Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

USA: Interview with “Streets To Call Our Own” Filmmaker

By

Katie Monroe, Philadelphia, PA, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

Kara at her film premiere

I had the honor of sitting down with Kara Lieff, a Temple University senior getting ready to graduate with a degree in Film & Media Arts and a minor in Women’s Studies. Over the course of her undergraduate career, she’s become a documentarian of street harassment and anti-street-harassment efforts in Philadelphia. Her fifteen-minute documentary on the topic, “Streets To Call Our Own,” premiered last week at Temple University.

What inspired you to make films about street harassment?

My first interest in the topic of street harassment came from my older sister. She has done workshops on street harassment. She was a women’s studies/gender studies major…a super feminist. So I got a lot of that kind of stuff from her; she definitely influenced me. When I moved to Philly for school, it was different from [living in the suburbs.] That kind of opened my eyes.

I did my first project on street harassment during my sophomore year. We had to do an “action project” – something that propelled viewers to action. I wanted to propel viewers to talk about street harassment, or if they engaged in that behavior or see it, to do something about it. So I made this short PSA: Asking For It. Then I did another one junior year for another short class project: “Make A Woman Smile.”

And from there you decided to do your Senior Project about street harassment. It’s such an under-discussed topic – did that affect your choice?

Yeah. There’s not a lot of media about it. Compared to other things…and I feel like a lot of times, the media that’s out there is within “the circle.” So that’s one of my biggest challenges – I have this project, now how can I show it to people who don’t know about the topic, who I actually want to reach? Of course it’s great to have people within the community watch it and appreciate it, but that might not make as big of an impact.

How did you get started?

Last April I filmed the sidewalk-chalking and subway discussions for Anti-Street-Harassment week, which was how I got in touch with Nuala Cabral [she was the organizer]. And I think that’s where I met Rochelle Keyhan and Anna Kegler [from Hollaback! Philly].

“Meet Us on the Sidewalk” | “Meet Us on the Subway, Part I” | “Meet Us on the Subway, Part II”

Then there were a couple of things happening last November. Hollaback! Philly hosted a talk at Wooden Shoe Books, and then the next morning was the City Council Hearing. So I went to the City Council hearing and I filmed that. [Side note – the hearing was where I met Kara!] The following weekend, I did sit-down interviews with [Hollaback! Philly leaders] Rochelle and Anna. And then it just kind of snowballed from there. I wanted them to keep me in the loop about what they were doing, and they’ve been so helpful…they’re so busy themselves, but they’ve taken the time to sit down with me, to answer all my crazy questions, email back and forth a billion times.

And this point I’m geeking out – because I look up to them, you know what I mean? And now I know them as people, not just as “Hollaback Philly.” I feel weird talking about myself, promoting myself…so I never would have imagined that I would be one to know all these people in the community. And now I do!

That’s great! I feel the same way about the bike community in Philadelphia – so welcoming, incorporating me into the fabric of what’s going on…it’s amazing. So what happened next?

At the City Council hearing I met Jordan Gwendolyn Davis, and I knew that I wanted to interview her, because she has a unique perspective on street harassment.

What changed over the course of the project?

Well, my original proposal was just to talk about the Anti-Street-Harassment movement in Philly. And then I realized that I really needed to have people share their stories. I can’t just talk about what people are doing to fight this problem without explaining what the problem is.

Especially if you want it to be accessible to a broader audience.

Yeah. So at some point I made that shift. And I decided I wanted to interview people about their experiences with street harassment – just regular people [not necessarily involved in the movement]. So I interviewed three people – and we went to the location where they were harassed to film. Everyone had such unique perspectives – I didn’t have time to fit it all into my 15 minute project.

My first subject was harassed at Temple. Basically she was taking off her sweater, because it was hot out, and this man driving by yelled out, “Ooh yeah baby, take it all off.” And it really affected her – first of all, it ruined her day. I mean it happened in September, and she still remembers that incident. She reported it to Temple Police and that got nowhere, which is very disappointing…

And the next person talked about how every morning, she walks one block to the train, and she called it “a gauntlet of street harassment.” And someone actually said something to her while we were filming! And she brought in the aspect of how she used to go [a different block], but that’s out of the way, and why should she have to change her route? She should be able to go wherever she wants.

And then a third woman I interviewed was harassed in Fishtown. And she talked about how a bunch of workers harassed her, and so she called the number on their truck and reported it to their supervisor. And she doesn’t know if anything actually happened, but at least the person she talked to was really supportive, which was kind of a nice story. A lot of times don’t want to report it, because they think they’ll be laughed at – and that could totally happen, but at least in her case that didn’t happen, which was really validating.

And then I included Jordan and Sarah’s story from the testimony. And then Erin from Hollaback animated some of the stories – so there’s animation in the film.

Have you gotten any negative feedback as you’ve been filming?

Well, most of the people who’ve seen it are my classmates at this point. One of the criticisms is that my classmates wanted me to include the other side of the story – like, a man who didn’t think it was a big deal and why he thought that. But for various reasons, I ended up not having that viewpoint in this film. I think it’s really nice to have these people [folks who have been harassed] just tell their side of the story and not necessarily have a rebuttal in there. In a longer piece, that might work better…

When will this get screened?

It premier[ed] on April 30th at Temple University, with all of the senior projects.

And then on May 6th, it’ll be part of Diamond Screen, a film festival at Temple. It’s been nominated for Best Nonfiction Film. [For more info on that screening, see the Diamond Screen Film Festival website. Good luck, Kara!]

Will it be available online?

No – it disqualifies me from entering it into other film festivals if I post it online, and also some people who donated to the Kickstarter get the DVD, so I didn’t want to take away from that.

What was the Kickstarter experience like?

We were paired with producers for our projects, and my producer pushed me to do it. And honestly, I really just wanted to pay the people who were helping me: my Editor, my Director of Photography, and Erin who was doing the animations, and then music and sound. So that was most of the budget!

It was a nerve-wracking process…but towards the end, everyone donated – I got alerts on my email, so I’d be checking…but it’s a great feeling when someone you don’t even know donates to your project! And we did make our goal.

So the film will be shown at these screenings, and then is your long-term goal to do a bigger project?

Yes! I have so much more material, and there’s so much more material I could get. My obstacle after graduating will be the equipment – because right now I can rent equipment from Temple – but I won’t have access to it once I graduate. So my first step is saving up to get at least a camera.

Long term, I definitely want to make a longer film. Realistically, features take years…so I’m not going to stress too much about it right now, but I definitely want to at some point. And I really want to plan events over the summer using Streets To Call Our Own – programs, talkbacks, stuff like that. Cause I don’t want to just make it and have it sit there – not do anything with it.

Any closing thoughts?

Well, the structure of the film is that first I want to define what street harassment is. And then move into people’s personal experiences with it, and then end with what people are doing here in Philly to fight back against it. I guess ultimately I just hope that it helps people understand – on some level – this issue. For the people who don’t know about it at all, hopefully I can teach them something. And with the personal stories – I want to humanize the issue. To say, “Look, these are real people in your city who are experiencing this! This is a real thing that happens all the time!”

In talking to Kara, I was struck by two things – one, how inspiring it is that Kara has incorporated this issue so fully into her undergraduate work and is using her filmmaking skills to make a real difference in our community. Two, how lucky Philadelphia’s Anti-Street-Harassment movement is to have a documentarian in its midst – I’m so excited to see what’s next for both this movement and Kara’s career!

Learn more about Streets to Call Our Own by checking out its website, Facebook, and Twitter (@STCOOfilm).

Katie Monroe founded the Women Bike PHL campaign at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and she works at the Philly nonprofit Gearing Up, which gives some of Philadelphia’s most marginalized women – those in transition from incarceration, addiction, and/or abuse – the opportunity to ride bicycles for exercise, transportation, and personal growth. Follow her on Twitter, @cmon_roe.

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USA: A Public Showing of Solidarity

By

Brittany Oliver, Baltimore, MD, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

Hollaback! Bmore Event

Last Friday, Hollaback! Baltimore celebrated their third year of fighting street harassment by collaborating with Luminous Intervention to reach more people in Baltimore. They gathered to share stories and raise awareness at the corner of The Windup Space in Station North; it was a time to let harassers know about our strong presence.

Yesterday, I interviewed a 27-year-old female supporter of Hollaback! Baltimore who was at the event to get her thoughts on street harassment and what it means to her. Note: For this interview, she preferred to remain anonymous until.

Me: What does “street harassment” mean to you?

Supporter: I assume it means any non-wanted sexual advances or attention from strangers on the street.

Me:  Have you ever been street harassed or do you know someone who has?

Supporter: I’ve experienced street harassment quite a few times and I also have friends that have as well. It’s happened to me on campus and most of the time it happens in the city.

Me: What happened and how did it make you feel?

Supporter: One time I was walking to my car at night in Fells Point from a yoga class and two guys in a truck pulled over to ask if I needed a ride home. I rejected their offer, but the more I rejected it the more they continued to follow me down the street. After being silent and not saying anything, the driver called me a “bitch” and sped off down the street.

I’ve experienced street harassment so much in Baltimore that I’ve become numb to it. At first it used to get to me, but I’ve completely trained myself to not react because some men are just stupid and there’s not much I can do anyway.

Me: Did you report it or tell someone about it?

Supporter: No, I didn’t want to report it at all.

Me: Why not?

Supporter: I’m really shy and I didn’t see how reporting it would have made a difference at the time. I was alone and outnumbered; I thought the most important thing to do was to get away from them. Even if I had reported it, I don’t think anything would have been done about it.

Me: Were you familiar with Hollaback! Baltimore before or after that incident? Do you find it helpful?

Supporter: Before this incident, I was not familiar. Ending street harassment is not going to happen over night. I think the organization is doing a great job, but I think the key is education. The more people who know about street harassment the better. And by being involved with the movement, I’ve learned to not be silent about my experiences. I’ve also been able to let other people know that is serious and not to be taken lightly.

Me: Before learning about street harassment, did you have any assumptions about it?

Supporter: Before I used to think street harassment was a compliment, but I know differently now. I used to think the way a person dressed was to blame for being harassed on the streets. I have a lot of friends who think it’s flirting and should be expected when walking down the street. I never blamed myself for being street harassed, but I used to think that was just the way of the world.

Me: What change do you wish to see?

Supporter: I want the streets of Baltimore to be safer for women. I want to be able to walk down any street and not feel like it’s a dangerous space. I want more men to become aware of their behavior and develop ways to be more approachable. No one should ever have to be harassed when they are on the street, because it’s supposed to be a public space for everyone.

Me: Any words of advice for someone who experience street harassment?

Supporter: Don’t be afraid to share your story. Kissing noises, sexual comments or sexual touching is not a compliment. Try documenting your experiences by taking photos and recordings. I would also recommend taking experiences. I’ve also been able to let other people know that is serious and not to be taken lightly.

Me: What change do you wish to see?

Supporter: I want the streets of Baltimore to be safer for women. I want to be able to walk down any street and not feel like it’s a dangerous space. I want more men to become aware of their behavior and develop ways to be more approachable. No one should ever have to be harassed when they are on the street, because it’s supposed to be a public space for everyone.

Me: Any words of advice for someone who experience street harassment?

Supporter: Don’t be afraid to share your story. Kissing noises, sexual comments or sexual touching is not a compliment. Try documenting your experiences by taking photos and recordings. I would also recommend taking self-defense classes to learn how to physically protect yourself.

Brittany Oliver is a recent graduate of Towson University and works in the non-profit communications sector and supports local anti-street harassment advocacy through Hollaback! Baltimore. She blogs at brittuniverse.wordpress.com and publicly rants on Twitter, @btiara3.

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Chile Combats Harassment

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By Kendra Corbin, SSH Intern

Prior to becoming involved with Stop Street Harassment, I was under the impression that harassment on and off the streets was an isolated issue that took place in the United States. I now have a global perspective as it relates to street harassment. This disheartening issue impacts the lives of women and girls around the globe. Recently, I had the privilege to reach out to a new group dedicated to fighting street harassment in Chile. The Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero Chile (OCACC) was gracious enough to consent to answering a few of Stop Street Harassment’s questions in order to spread the word to our global readers.

SSH: Can you briefly describe OCACC?

OCACC: OCAC Chile is the first non-profit organization in the country aimed at stopping street harassment. Our main objective is to raise awareness and understanding about this issue, so that it can be clearly understood as a form of gender-based violence. We intend to achieve this through cultural and educational activities.

SSH: What does your organization hope to accomplish?

OCACC: Our long-term goal is to create legislation to end street harassment. However, we first need to help society understand what constitutes street harassment, and that this is a form of gender-based violence. We want to promote social reform not only through new legislation, but at a cultural level.

SSH: What kind of feedback has OCACC encountered from society?

OCACC: Since we started back in November, we have received a tremendous amount of support and encouragement, particularly once we were featured on several media outlets. So much so, that our current activities run solely through the support and goodwill of our adherents. At the moment we don’t have any kind of financial backing, so the contribution from our supporters cannot be understated; they keep us motivated to push harder than before.

It all started with the idea of providing a space through which to bring consciousness about street harassment, to help people understand that this is a social problem that needs to be reformed. Initially we did photo shoots and posted anonymous stories from women willing to tell us about the harassment they suffered. As we garnered support, psychologists, lawyers, artists, illustrators, musicians and others willing to help us joined our cause, which has allowed us to expand the scope and reach of our activities.

SSH: In what ways do you feel society allows continued violence against women, including street harassment?

OCACC: Just as in most of South America, there is much to be desired in the way that Chile has managed gender equality policies. As a country we have a very limited view as to what constitutes gender-based violence: femicide, rape, and domestic violence are the commonly accepted interpretations. Chilean society as a whole has been unable to take accountability for many of the forms of gender-based violence that exist to this day, since this severely restricted perspective has allowed many other facets of this type of violence to remain unchallenged. Our country promotes a sexist culture, from our media (TV, radios, newspapers and publicities) down to our education system, which is why it’s hardly surprising that so many different aspects of gender inequality and violence remain unquestioned to this day. About a month ago we were invited to talk about street harassment on several media outlets, and even though it allowed us to introduce this topic to the public eye – to promote the idea that women were in fact not fond of being harassed out on the streets – it was disheartening to engage with many interviewers, most of whom showed a complete lack of understanding and maturity when discussing this topic.

This type of violence keeps recurring because we are not yet capable of recognizing the many facets of gender-based violence. In Chile, street calling – as well as making out-of-place comments – is seen as cultural heritage, and we must challenge this perspective to bring to light the fact that women do not want to suffer and be subject to this type of treatment. That we as a society can change.

SSH: Can you offer any advice to men about how to approach women in a healthy, safe manner?

OCACC: It’s important to note that street harassment is not a way to approach a woman (such as when cat-calling or making clearly lewd comments). There is no desire in the harasser to establish any type of relationship with a woman; a man that does this is doing so with a specific intent to exert violence through a socially accepted ritual. Men who want to approach women with an honest intention have nothing to worry about – flirting and harassing are not the same. We sincerely believe that men and women are capable of creating beautiful and healthy relationships with each other if they both have respect and consent from each other.

Kendra Corbin is senior at Shenandoah University. She is majoring in Mass Communications and minoring in Women’s Studies.

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USA: Hollaback! Baltimore Launches The Safer Space Campaign

By

Brittany Oliver, Baltimore, MD, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

As activists across the nation work to end street harassment in their cities, there is one organization that is doing some serious work in making our streets safer: Hollaback! Baltimore. As a non-profit, Hollaback! Baltimore is currently on a mission to building a network of supportive non-threatening environments in Baltimore City.

This month Hollaback! Baltimore are encouraging local businesses in Baltimore City to sign the Safer Space Campaign Pledge, which declares their commitment to ending street harassment against women and LGBTQUIA people. This pledge would require staff to take complaints seriously, deal with the harasser, and offer support resources as needed.

By signing the pledge, each venue is given a packet of resources to assist them with keeping their space safer for guests. The packet includes a background on the issue, simple things to do and not do, the official Hollaback! Employer’s Guide to Ending Street Harassment, and a poster to hang publicly so guests will know what won’t be tolerated.

Poster Design: Kristen Argenio at Ideal Design Co

According to Hollaback! Baltimore, this campaign began in March 2013 when Hollaback! London formed a partnership with Fabric, a local club that was fed up with hearing that women were being harassed in their venue. The complaints they received motivated the club to make a difference, so they partnered with Hollaback! London to develop a campaign that would work directly with venues to ensure their current employees and security policies are effective. After hearing about their success with the campaign, Hollback! Baltimore felt Baltimore City needed a similar campaign. This is what they created:

THE PLEDGE:

By signing this pledge, we the undersigned do hereby agree to:

* Post the “Safer Space” poster provided by Hollaback! Baltimore in a prominent place for all employees/staff/volunteers and attendees/customers to see
* Take complaints of harassment, discrimination, and violence against customers or staff seriously
* Remove any offending parties from our space
* Ensure our staff, particularly those responsible for security, are aware of our policies
* Use the resources given to us by Hollaback! Baltimore to better understand the issues at hand as well as the best methods for dealing with them
* Inform victims of their right to share their story publicly and anonymously on Hollaback! (via the website or free phone app) by handing out informational postcards

I believe this campaign will not only help to make streets safer, but it will hold venue owners accountable for what goes on during business hours. You shouldn’t have to be an activist to want to make a difference. Whether you’re a teacher, police officer, business owner, janitor, or student, all members of the community should be willing to make our streets safer for everyone.

Ending street harassment has to be a team effort if we want to get the message across that harassment is NOT OKAY. Through this campaign, local businesses can now become effective agents of change by making their establishments harassment free for everyone.

To learn more Hollaback! Baltimore and the Safer Space Campaign, visit http://bmore.ihollaback.org/

Brittany Oliver is a recent graduate of Towson University and works in the non-profit communications sector and supports local anti-street harassment advocacy through Hollaback! Baltimore. She blogs at brittuniverse.wordpress.com and publicly rants on Twitter, @btiara3.

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India: Blank Noise is making a difference

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By Pallavi Kamat, Mumbai, India, SSH Correspondent

All of us at some point in time have faced street harassment in one form or the other. But most of us choose to remain silent and bear it. At times, we may discuss it amongst our group of friends and curse the eve-teasing that we are subject to.

But not Jasmeen Patheja. She initiated a community/public art project called Blank Noise in August 2003 in Bangalore which seeks to confront street harassment.

Blank Noise asks women to be active ‘Action Heroes’ and reclaim the streets which they seek to make safe. At the same time, it also asks men to get involved in their events and activities. Jasmeen believes that making cities safer for women is not a woman’s responsibility alone.

The project is run almost entirely by volunteers who are keen to make a difference. It works on the premise that while individually we may face harassment, collectively, as a group, we can stand up to it; we can share our experiences and resolve it.

Some of Blank Noise’s campaigns include ‘I Never Ask For It’ [the typical response when a woman is assaulted on the street is that she probably asked for it – by staying out late, by dressing in a particular way, by taking an unsafe street, etc.], ‘Safe City Pledge’ and ‘Talk To Me’.

One of their experiments involved women standing on the zebra crossing at a traffic signal in a bid to assert themselves and reclaim the streets from lecherous glances and other unpleasant experiences. Each of the volunteers had a letter pasted on the front of their clothes – collecting the letters read ‘Y R U LOOKING AT ME?’ Some passers-by even questioned the volunteers about the same.

Another experiment (‘Talk To Me’) involved putting up a couple of tables in Bangalore’s infamous Rapist Lane where volunteers invited complete strangers to stop and talk with them. At the end of the conversation, the volunteer offered a rose to the stranger.

The ‘Safe City Pledge’ initiative, which was launched following the gruesome rape in Delhi in December-2012 focuses on building safe cities and identifying an individual’s role in making his or her city safe.

Blank Noise can be contacted at http://blog.blanknoise.org/ or on Twitter at @BLANK_NOISE.

Pallavi is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a Commerce Graduate from the University of Mumbai, India, with around 12 years of experience working in the corporate sector. Follow her on Twitter, @pallavisms.

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