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India: Men on the Street — Take a Walk!

March 22, 2014 By Correspondent

By Pallavi Kamat, Mumbai, India, SSH Correspondent

While people talk about and highlight street harassment, primarily amongst women, does anybody wonder about the reasons it happens?

One of the main reasons, according to me, is that women are considered the weaker sex. Men feel that they need to control women in order to show that they are powerful. And one of the ways they can do this is by harassing innocent and gullible women who are simply walking down the street. In fact, experts believe that warped social beliefs and psychological problems are responsible for men indulging in such harassment.

Unfortunately, instead of helping stop it, society tends to worsen the situation. When a woman is harassed, society tells her that she must definitely be at fault. Maybe she was wearing the wrong clothes or had stepped out at a wrong time. Or maybe she had ventured into an area where she should not have. This only encourages the men further.

In cities like Mumbai, it is often alleged (and rightly so) that the police do not take the street harassment complaints of women seriously enough to file an FIR. And passers-by try not to interfere fearing they will get unnecessarily caught in the legal rigmarole. In fact, in October-2011, two youngsters were stabbed to death for trying to stop some goons from harassing their girlfriends.

So, what can be done about this? Nothing? Are women destined to face street harassment and continue pretending as if nothing happened? Sadly, such questions lead to more questions. But, I am an eternal optimist. According to me, women need to come out and speak more against such instances. These need to be highlighted and not shoved under the carpet. Perpetrators of such acts should be named and shamed by citizens groups. This is the thinking behind the ‘Chappal Maarungi’ campaign [literally meaning to hit with a sandal/shoe].

Some experts are also seeking a change in the way cities are modelled in their bid to fight street harassment. Changes such as bright lights and wider pavements are some of the suggestions being considered in Mumbai.

Such solutions need to come from within local people and societies – an external person/organisation cannot provide better answers. Also, buy-in for such solutions needs to be obtained; one needs to emphasize that it is not a woman’s personal problem when she is harassed on the street but a social problem – one that needs to be taken seriously and dealt with like any other crime.

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.

Nepal: Today’s Harasser, Tomorrow’s Rapist

March 18, 2014 By Correspondent

Kriti Khatri, Nepal, SSH Blog Correspondent

Some people who participate in disrespectful behaviors towards women in public spaces also commit severe crimes like rape, attempted rape and sexual violence. How a person develops physiological enhancement to commit sexually oriented crime can be answered based on his moral boosting from past behaviors towards women. What he learns from his upbringing and from the society where women are objectified for their dressing, body images and social presence influence him to develop his way of understanding woman’s role as a person. Once a guy can pester a woman in public and no one takes any action to stop it, he may get encouraged to develop his culprit activities into more severe crimes.

Globally we have seen various forms of sexual violence against woman. We try enforcing hard legislation against the perpetrators to ensure justice to survivors of sexual violence. However in the long run, what we need to consider is that if a person is discouraged from his harassing behavior in the first place, many violence incidents against women can be prevented. Anyone involving in activities like eve teasing, whistling etc, if discouraged to do so, he might not excel his activities. The growing environment and person’s upbringing has to do a lot to determine his social attitude. One who has seen women disrespected and treated as object will develop similar attitude towards the female gender. If a person is encouraged to respect women through social behaviors, then it will set moral code for every social component to treat women with respect and equality.

Today’s harasser might not turn to be a rapist always, but there is a chance. Our society have never taken street harassment as a serious crime. Even more, street harassment is not even listed as one among the various “forms” of violence against women.

The impact of street harassment might be considered nominal in comparison to brutal rape and other physical violence; however, harassing activities impart long term consequences to women. Moreover, street harassment activities are a big question mark to gender equality. How can it be a gender friendly society where women get easily victimized by any one in the street? She is abused verbally, physically and sexually as if she is an object. In such social trend, can true respect be ever experienced by women? Again, while we are trying to end violence cases against women in global scenario, can we avoid street harassment considering it as a common social pattern?

What I believe is that, without taking significant step with participatory social input to abolish harassing street behaviors towards women, respectful presence of women will never be possible in our society. A woman should be respected both inside and outside her house to ensure a gender friendly environment. True equality only comes when woman are treated with equal respect which is only possible when we ensure an environment of social justice.

Holding the same message, Atitwa foundation organized a wall painting themed on the slogan “Today’s Harasser, Tomorrow’s Rapist” in cooperation with National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders (NAWHRD) and 35 other NGOs working on gender issues. The program was organized as part of National Anti Rape campaign on the precious occasion of women’s day at March 8^th.The aim of the program was to raise awareness about how street harassment can be preliminary steps to all kinds of sexual violence against woman that occurs in public places.

With successful completion of the program, the campaign against street harassment has got more attention and support from the people. Such awareness campaigns is bound to make positive impact on our society which will help abolish street harassment.

Kriti Khatri is student of MSc chemistry. She is engaged in different social organization in Nepal and currently she is working on anti-street harassment issues with the Astitwa Foundation. Find more of her writing on her blog.

USA: A Public Showing of Solidarity

March 12, 2014 By Correspondent

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

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?

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.

USA: Silent Allies

March 6, 2014 By Correspondent

Joe Samalin, New York City, NY, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

(Content Notice for sexist language used in street harassment)

I have worked in their neighborhood for almost two years now and still don’t understand them. Their culture, dress, and mannerisms are so different from my own I’m uncomfortable around them. When I leave work to grab lunch they are often outside, too.

Young, white men in power suits, hair slicked back, smoking cigars. I don’t know if they are traders, bankers, or hedge fund managers, but the first time I noticed them it was like scene out of ‘Wall Street’ (which makes sense since I work around the corner from the New York Stock Exchange).

I first really noticed them about a year ago. A young woman left their side of the street and walked towards me as I crossed past her to go buy some peanut M&M’s. As she crossed the street their loud, sexually graphic comments about what they would like to do to her followed her as she walked on. The comments weren’t necessarily for the woman’s benefit – they were for each other and any other men around.

This is one truth of street harassment – it’s often done to “prove” our masculinity publicly – to ourselves and to other men (and women).

I don’t harass women in public or anywhere else. Most of the men that I know don’t either. As a straight, white, cisgender male I also have the privilege of not being harassed regularly in public. No brutality of a stop-and-frisk, no homophobic or transphobic bullying and violence. None of the pervasive and daily harassment of women and girls in public spaces touches me. In fact, I have never been harassed in public as far as I can remember. And I know writing that sentence is a slap in the face to the many women, folks of color, and LGBTQI friends and family I am blessed to have in my life.

However while I choose not to commit street harassment and am not harassed myself, I have been involved in street harassment a lot. Men harassing women in public seek me out in the moment to join in with them as they ogle, motion to, or catcall women. Or to defend them and have their back the (rare) times when they get called out by the women they target.

It’s (almost) unbelievable. Strangers (men) assume I will have their backs and support their violent (yes, violent) behavior towards women and girls in public. They expect me at least to turn a blind eye, and at best to stand right by their side.

Why?

Because most men ignore it. We excuse it, minimize it, and defend it. With a miniscule amount of effort we could acknowledge the reality of street harassment around us. From Wall Street to any street, street harassment is everywhere. And every one of us who chooses to ignore it or stays silent is complicit in it.

If I don’t speak up and out against street harassment my silence gives men who do it tacit approval to keep on keeping on. I give them my voice and allow them to speak for me.

I recently asked a few guy friends of mine if they knew any ‘hotspots’ of street harassment, areas where it happens not once, but was unrelenting.

Albery Abreu, a friend from the Bronx who has been addressing men’s violence against women since he was in high school told me about neighborhood parks. “Throughout the years I’ve witnessed an absurd amount of street harassment occurring when women/girls walk down the block where the basketball courts are. Boys stand behind the gate and whistle/holler/bark/shout/etc. at girls walking past. Some even leave the courts to run up to women to get their attention. I recall my sister telling me that she dreaded (and avoided as much as possible) walking on the same blocks as the baseball fields and basketball courts, even if there are only a few men and boys playing there.”

Dan Wald, a former board member of Students Active For Ending Rape is finishing up a degree in public health at an Ivy League school and told me “Our school has a break between the main campus and the medical campus, where there are some stores and people hang out. I remember last fall [a female friend] texting me that they wished I was with them” as they walked between campuses.

Gene A. Johnson, Jr. a professional mediator and facilitator of educational classes on masculinity blew my mind with this 4Square screen capture. Gene did not even need to leave his house to find street harassment.

These guys and others helped me better see how much energy we as men put into the lies of ‘it doesn’t happen (that often)’, ‘it doesn’t happen in this neighborhood’, ‘it’s not that serious’, etc.

Street harassment of women and girls happens everywhere men are present. Not because we all do it, but because we aren’t doing enough to challenge it.

Back to Wall Street. That day those men harassed the young woman, I turned around and hollered at them to cut it out. Their reaction? Straight confusion. They did not seem to understand the situation, couldn’t grasp the concept that I – one of them – was calling them out. They assumed I was an ally. And when we as men stay silent in the face of street harassment, that silence sends the message that we are allies of those who commit it.

Joe Samalin has been addressing gender-based violence for over 15 years, including as the Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator for Men Can Stop Rape. He is currently the Outreach and Training Manager for the Disaster Distress Helpline and is examining among other things gender-based violence in the aftermath of disasters. Follow him on Twitter, @joesamalin.

USA: Reflections on a Women Bike PHL Street Harassment Focus Group

March 1, 2014 By Correspondent

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

2.25.14 Philly Focus Group — Philly focus group. 2.25.14

This past week I had the opportunity to help orchestrate a focus group for the national study on street harassment currently being conducted by Stop Street Harassment. When Holly asked if I thought Philly bicyclists might make a good “group” for her study, I wasn’t completely sure if I could pull enough interested folks together on short notice. But I sent out a quick email to a small group of women bicyclists I know through Women Bike PHL (the women’s bicycling program I run at the BCGP) – and got an overwhelming response. At 6 p.m. this past Tuesday, almost everyone I emailed showed up to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia office to take part in the focus group – the first of its kind, as far as I am aware. The hour that followed was full of insights that are still bouncing around on my brain, but here are three reflections I felt most compelled to share:

1) While I took care to distinguish between gender-based and transportation-based harassment in my last post, the focus group reintroduced some gray areas to my thinking. Car-on-bike harassment can and does certainly take place with every combination of genders of driver and cyclist, and there can be situations of car-on-bike harassment that simply involve an assertion of power over lane space and nothing more. However, I got the sense in the focus group that for women, harassment because they’re riding a bike can often become increasingly gendered as a situation escalates – for instance, getting called a cunt or bitch by an aggressive driver was a common theme. In addition, it was pointed out that while there may be important distinctions between the two types of harassment, the “gut feeling” women get from being sexually street harassed is a very similar “gut feeling” to the one they get from an aggressive driver. Good food for thought.

2) A great point resurfaced in the focus group that I remember a few women mentioning in the Women Bike PHL Facebook page last fall. That is, the fact that harassment is a reason that people (particularly women) might choose to run a red light rather than waiting for the green at an intersection, even if they generally abide by traffic laws. When we talk in the bike community about following the rules, I don’t think we often acknowledge the different ways that folks of different gender and sexual presentations experience being still versus in motion on our streets and sidewalks. A woman standing with her bicycle waiting for a green light is a sitting duck when it comes to harassment – and when the choice is between standing and taking it or looking both ways and pedaling through the red, it’s hardly surprising that some women would choose to pedal on! I think this aspect of the experience of biking isn’t always understood widely within the bike and bike advocacy community, and it seems important to me.

3) In that vein, the whole conversation just made me realize even more deeply how much street harassment and transportation choices are fundamentally linked. I saw a lot of light bulb moments happen during the focus group – for me and for the rest of the attendees. It was fascinating to hear the stories of how bicyclists – who have made a very particular and still relatively rare transportation choice, to ride a bicycle – perceive their experiences of street harassment. A few of the varied perspectives: biking as a means to escape the harassment that walking entails, biking creating safer ways to interact with strangers because of increased speed, or biking entailing sacrificing the opportunity to tell off street harassers in a satisfying manner. And I’m sure that’s only the beginning!

I’m excited to read the report and hear what resonated with Holly about our discussions on Tuesday, and to read the report as a whole with questions of transportation in mind. I’m so glad I could contribute to this study in my own way and so grateful to the group who came out to discuss this topic – thank you!

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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