Tara Ashford, Canberra, Australia, SSH Blog Correspondent

On 15 December 2014, Man Haron Monis held eighteen people hostage in the middle of the Sydney. During the siege he forced several of the hostages to hold up a black flag with the shahādah on it in white lettering. Knowing and seeing that Muslims, especially women who wear the hijab or other religious garb, would likely experience an increase in street harassment, Tessa Kum created the hashtag #IllRideWithYou to express solidarity and offer what assistance she could to people feeling vulnerable. It trended globally on Twitter and all my friends were talking about it.

When the hashtag took off, opinions varied as to just what effect the hashtag was having. I know many of the first articles I saw referring to it had glowing praise for this ‘lesson in how to respond to terrorism’. That link showcases tweets from a number of Muslim people expressing the reassurance they took from seeing the hashtag, and indeed here’s another from lawyer Mariam Veiszadeh that describes some of her own experience of being visibly Muslim during this tragedy. On this measure, #IllRideWithYou is surely a success – its originator set out to offer some modicum of comfort, and that is what at least some people received.

However, there has also been no shortage of criticism as attention to this hashtag grew. These have come from two opposing directions. First up, there have been a few conservative politicians and commentators who contend that street harassment of Muslim women is not something that happens, or at least not with any frequency, and as such #IllRideWithYou is unnecessary and offensive. But, this point is not debateable. We know that street harassment is a major problem. We know that Muslim women, in particular, are subject to street harassment. And we know that Australia is no magical safe haven from racist and sexist abuse.

More worthy of our attention is criticism from members of the Muslim community. They seek to remind us that there are huge, insidious, systemic issues at play here, and we haven’t even come close to addressing the prejudices and hate that lead to street harassment. Some people lumped these criticisms in with the first group as ‘haters’ who ‘aren’t helping’. But that’s a mistake. In amongst the pride and satisfaction of feeling like we have made a contribution, we need to be reminded that a hashtag is not enough. We need to join in with the conversation that demands more. I disagree with those who would call #IllRideWithYou hollow, but there is truth in the sentiment that this is not a solution. I think that’s okay though. Few people using the hashtag set out to solve street harassment and discrimination, and so long as we remember that there is still a big problem that needs solving, we can also take joy in having made a positive contribution to our community.

It is clear to me that #IllRideWithYou has had a positive impact on many people – making them feeling safer when the tide of misogyny and islamophobia would have them forced out of public spaces with a million micro- and not so micro-aggressions. But the other step we need to take when we look back on this phenomenon, a truly vital step, is to consider the costs. There has been suggestion that some, in their ill-thought-out attempts to help, may approach people in public and put inappropriate pressure on them to ride together. In such an ungoverned and impromptu movement this seems inevitable to me, and creating a different kind of street harassment is certainly a cost. Likewise, in the link above, Tessa Kum has spoken about the overwhelming demands for interviews and massive amounts of aggressive harassment that people have directed at her after her coining of the hashtag. This personal cost has not changed her mind about the necessity of expressing compassion and solidarity in the way that she did, but it too is an important consideration for us when looking at the ongoing effects of #IllRideWithYou. Doubtless that strain will be with her longer than a fleeting hashtag.

This was not a huge organised campaign against street harassment and bigotry. In the scheme of things, a hashtag is just a small gesture. But small can still be valuable. If we have learnt one thing from street harassment, it’s that one interaction can flavour an entire day. It is my belief that #IllRideWithYou won’t continue as a massive movement for change, it won’t be a singular triumph in the history of Australian race relations or gender equality. But for at least a few days, people around Australia had days that tasted of solidarity and support. In France, where the recent attack on the Charlie Hebdo headquarters left journalists and cartoonists dead and communities growing more divided, #VoyageAvecMoi appeared briefly, although to much less fanfare and uptake. Strangers supporting each other is not new. If we take the time to shoulder part of the burden, we can make sure that the respect and compassion of strangers continues to be a roadblock to public hatred and street harassment.

Tara works with AWAVA (the Australian Women Against Violence Alliance) indulging her love of social media. You can find her on Twitter as @angelbird72 or @Tash_Because or being silly as one half of the ‘slice-of-life’ podcast Heaps Funny But.

Simona-Maria Chirciu, Bucharest, Romania, SSH Blog Correspondent

Bucharest, the Capital of Romania feels like the capital city of street harassment too! Everyday women are harassed by strangers on the streets, on the busses and underground, in parks. No public space is safe for girls and women! This problem is completely invisible, ignored and trivialized in our society but street harassment constrains women’s choices to go where they please without fearing unwanted sexual attention or sexual assault.

I really love activism and I wanted to organize a march or a protest against street harassment in Bucharest. Volunteers of FILIA, an amazing feminist NGO, wanted to help, too. First we had to go through a legal procedure and gain authorization at the Bucharest City Hall.  The procedure is not very complicated, but unpleasant because it takes time. One of FILIA’s volunteer and I went to get this approval. We were so nervous and anxious..

There was a large room, all men (important men – the Head of the Police, Head of Romanian Intelligence Service, Head of Gendarmerie (Jandarmerie) – a military branch of police forces) and other important men. They seemed nice at the beginning, but then they started with “harassment jokes” and stereotypes about sexual violence against women. They all assumed that women like to be harassed because they dress provocatively and act in a promiscuous manner, even because they simply go outside! The cherry on top was when one of them made an “innocent” joke about inviting us for a juice. My volunteer, who is a feminist too, and I glanced at each other with sheer horror and disgust. After a couple of days we received our march authorization for the Center of Bucharest. We were so happy!

Next, some of my volunteers and I worked on banners and slogans for the march and we did a good job. We used slogans like “STOP street harassment!” “Harassment is violence!” “My body is not a public space,” “We don’t need your validation,” “I don’t feel flattered to be harassed!” “I don’t walk on the street for your amusement” and “It is NEVER ok to harass people! So stop doing it” We really wanted to make our voice clear and loud!

The solidarity march against street harassment took place on 19^th October 2014, across two hours and gathered approximately 100 people: women and men including persons of many sexual orientation, and 1-2 pets J.

I organized the march through FILIA with their wonderful volunteers and we were supported by feminist and women’s rights NGOs like the Association for Liberty and Gender Equality (Asociatia pentru Libertate si Egalitate de Gen), FRONT Association, AnA Society for Feminist Analyses (Societatea de Analize Feministe AnA, Centre Partnership for Equality (Centrul Parteneriat pentru Egalitate),  E-Romnja Association.

The march was peaceful, quite nice and without incidents. People on the streets interacted with us, greeted us, and asked questions about our march: “Hey, do you think a march will solve the problem? Boys need to be educated or legally punished for doing this.” Yes! Maybe a march doesn’t solve the street harassment issue, but it can raise awareness and is empowering for the march participants.

Unfortunately, after the march, on her way home, in the Center of Bucharest, one of the participants was sexually harassed on the street by a stranger. He addressed her with obscene words, violently pulled her hair and punched her in the face when she wanted to get a picture of him with the mobile phone. None of the bystanders did anything! After the incident, she went to the Police station to make a complaint.

There, a Police officer – a woman – said to her that she wasn’t even dressed in a provocative way. Wow! Such a horrible way to interact with a woman who was just harassed and hit in the face by a violent man and comes to you for seeking justice! Sadly, this is an example of how stereotypes about sexual violence and victim-blaming attitudes are very internalized and hard to eradicate.

Shortly after the incident, the women’s rights NGOs who are part of the informal network “Breaking the Silence about Sexual Violence” (FILIA, ALEG, FRONT, AnA, E-Romnja, CPE, Transcena Association, Sensiblu Foundation, East European Institute for Reproductive Health) wrote an open letter to authorities and especially to the Bucharest Police, demanding a proper investigation of this case, to identify the aggressor and press charges on him. In the open letter, we also asked for a warning campaign for people living in Bucharest, to be alerted about this violent harasser and to get informed about street harassment against women as well.

This incident showed all of us that street harassment can escalates into violent aggression, so street harassment is a major and urgent problem all around the world! The streets are public spaces and we all need to feel free to use them, without fear, without compromises and without back-up plan in case we get sexually harassed!  October 19 was an ordinary day, a day when girls and women were harassed on streets but also a day when feminism and activism confronted street harassment! And that was just the beginning of it. We plan to hold another event during International Anti-Street Harassment Week in April.

Simona is the Vice President of a feminist NGO – FILIA Center and a PhD student in Political Sciences, working on a thesis on street harassment in Bucharest. You can follow her on Facebook.

Dylan Jane Manderlink, Arkansas, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

As a recent transplant to the rural south from Boston, MA, I have experienced a great deal of shock that comes from the geographical and cultural differences between a northern city and a rural town in the south. I have also faced differences in human experiences that have propelled me into conversations that I never thought I’d have.

One of the biggest changes I noticed in my new life is how I now felt while walking through a public space. Walking along my town’s quaint Main Street, I am greeted with warm southern hospitality and have not been subjected to catcalls, leery eyes, and unwanted attention. Now, that’s not to say that catcalling doesn’t exist in southern areas, but at least in my personal experience so far, I have not yet been exposed to it. My existence in a public space feels different now and because of that, I feel motivated to speak out about the street harassment that plagues urban environments and spread awareness of it in my new community.

As a 20-something first-year teacher, my students feel very comfortable seeking advice from me, sharing their concerns, venting about their stressors, and updating me on their lives. I have been grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to build meaningful relationships with my high school students. The connections I’ve been able to make with my students have helped us develop a common ground, despite our geographical and cultural differences. Through establishing this common ground, an important dialogue has been opened between me and my students concerning a variety of hard-hitting and sensitive issues.

Recently, one of my female students expressed frustration and discomfort with the way male students look at her and talk about her outfits and body. She asked me if I had ever experienced uninvited and uncomfortable situations like that. I told her that because of street harassment I had, especially while living in Boston.

Despite living in very different regions of the United States, the conversations I have had about street harassment with my students have helped develop a vital and ongoing dialogue about female empowerment and the unfortunate objectification of female bodies in the public and media. Most of my students were unaware of street harassment until I opened up to them about my personal experiences, the experiences of my friends, and the reality of it in our society today. Through these productive conversations and teachable moments, I have realized how important opening up a channel of dialogue amongst young people in a rural area about street harassment, gender-based violence, and the treatment of self-identified women in society can be.

Our geographical differences should not equate to an unawareness of social injustice. I believe it is our duty as civilians and social activists to generate meaningful conversations that spark change, awareness, and genuine concern for the well-being of others across our nation’s zip codes and beyond our country’s borders. Of course it’s important to note that there are many regional differences in our nation that bring about challenges, injustices, and ailments that are unique to that environment, but I think we are doing a disservice to our nation and world’s social injustices by not equalizing awareness and attention to these issues. The injustices that plague one community, affect us all.

The more we are unafraid to approach these tough but significant conversations, the more we can   rally around solutions to issues that are debasing populations and the basic humanity of people. These cross-cultural and cross-geographical conversations have the potential to defy the physical barriers that separate us and create more unity than we may have thought.

As a teacher, I have the privilege of initiating and partaking in important conversations like these everyday with my students. But I understand that some careers don’t allow this to happen as frequently or accessibly as mine. With that said, my charge to you is to fearlessly approach these conversations with people who you share commonalities with but also differ greatly from. Often, it’s through our differing human experiences that we can construct a diverse, deep, and productive conversation that has the potential to lead to solutions to some of our society’s most complex and murky problems. Despite my students not having been exposed to street harassment before, they have gained a new perspective on a societal injustice that impacts us all.

Dylan is a recent graduate of Emerson College and currently teaches 8th, 10th, and 11th grade Digital Communications and Audio/Visual Technology in an Arkansas high school. You can visit her personal blog and follow her on Twitter @DylanManderlink.