolerate harassment.”

The staff members of each premise receive an hour-long training session about harassment and handling reports that includes what to say to avoid using victim-blaming language. They also can get other training tools like a hints and tips sheet for the back bar areas. The Good Night Out Campaign is expanding quickly. Through a new partnership with their local council in Southwark, the campaign will soon deliver the training to every venue in the area. Through another new partnership with the national alcohol awareness nonprofit organization Drinkaware, the campaign will “provide training and advice on a pilot project aimed at reducing harassment on nights out by placing hosts in licensed premises to provide help and support.”

Similar programs are underway in the United States in Washington, D.C., Arizona, Iowa City, and Boston. Washington, D.C.’s program Safe Bars is a collaboration between grassroots groups Defend Yourself and Collective Action for Safe Spaces. In Arizona, the program is run by a sexual violence prevention arm of the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services. The Rape Victims Advocacy Program and Women’s Resource and Action Center at the University of Iowa is working with bar staff at venues in downtown Iowa City. The Boston program is run through the Boston Rape Crisis Center in collaboration with law enforcement and the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

The reach of each program has been much smaller than the Good Night Out Campaign, but feedback from venues that have used the training has been very positive, and staff members feel better able to address harassment in their establishments.

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#16Days of Activism: Transit Campaigns (Day 9)

December 3, 2015 By HKearl

Harassment on public transportation is a universal problem, and individuals and groups have organized awareness-raising campaigns by distributing literature, performing skits, and sponsoring anti-harassment ads in countries like Colombia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In Bogota, Colombia, the Latin American Women and Habitat Network created a no-groping campaign on the bus system in 2011. They hung posters at every bus stop and station and gave bus drivers shirts with slogans against harassment. They also role-played sexual harassment scenarios on the bus. Women dressed as men performed scenes about groping and then asked passengers what they thought about the behaviour. ‘We generally get positive responses,” wrote group member Marisol Dalmazo in a post for Love Matters. “More and more, people think sexual harassment should be condemned, that this kind of behaviour mustn’t be tolerated.’”

Whistle for Help is a popular campaign that launched in Myanmar in 2012. Initially, 150 people came together each Tuesday morning for nine months to distribute whistles and pamphlets to women at eight busy bus stops in Yangon. The pamphlets informed women to blow the whistle when they experienced sexual harassment on the bus and advised them to help other women who blow the whistle. The whistle campaign was so popular that riders regularly asked for extra whistles to pass out to their friends and family, and the campaign expanded to other regions, including Burma.

In Lucknow, India, a survey found that 97 percent of women were harassed while riding in auto-rickshaws, and most drivers stayed silent when it happened. Through a Safe Safar campaign launched in 2010 by Zeeshan Mohammad, a man in his 20s who worked on gender and youth issues, the auto-rickshaw drivers received sensitivity training and learned how they can play a proactive role in helping women feel safer. This not only included how to speak out when harassment happened, but they also received instructions to not play offensive music and to remove photos of scantily clad women from their vehicles. In its first four years, the program reached 2,000 auto-rickshaw drivers and has received recognition for its success.

The flash mob approach has been used in a few countries. In Delhi, India, members of the Please Mend the Gap campaign took off their jackets to reveal bright-yellow shirts with anti-harassment messages and create a bright chain against harassment. Upset by a man who pressed his erection against her and ejaculated onto her while she rode the London Tube into work, Ellie Cosgrave returned to the subway line on International Women’s Day 2013, held up a sign explaining what had happened, and then danced. “I danced my protest, and it felt right … I was responding with my body in the exact place that my body was abused, and while I couldn’t sing or shout very loudly, I could dance loudly,” Cosgrave wrote in an article for the Guardian. Her protest was met with kindness and support from other passengers.

Volunteers with Chicago’s CTA: Courage campaign and Washington, D.C.’s SSH, Collective Action for Spaces (CASS), and Voices of Men role-played harassment scenarios on subway cars and showed how witnesses can intervene to help stop the harassment. In both cities the groups distributed anti-harassment literature and received support and encouragement.

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