Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Harassment on Public Transportation in Singapore

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I came across this last night:

“4 out of 10 Singapore Management University (SMU) students in our survey [of 135 women] have been sexually harassed while taking either a bus or a train. Sexual harassment is something that happens everyday on public transport, and it’s wrong. Yet, people don’t talk about it. This is something that needs to change.

So a team of us at SMU have set out to bring about this change by organizing an open forum, emPOWER!HOUSE, to discuss issues relating to sexual harassment on public transport.”

The forum took place in March, 2009, and was sponsored by AWARE; I couldn’t find information about how it went (have you?).

In the comments of the post, there is an interesting discussion about the sample size, what is sexual harassment, how accurate the survey information is, etc.

And regardless of what how many respondents said they were sexually harassed, the young woman who helped conduct the survey said she and many of her friends have been sexually harassed on public transportation and, when I hope a societal goal is to have 0 people getting harassed, that shows there is a problem. And with the number of countries that have had to engage in anti-sexual harassment subway campaigns or created women–only cars to handle the harassment, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t a real problem in  Singapore too. In fact, just two weeks ago women-only cars were suggested in Beijing in part becasue of sexual harassment.

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Street Harassment Round Up – May 17

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Stories:

On Holla Back DC! a contributor talks about her bystander efforts to challenge street harassers. She says, “If I’m close enough when I spot men ogling women who are unaware they’re being ogled, I usually say something in the lines of ‘I saw you do that, and you better not try it with me! Nasty!’ to embarrass them.'”

As mentioned in the last two week round ups, since April 26, HollaBack NYC has been posting one photo a day of street harassers. They will continue to do so for a month. All of the photos are being submitted by one woman, Sally N., a New York City resident. Emily at HollaBack NYC says, “We believe these pictures tell the story of what it’s like to be a woman in the big apple.” Visit HollaBack NYC to see these photos.

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem!

In the News:

  • A man disguised as a woman gropes a woman on the women-only subway car in Mexico City
  • A man in Vancouver, Canada, and a man in West Redding, UK, were arrested and tried, respectively, for sexual assault of young women in public places.

Upcoming Events:

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

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CTA STORIES: A Spoken Word Event

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youngwomensactionteamThe Young Women’s Action Team are exploring the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault on Chicago’s public transit system. So far, they’ve been shocked at just how many of their survey respondents reported that they had been victims of sexual harassment and assault on the CTA.

They want to collect more stories and are inviting young women ages 12 to 25 to join them for a spoken word event on June 27, 2 to 4 p.m. They will have refreshments and offer prizes for the best poems, songs, and spoken word pieces.

Event Info
Saturday, June 27, 2009
2 to 4 p.m.
Berger Park Cultural Center
6205 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL

Directions: #147 Bus or #151 buses to Granville and Sheridan. Also the Red Line EL to Granville and then walk 3 blocks to the Lake.

RSVP to Ronnett Lockett at rpywat@hotmail.com

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NYers for Safe Transit: June Community Forum

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TakeBackPublicTransitJune8EventNYCAs recent news stories attest, gender-based harassment on public transportation in NYC is a problem. Want to be part of the discussion around finding a solution?

“In response to an ongoing rash of sexual assaults and harassment occurring in the subways, New Yorkers for Safe Transit (NYFST) is hosting a forum for concerned community members and anti-violence activists to analyze the rampancy of gender-based violence in the New York City public transit system and discuss strategies to address this problem…

New Yorkers for Safe Transit are urging the MTA to take greater responsibility to increase riders’ safety by implementing better protocols to address violence, by training employees to be appropriate first responders, and by installing upgraded or repairing broken emergency equipment.

Emily May from HollabackNYC, Doyin Ola from RightRides, Veronica Tirado from Girls for Gender Equity, and Cate Contino from the Straphangers Campaign, are expected to speak at the forum on issues including budget cuts, organizing straphangers, addressing violence, and making change within our public transit system.”

PROGRAM: Taking Back Public Transit: Confronting Violence on Board (community forum)
DATE: Monday, June 8, 2009
TIME: 7 – 9 p.m.
LOCATION: Brecht Forum, 451 West St. (btwn. Bank & Bethune)

Please join them for this important forum and help spread the word! (Contact info for them)

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