Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“Who here respects women?”

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Of the strategies for interrupting street harassment I’ve been exposed to, especially as an ally, after heading home from a bar this past winter, I have a new preferred approach.

After a group of men started to cat-call my female friend, I noticed that she was feeling deeply uncomfortable. I asked her if I could do anything to help. She didn’t yet want to leave the bar and she personally didn’t want to intervene. I asked if she wanted me to.

She did.

All I did was ask the group of cat-callers, “Who here respects women?”

They looked around confused. It was quite a wonderful sight to see a group of harassers vexed about the answer to an easy question of respect. We learned that intervention can transform a dis-empowering situation into an opportunity for strength. And a laugh.

– Anonymous

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem.
Find suggestions for what YOU can do about this human rights issue.

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Azerbaijan Video: “Hey man, be a gentleman!”

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It’s always heartening to hear about male allies who are speaking out and organizing against street harassment all over the world. One of them is Jake Winn, a Peace Corps volunteer and a youth development facilitator in northern Azerbaijan, on the Russian and Georgian borders. He is also a member of Peace Corps Azerbaijan’s WID/GAD (Women in Development/Gender and Development) executive committee.

He wrote me this morning saying,

“Inspired by your ‘Shit Men Say to Men Who Say Shit to Women on the Street,’ some of my male students made their own Anti-Street Harassment video. The title, “Ay Gardash! Kishi Ol!”, can be translated to, ‘Hey man, be a gentleman!” We now plan on distributing the video throughout the country, along with a lesson plan and discussion questions for other volunteers to use with their own students.

Street Harassment is quite a serious problem in Azerbaijan, as well. Hopefully, this video will have a positive impact on many Azerbaijani communities.”


I will post English subtitles soon.

WAY TO GO Jake and the youth you’re working with!! I hope your video and lesson plan has an impact in Azerbaijan and inspires similar efforts by male allies in other countries. Keep us updated!

I also want to give a big shout-out to Bix Gabriel, Joe Samalin, and everyone they worked with to produce the original “Shit Men Say to Men Who Say Shit to Women on the Street” video. Not only has their video brought a lot of attention to the problem of street harassment and how men can be involved in ending it, but it’s inspired at least three videos – the Azerbaijani video and videos produced in San Jose, CA, and Cairo, Egypt.

Thanks to the Internet, you never know who will see your work and be inspired to take action, too 🙂

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Sri Lanka campaign reached 30,000 commuters in one week

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SHOW You Care Participant. Image via Sri Lanka Unites

A few weeks ago, I blogged about how Sri Lanka Unites in Colombo planned to to undertake an initiative called S.H.O.W You Care (S.H.O.W. = Stop Harassment of Women) to address sexual harassment on public transportation. Well, the campaign happened and this was sent by the organizers of the event:

“Hundreds of young men were given an informative training by Sri Lanka Unites and were split into teams of 3 with a mentor appointed to each team…

Starting Monday, June 25th, hundreds of young men boarded buses according to a previously formulated strategic plan. During the course of the campaign which lasted one week, over one thousand buses were covered, reaching over thirty thousand commuters in Colombo.

The young men, apologized to women in the buses for any harassment they have encountered in the past, providing them with information on legal recourse available to them if they experience such treatment in the future. Next they charged the men to take the responsibility to safeguard this right and the negative reflection on them, if they fail.

The response from the commuters on buses was astounding. Passengers on the buses, both male and female, were very responsive to the campaign. Many encouraged the efforts of the young men, asked for more information about the campaign and Sri Lanka Unites. The passengers were eager to engage in conversations regarding the issue of harassment on public transportation and were heartened by the efforts of the young men to attempt to resolve this problem in the city of Colombo.”

Total Number of Buses: 1225
Routes Covered: 49
Estimated Number of Commuters Reached: 36750

Well done!! It’s so important to engage men as allies and change-makers. This is not a “women’s” issue. It impacts all of us and we all have a responsibility to help end it.

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“S.H.O.W You Care” (S.H.O.W. = Stop Harassment of Women) in Sri Lanka

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Photo submission to the S.H.O.W. You Care Facebook page

To address the widespread problem of sexual harassment on public transportation in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Unites in Colombo is undertaking a unique project this week called S.H.O.W You Care (S.H.O.W. = Stop Harassment of Women).

Via Facebook:

“From June 25th to 30th in all bus routes in Colombo, students (from mostly boys schools) will board the buses according to a formulated plan and address the passengers in all three languages (Tamil, Sinhala, English):

1) apologizing to all women for any incidents of harassment they may have encountered in the past,
2) handing out leaflets highlighting the legal recourse available to women if they experience such treatment,
3) making a general statement of the right of women to be treated respectfully and the men taking the responsibility to safeguard this right and the negative reflection on them, if they fail.

These leaflets will also contain information regarding basic women’s rights and the actions that could be taken if one’s found violating them.”

It’s great that so many young men plan to participate…we must have boys/men involved in these efforts in order to make them truly successful.

Their decision to target bus riders is very smart. More than 70 percent of women aged 15 to 45 surveyed in Sri Lanka last year said they’d experienced sexual harassment on public transportation. The survey was conducted by the Legal Aid Commission. In other studies, it was revealed that more than 95 percent of women feel it’s unsafe to travel alone in public spaces in Colombo, and one in four women report sexual harassment on public transportation in the country, according to a report by the Transport Ministry.

Sri Lanka Unites is a grassroots youth movement that empowers youth to be the driving force of social change in the country. Already their initiative has received nice media attention. Look for another blog post later this week to recap how their efforts went.

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