Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

DC Gay & Bisexual Men: Share your experiences

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If you live in the Washington, D.C. area and are a gay or bisexual man, you’re invited to share your street harassment stories and experiences during a discussion group on July 23.

The discussion group is part of  Stop Street Harassment‘s “Documenting Street Harassment in America” initiative that includes a 2,000 person, nationally representative survey and 10 discussion groups with different demographics across the country.

SSH Founder Holly Kearl (me) is teaming up with Patrick Ryne McNeil, who researches the street harassment of gay and bisexual men, to conduct it with gay and bisexual men to hear about their unique experiences with sexual harassment and sexual violence in public places like streets, parks, buses, subways, stores, and restaurants.

Info:

The discussion group will be held on Tuesday, July 23, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Lamond Riggs library by Fort Totten Metro Station. Light refreshments will be provided.

Note:

I will tape record and then transcribe the focus group discussion, but to make it a safe space for participants to share their stories, they can have their names be anonymous if they would like.

More info about the study:

Read more about the study. I hope to complete the rest of the focus groups this summer, conduct the survey in the fall, and release a report in early 2014. Read an article about one of the focus groups I conducted in South Dakota last summer. You can contact me directly with any questions or concerns at hkearl@stopstreetharassment.org or contact Patrick at patrickryne@gmail.com.

More info about harassment of gay & bisexual men:

Washington Blade | Huffington Post

RSVP:

hkearl@stopstreetharassment.org

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Impact Bay Area: Self Defense Course

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The Little Bird project uses art to raise awareness about street harassment as a human rights issue (www.thelittlebirdprojectsf.org).  We work in the Bay Area, where, according to statistics compiled by Stop Street Harassment, 100% of women surveyed are harassed at least occasionally.  We also know that 90% of women experience street harassment by the age of 19.  With these numbers in mind – and a full understanding of how terrifying and dangerous street harassment can be – we wanted to let our family of activists and readers know about some amazing self-defense resources in the Bay Area this summer.
The Little Bird works with an exceptional self defense non-profit called Impact Bay Area, which provides full-force self defense classes for people of all genders, teaching people of all ages and body types how to respond effectively to threatening situations (www.impactbayarea.org).  In addition to its classes for adults, Impact is providing several classes this summer geared specifically to young women.  (Scholarships available for qualifying individuals.) Empower yourself (and/or your children “leaving the nest”) by enrolling in the following:
“On Her Own” Young Adult course (Young women age 17-22): June 14-16 in San Jose, CA (sign up here)
Visit www.impactbayarea.org for more information on its range of courses for individuals, groups, and businesses.  Stay safe and love yourself!
By Sarah Harper, Founder and Project Director for the Little Bird project

https://twitter.com/LittleBirdSF

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Successful Five Year Anniversary Event!

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Last night, Stop Street Harassment held a very successful five year anniversary happy hour and awards ceremony at Vinoteca DC!

We honored local community members and groups that we’ve collaborated with over our five years and thanked them for their incredible work to make the Washington, D.C. – area safer. They are pictured above.

Read about the awardees.

At least 60-70 people attended, and dozens more patrons of the venue had the chance to learn about street harassment, too. The happy hour wrist bands and raffle garnered over $400 in donations from attendees – thank you to all who donated to supporting the work of Stop Street Harassment!

If you couldn’t attend but wish to make a donation, you can do so here.

Finally, a big thank you to my four DC-based board members Layla Moughari, Liz Bolton, Mark Hutchens, and Anna Bavier who helped plan and organize the whole thing and who made sure the event ran smoothly.

Layla, Liz, Anna & Holly. Photo by Mark.

We look forward to the collaborations and successes the next five years will bring!

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4 Exciting New Programs and Initiatives

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Mark and I during an Our Streets Too March in Washington, D.C., June 2011

Five Year Anniversary – See How We’ve Grown

Five years ago this week, I launched the Stop Street Harassment (SSH) website and blog to fill the void left when two of the anti-harassment websites I studied for my master’s thesis went inactive or disappeared. My significant other Mark is the one who had the idea and encouraged me to go for it. I had no idea how to run a blog and I barely updated it during its first year. But, I knew this was an important topic, and slowly, the site grew.

Since May 2008, there have been 2,100 articles and stories published on the blog, we’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and we have 15 blog correspondents, 9 board members, 6 social media volunteers, and soon, our first summer intern.

4 Exciting New Programs and Initiatives
Part of our continued growth is the creation of new programs and initiatives, including:

1. Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Program PILOT: People and groups in the USA can propose a project idea that addresses gender-based street harassment in their community. Selected projects will receive in-depth mentoring for up to three months, up to $250 to offset expenses, and other benefits. Learn more.

*Applications are available as of TODAY!*

2. Stopping Companies that Trivialize Street Harassment: This month we launched an on-going list of companies that have ads or products that treat street harassment like a joke or compliment. Already, in collaboration with groups like Collective Action for Safe Spaces, SSH was instrumental in pressuring Lego, Bare Escentuals, and Skirt Sports to drop offensive products, marketing, or messaging. Let me know when you see a company that should be on the list.

3. Documenting Street Harassment in the United States: SSH is fundraising to be able to conduct the first-ever national study on street harassment in the United States (donate here). To supplement the 2,000-person survey, we’re conducting focus groups across the country. In June, we will conduct ones in New York City and New Orleans. When possible, we hold them in collaboration with the Harlow Project. If you want a focus group conducted in your area, let me know.

4. Know Your Rights Toolkit: SSH’s summer intern will produce a toolkit detailing the laws and city ordinances that are relevant to street harassment (including indecent exposure and groping), how to report these crimes, and what strategies you can use to strengthen the laws.

Support Our Expansion!
There are three ways you can help support our growth.

1. Make a direct, tax-deductible donation.
2. Bid on the great 15 items available in our online auction (it closes this weekend).
3. If you’re in Washington, D.C., attend our happy hour fundraiser and awards ceremony on June 5.

Thank You
THANK YOU for your support and for believing in us! As you can see, with your help, we’re continuing to expand faster than ever and we can’t wait to see what the next five years bring!

-Holly Kearl
SSH Founder

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Five Year Anniversary Happy Hour & Awards Ceremony!

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The Five Year Anniversary of Stop Street Harassment activities/announcements continue!

If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area, I hope you can attend our fundraiser happy hour  and awards ceremony on June 5, from 5-9 p.m. at Vinoteca.

(And if you’re not local or if you can’t attend, you can still support us through a tax-deductible donation and/or by bidding on an item during our online auction this week.)

This is a great opportunity to not only support the work of SSH and celebrate our five years of activism, but it is also a wonderful chance to meet some of the SSH board members and volunteers and to mingle with the AMAZING DC-area community members and groups with whom we work.

At 5:30 p.m., there will be an awards ceremony to honor public officials and community members who work to make the Washington-D.C. area safer.

Additionally, there will be a raffle, happy hour specials, street harassment art, SSH swag, and books for sale.

Event Awardees:

Safe Public Spaces Champion: Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser (confirmed to attend!)

Safe Transit Advocate: Deputy Chief Leslie M. Campbell, Caroline Lukas, and Ben Merrion

Safe Public Spaces Trailblazer: Marty Laneglan, Dienna Howard, and Patrick Ryne McNiel

Community Change Agents: DefendYourself Staff and Collective Action for Safe Spaces Staff

Logistical Info:

When: June 5, 2013, 5-9 p.m. The awards ceremony will be from 5:30 – 6 p.m. and the raffle will be at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Vinoteca, 1940 11th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

Cost: Free to attend, there will be happy hour specials. You may want to bring some cash for the raffle, donation jar, and if you want to buy a copy of the Stop Street Harassment book.

Shareable Image:

Link to it: http://tinyurl.com/ovu24x5

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