Antaraashtriya Sarvajanik Sthal Yaun Utpiran Virodhi Saptah
“قابلونا في السارع: الأسبوع العالمي لمناهضة التحرش الجنسي
١٨-٢٤ مارس ٢٠١٢”
Encuéntranos en las calles: Semana en contra del acoso en las calles: Del 18 al 20 de Marzo del 2012
Retrouvez-nous dans la Rue: La Semaine Contre le Harcèlement dans la Rue, | le 18-24 mars 2012
Wir sehen uns auf der Strasse: Anti-Street-Harassment Woche / 18. – 24. März 2012
آئیےہمارے ساتھ معاشرے کے ہراساں کرنے والے عوامل کے خلاف ایک ہفتہ منائیں
Spotkajcie nas na ulicy: Tydzień świadomości nękania na ulicach, 18-24 Marca 2012
هفته‌ی مبارزه با آزار‌های خیابانی – ۱۳۹۰
תפגשו אותנו ברחוב: שבוע נגד הטרדה ברחוב ,מרס 18-24 2012
Повстречай нас на улице: неделя против приставаний в общественных местах / 18-24 марта 2012
Kom og møt oss på gata! 18. – 24. i mars, 2012

It’s here! It’s the first day of International Anti-Street Harassment Week and I hope you’re ready to share stories, speak out, and take action to bring attention to this human rights issue.

Here are a few of the events occurring during Day 1. If you’re in the area, the link has the location and other details, so feel free to join in!

* In Arizona, the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault will display youth-created art opposing street harassment and sexual violence in multiple library locations across the week.

* In Baltimore, MD, sidewalk chalking the city at 2 p.m.

* In Washington, DC, attending a screening and discussion of “Walking Home” at 11 a.m. and attending an art exhibit from 3-9 p.m.

* In Philadelphia, PA, attending a free self-defense class at 5 p.m.

There are several new online initiatives, too. For example:

* In the UK, there’s a new an online campaign focused on the slogan, “Flirting. Harassment. Real men Know The Difference.”

* In Malaysia, the Pixel Project launched a new section of their website about street harassment.

* In India, Breakthrough launches a bystander hero poster campaign.

* In the UK, Black Feminists published their first of 7 posts about street harassment

There will be more posts later in the day about other initiatives.

As the first day of the week begins, I want to quickly reflect on how the week came to be and thank those who made it possible:

After a great day of awareness on March 20, 2011, surveys and focus groups conducting in April led to the creation of International Anti-Street Harassment Week because people wanted more flexibility for when to hold their events.

As I have a full time job that is not focused on street harassment, this week of awareness would not be possible without a lot of help. Please see the list of names at the end of the about page for some of my main helpers. Numerous other friends offered advice on issues such as where to pitch the story, groups to reach out to, and ideas for activism. I am so grateful.

A global change requires a global effort, and that’s what’s happening. You’re part of it.

Yesterday I spoke to a high school class of juniors in Virginia, near where I live. I feel pretty safe and un-harassed most of the time and I was devastated to hear the stories of the girls in the class.

“When I was in sixth grade, I had to walk a long way home from the bus stop. A few times, men followed me. I ran to a store so they wouldn’t know where I lived,” one girls shared. As soon as she shared her story, the room flooded with tales from other girls: the sexual remarks shouted at them from cars; the man who made “humping” motions against a girl on a public bus; the “creepy men” following them in stores; the men masturbating in front of them at public swimming pools; the man who told a girl who fell off her bike to “get in the car.”

For many of the girls, this was the first time talking about these experiences. For all, it was the first time doing so in front of male classmates. The girls spoke about it in a matter-of-fact way, as part of their life. The boys were stunned by what they heard; several commented on how much their awareness was raised.

Sharing stories to raise awareness is what the upcoming International Anti-Street Harassment Week is all about. Street harassment can only begin to be curbed after more people are aware, first, that it happens; second, that it happens a lot; third, that it happens to most women and girls and many men in the LGBQT community; and fourth, that when it happens, it has a negative impact on the harassed people’s lives.

Both the male and female students in the class created artwork at the end, to be displayed at an art exhibit I’m co-curating with the Deaf Abused Women’s Network at MOCA DC on March 18, 3-9 p.m. in Washington, DC.

Read my Ms. Magazine blog post to learn more about what’s going on worldwide and how you can get involved. Help break the silence. Share your story. Listen to a story. Participate.

“A man threw a glass bottle toward my student’s head last week, after she ignored his cat calls near Lehigh and Broad [in Philadelphia, PA]. As a result, her father has discouraged her from attending our after-school program, because she has to walk to and from the train alone.”

Nuala Cabral, one of the co-organizers of International Anti-Street Harassment Week (March 18-24), posted this on Facebook recently. This upsetting story illustrates the negative outcome gender-based street harassment has on the people who experience it and why it must end!!

It is a mere four days until the beginning of International Anti-Street Harassment Week and there is still plenty of time for YOU to get involved. Speak out and be heard on this human rights issue. Join the more than 100 groups from 18 countries and the thousands of individuals world-wide who plan to speak out online and in person and bring attention to the fact that street harassment happens, it negatively impacts our lives, and it needs to end.

GET INVOLVED:

* Visit the map to find information about planned action for March 18-24, 2012. If you’re an organizer, PLEASE  add your planned action to our map so others can find it.

* Join the Facebook page for updates.

If you don’t see anything planned in your area (and more events are being added every day, so do check back), have no fear. There are many ways for you to be involved as one person or with a few friends.

3 Ideas for Personal Level Participation:

1. Talk about street harassment with friends/family/coworkers/classmates/neighbors. Share your stories with them. Make visible what’s been invisible.

2. Raise awareness online.

* Change your Facebook profile picture to be the Anti-Street Harassment Week logo (see example on the right, or visit the tools page to access logos in 13 languages)

* Write and post a street harassment story on a blog, Tumblr, twitter, or Facebook.

* Tweet about street harassment using #EndSHWeek. Join the #SheParty chat on March 21 at 3 p.m. EDT to tweet about street harassment. It’s organized by the Women’s Media Center.

* Take a photo of the clothes you were wearing when you were harassed and send it to www.gotstared.at

* Write an article, op-ed, or blog post about street harassment. [Idea Guide + special offer from the Op-Ed Project]

3. Put up posters, hand out fliers, or use sidewalk chalk to spread anti-street harassment messages. Here are ideas for messages for signs and a fact sheet with statistics.  Here are fliers you can print and pass out. 1 | 2 Find posters near the bottom of the  Tools page. Last year, many groups of just 2-3 people did this successfully. No matter the size of your group, you can make a difference.