Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Germany Speaks Out Against Gender Violence

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From our German friends ProChange, who commemorated the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence in their town square:

hier unsere Aktion zum 25. November 2012, unserem internationalen Gedenktag gegen Gewalt an Frauen und Mädchen:
Aktiv war unser Bündnis Dortmunder Frauen, dem wir angehören, zu dem vielfältige Vereine, Initiativen und Organisationen aus Dortmund gehören, die sich gegen jede Form von Gewalt an Frauen und Mädchen engagieren. Wir haben gemeinsam mit dem Frauenbüro der Stadtverwaltung Dortmund und der Presse am Rathaus vier Fahnen gehisst: “frei leben – ohne Gewalt”.
Die Fahnenaktion wurde erstmals initiert von der Menschenrechtsorganisation TERRE DES FEMMES am 25. November 2001. Seither wurde die Aktion von zahlreichen Frauenbeauftragten, Verbänden und Ministerien aufgegriffen und weltweit weitergetragen.
ProChange für Freiheit und Sicherheit, immer und überall.

Lieber Gruß

Gabi Hensler

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Now Available: HoodRules thebook

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HoodRules BookAre you looking for a practical book about how to deal with crimes on the street, including street harassment? Then consider purchasing Aqueelah Grant’s new book HoodRules.

From Amazon.com:

“HoodRules thebook, emphasizes that every place is a neighborhood or a “Hood” and crime can happen anywhere so preparation is key. Sometimes shocking and often funny, HoodRules thebook is a quick read, that is designed not to scare you, but to empower you! Crime will always be a problem, but you can decrease your chances of becoming a victim with sufficient awareness. Ms. Grant was not cowed by her experiences-she examined her habits, took self defense classes and came out fighting. She shares her journey with the hopes of helping others to avoid victimization and perhaps create their own set of “Hood Rules”

When I asked Ms. Grant what inspired her to write the book, she said:

“I constantly read articles about crime that hit home:  An assault, a gun point robbery, a car- jacking, a murder, a missing person, a snatched phone. I then read the comments on the articles and they often read: “Oh that’s terrible”, “The world isn’t safe anymore”. When reading these comments as someone who has been victimized, I realize that comments like these aren’t enough and they certainly don’t mean much after the fact.

So two years ago I started writing HoodRules thebook. I wanted to speak to people like a parent, a best friend, and older sister by combining laughter and seriousness. I wanted to give people options on different Street Safety techniques that most people never think of or may have simply forgotten. Also letting people know it is their job to design a personal safety plan because there will be times when the cavalry might not ever come. I’ve had those times where I hoped for a cavalry that never showed up and realized that was because I was meant to be my own Calvary. In the same breathe I also wanted to let the people who have been victims of crime know they are not alone and that some of our most scariest and embarrassing moments are our greatest life lessons.

One quote I created to help myself cope was “If we all had the same story to SHARE there would be no story to TELL”. Which means no one’s journey will be the same because some will be pretty rough. However, when you can tell a story to lift someone else up that’s the moment you realize your journey was worth it.”

Her book is available in print and for digital devices.

Learn more about the topic and the book here: Book Website | Tech Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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Egypt: Year One, HarassMap Report

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I grew up in Cairo learning how to strategize my life to avoid sexual harassment. I would make sure to run my errands during a football match when men and boys in the neighborhood are busy watching, not before or after. I knew which routes to take to school, and that I can only go to cafes to meet my friends, but never to public parks.

I always took sexual harassment as a fact of life that I need to deal with. It never struck me as a plaguing problem until, as a 25-year old professional, I realized that I spend a significant portion of my income on a “precaution budget” against sexual harassment. For example, I had to go out at expensive restaurants but not the more affordable “men-only” cafes or free public parks, and I had to resort to private taxi rides over public buses. I even turned down jobs because they had no accessible parking, which will take me back to the dreadful public bus. And even with all these precautions, I was still harassed in the few minutes that I have to walk every day between my parked car and any building.

I felt very lonely in this shameful experience. But when I talked to one friend after another, I found that it happened to every other woman I know, and that it was not my fault. So I decided that the first step in building up resistance against this shameful behavior, is to create awareness, and tell other women that it is not their fault, and they should not let sexual harassment go unpunished.

Through common friends, I met Rebecca, Engy, and Amel, and we established Harassmap: an open online mapping tool to end the social tolerance of sexual harassment. We help victims, like us, speak out and access support services, and contribute to changing the environment in our streets to no longer tolerate harassers. Our initiative has three prongs: online crowdsourcing of harassment reports, offline street campaigns in target locations, and referral to psychological/legal support services.

Our first year of work was a learning experience for us first and foremost. The reports we received on our portal (540 in the first year) showed that there is no typical harasser or victim. The demographic features of the former ranged across teenagers, university professors, medical doctors –and children in 83 cases; whereas the victims were young and old, women and men, veiled, face-veiled and not.

This insight was a strong foundation for our offline campaigns. It was important to feel confident as we debunked the justifications of harassers to violate women’s safety as such. “Look how she’s dressed”, “It’s her fault for going out so late”, “men are sexually frustrated” are all too common excuses. Conversely, knee-jerk condemnation or patronizing media discourse were evidently ineffective, we had to speak grassroots language and immerse within the grassroots. Now, more than 500 HarassMap volunteers go out once per month to ask shop owners, police, doormen and others with a presence in the street to send the message: harassment will not be tolerated!

In 2012-2013 we are working on strengthening our efforts on the ground. Public order enforcement by community figures (mainly doormen) is very evident in Egypt and it is important to win it on our side. Therefore we aim to strengthen community outreach teams to become more independent as they interact with respective communities. On the other hand, we hope to expand our intervention beyond street harassment, to include workplace, school and university. Finally, we are encouraging the Egyptian police to work together and use our reporting system to target enforcement areas.

Sawsan Gad is a GIS Analyst and the co-founder of HarassMap.

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HappyRat’s HarassMap

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Editor’s Note: HappRat recently started posting her street harassment experiences on a map to show all of the places and times she’s harassed. This is why she decided to do so —


View HappyRat HarassMap 2012 in a larger map

I decided to make the HappyRat HarassMap because, quite plainly, people are visual animals. For some reason just reading the the constant flood of individual stories about street harassment still leaves people the ability to dismiss each one as just another isolated, extreme incident. that isn’t in their world. Many people are just desensitized to the stories, or think it happens elsewhere (as in, “This is modern America, it can’t happen here,”), or believe isn’t a real problem (read: “You’re just being too sensitive,”), or suspect it’s really the fault of the person who gets harassed (aka, “What were you wearing?”).

There are a lot of directions we can take to address the issue of street harassment, but I wanted to show the geographical patterns in the areas where I personally have the most problems so people can see that it is indeed a real problem. In one sense the dismissers are right –  while this does happen in all parts of America (and the world) the frequency does have to do with the area you’re in, and that can tie into a lot of cultural factors that can and should be addressed to make the streets there safer for every person.

If the neighborhoods that have the most problems can see a visual map of what is happening in their community, on their streets and on their block where their little girls are growing up, maybe they can work together to do something about it. Maybe businesses there will realize that there is a reason women aren’t shopping at their stores and be motivated to get involved. Who knows what the knowledge could do for the community. I’d like to find out.

I also want to point out these are only the experiences of one person. Just me. I am one of thousands of women who live in my area. If this map seems like a lot of incidents, multiply it by a thousand and you’ll have a closer idea of what’s going on every day.

I feel like I really should have said that the reason I chose to make this map is because I’m sick and tired of letting harassers off the hook to enjoy their day, and I like collecting data, and I like maps, and I really want every harassment to leave a stain on the place it happened instead of being invisible, and that’s why I try to mark the spot with chalk whenever possible. But that doesn’t really sounds as thoughtful. So I’ll just stick with, “Because people are visual animals.”

-HappyRat

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Street Harassment Fashion Tumblr: Interview with the Creator

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Have you heard about the new Tumblr Street Harassment Fashion that documents clothing people wear when they are harassed to challenge notions of victim-blaming? It’s compelling and growing fast. Creator Ellis Gainsboro agreed to answer a few questions so that Stop Street Harassment readers can learn more about the project.

Stop Street Harassment (SSH):  Hi Ellis, thanks for agreeing to the interview. What is a three sentence biography  for you?

Ellis Gainsboro (EG): I was raised in American suburbia by conservative, working-class, religiously-and-socially-conservative, divorced parents. My life since, has involved a small number of not-so-extreme screw-ups (mostly bad boyfriends and drinking), then afterwards, MUCH reading, educating myself in general, and exploring the world of visual and audio arts. I currently divide my free time amongst painting, recording, spending time with my Significant Other, cooking vegan food, and learning about feminism and social justice issues.

SSH: Was there a particular experience or event that inspired your Tumblr project?

EG: Not really. I have consistently experienced street harassment from the tender age of about 12, but I’ve never had any constructive way to deal with it. Speaking back against it and calling your harasser out on their rudeness is not always the safest action to take, ignoring it feels like you’re letting them win, and basically those are the only two options! It makes me (and many other people, I’m sure) feel so powerless! In addition, when I try to share those experiences with some people, I am often told that I “must have been asking for it,” which is JUST NOT TRUE. NO ONE is asking for it! I don’t care what you’re wearing! I created Street Harassment Fashion so that I could document what happened, what was said, and what I was wearing, as a way to back up my belief that I am not the problem in this situation. The victims of street harassment are extremely varied, and I wanted to have a space on the internet to exhibit that. It’s not our fault and we don’t cause it. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of those who harass others.

SSH: When you started it, what was your goal/purpose? Has that changed at all based on the response to it?

EG: I wanted to have a place to document the every-day sorts of harassment I get when I am out and about. I wanted to have a link I could share when someone said to me, “Well, you must have been asking for it.” I wanted to document my (and others’) outfits to PROVE that it is NOT what we are wearing that incites this harassment. Already, there is a variety of outfits and looks, different styles, and different fits. Stories with conservative outfits, form-fitting outfits, scarves, bulky jackets, leggings, long hair, short hair, updos, shaved heads. It’s already becoming very clear that the way victims of street harassment dress and style themselves has nothing to do with the reasons that they are harassed.

I don’t think my purpose for this blog has changed since I have started it–I still want to use it as a reference against ignorance and for awareness, but I think that since I have amassed so many followers, with additional new followers every day…It is bittersweet! I am SO grateful for the support and solidarity, but at the same time, it deeply saddens me that so many people can relate.

SSH: What kind of response has the Tumblr had and how do you feel about that?

EG: So far the response has been very supportive, and a bit overwhelming! I didn’t know I would get so many followers so quickly (1,000+ in the first week!) I wasn’t really looking/hoping to find a following of any sort really, but just knowing that other people can relate in some way? That means so, so much to me! But again, it is a double-edged sword, because if people can relate to this blog, it means that they have had some experience with street harassment in their lives (either personally, or second-hand at least). This is a much bigger problem than I can tolerate on my own, and something needs to be done about it.

SSH: Is there one particular story/photo that stands out to you and why?

EG: Since Street Harassment Fashion is young, all of the posts so far carry equal weight in my mind. The posts about my own experiences are important because they happened to ME: I was there, it was a direct part of my personal life, and I will never forget how I was made to feel emotionally as a result of those interactions. The posts submitted by others are just as important though, as they demonstrate very clearly that the street harassment I receive is not isolated to my own experience. It solidifies the fact that this happens to so many people, under so many different circumstances, and that it is not the fault of the victims. I am so grateful that others have been brave enough to submit their stories and pictures. I think it is so important to have a variety of posts from a variety of people about street harassment.

SSH: Is there anything else you want to add?

EG: Yes! I want to reiterate again that the victims of street harassment are NOT TO BLAME. If any of your readers have been the victims of street harassment, and would like to share their stories with me and my followers, or if they just need an ear to talk to and someone to empathize with them, they can send me an email at streetharassmentfasion@gmail.com.

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