Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Miss D.C. speaks out

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Image via Miss DC

In follow-up to yesterday’s post, I was able to connect with Jen Corey, the current Miss D.C. She graciously agreed to answer a few questions for me about her experiences with street harassment to help raise awareness about this issue.

(And if you’re in the Washington, D.C. area, you can catch her tomorrow on NBC’s “Daily Connection” from 2-3 p.m. EDT. She will be speaking about her harassment experiences. UPDATE – awesome news clip from Miss D.C. from NBC and around minute 3:30 she mentions HollaBack DC! and Stop Street Harassment)

HK: How old were you when boys or men started harassing you in public places?

JC: I was probably about 12 or 13. I was very tall for my age (about 5’8″ in middle school) so men assumed I was much older. It actually happened in front of my mom frequently and she would have to step in and say something.

HK: About how often do men harass you in public places?

JC: Extremely often. I work in Georgetown so I would say most days of the week as I’m walking down the crowded streets for lunch, someone will say something or stop in front of me and look me up and down. I also take the metro every day so I get yelled at from cars while walking to and from the metro.

HK: What impact does street/public harassment have on your life?

JC: It’s been very upsetting. I had a traumatizing experience a few years ago in Adams Morgan. I was getting all of my girl friends into a cab in front of the McDonald’s. I was the last to get in and as I was standing there, a car full of men pulled up behind me and a large man reached out and slapped me so hard on my backside that I fell face first into the cab. My friends didn’t even realize what happened at first because it sounded like a car had run over a water bottle. The men just laughed and drove away while I stood in the street crying. There were officers on the side of the road, but they did nothing. My cab driver yelled at me to get into the cab so we could follow the car, but by then I was in pain and just wanted to go home. I had a bruise on my chin and a black and blue hand print on my backside for a week.

I refused to go back there for a long time. And when I first started going back I would demand to stay sober, thinking that I could “protect” the other girls I was with.

HK: Do you feel the harassment has changed since you became Miss DC? If so, how?

JC: I don’t think it’s changed because most of the time that it happens now, I am not wearing my crown and sash. It’s just as frequent. It happens when I’m all dressed up going to an event, or when I’m leaving the gym with my hair in a ponytail wearing sweats.

HK: Where do you draw the line regarding what you find to be acceptable and unacceptable interactions between strangers in public?

JC: I don’t want to be disrespected. More than anything, I don’t want to be touched. Don’t grab my hand when I walk by and ask me “where’s your smile?” Don’t walk past me, stop and look me up and down saying “daaammmnnnnn.” I don’t expect every guy to leave me alone when I’m out, and I don’t even mind cheesy pick up lines. I just want to be respected and I don’t think that it’s too much to ask.

HK: How do you usually respond to harassers and what response/s has/have been the most empowering for you?

CJ: Well I definitely don’t go around hitting them, although, this incident over the weekend was not the first time I had to. I used to ignore it, but now I assess the situation (and my potential risk of getting hurt) and act accordingly. Most of the time I get in their face (since I’m almost 6 feet tall, we look eye to eye) and say something like, “Did you really think that was going to work?” or “Don’t touch me. I’m bigger than you.” And I always tell another guy that I know or think I can trust near by about what happened. This way if the creep comes back, I have someone else backing me up.

HK: Do you have any suggestions for other women about how to deal with this kind of harassment?

CJ: Don’t ignore it. That’s the problem. Certain men do this because they think they can get away with it. If you don’t feel comfortable doing something yourself, then tell someone near by.

HK: Do you have any ideas or plans for addressing this issue in DC?

CJ: I will be going on NBC on Wednesday, May 26, to talk about the issue. If I can be a voice for other women who are fed up, then I will do whatever I can to make things right.

This is not OK or something we should ignore. Getting grabbed is NOT just something that’s part of the bar scene and should be accepted. I have every right, as an American, to go out and not be touched or hit.

I am so glad Jen is speaking out about this. All women should have the right to go places without experiencing unwanted touching and harassment from men. Find ideas for what you can do to help end this problem. And if you’re in the DC area, check out the anti-street harassment work of HollaBack DC! and Defend Yourself and how you can get involved.

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Miss D.C. doesn’t like street harassment!

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Image via Miss DC

As my colleagues at HollaBack DC! show on their blog & map, Washington, D.C., is a hotbed of street harassment. Unsurprisingly, Miss D.C. is not immune to it.

Jen Corey, the current Miss D.C., said she avoids Adams Morgan and sticks to Georgetown or Dupont when she goes out at night because of the groping and sexual harassment she experiences at Adams Morgan. But this past Friday night, three different men in Georgetown disrespectfully and inappropriately touched her. By man number three she was fed up and slammed him against a wall.

From The Examiner:

“After this weekend, it seems Corey has taken this issue to be her latest platform, telling us ‘there is no reason for a girl to have to worry about being slapped … or touched when we go out.'”

Absolutely! I’m thrilled that Jen is bringing attention to harassment in public places – particularly to the disgusting groping that happens.

In my work on street harassment, I usually exclude discussing bars and clubs because it’s more acceptable to approach someone with the intent of meeting them there than it is on the street or at a bus stop. Also, you shouldn’t have to but if you really want to you can stop going to bars and clubs without much inconvenience (as I did a few times in college after being groped and grinded on when I did NOT want to be), but it’s pretty inconvenient to try to avoid your own street corner, bus stop, or neighborhood grocery store because of harassers.

That said, harassment, especially touching, happens FAR too often in public nightlife venues and it shouldn’t. Women should have the right to enjoy going out without being constantly approached and touched and chatted up. This harassment & assault must end!

Men at clubs, bars, and pubs, here is a message: Be respectful & above all else, keep your hands (& all other body parts) to yourselves unless you’ve been given explicit consent by the woman!

(thanks for the story tip @claudiaAAUW)

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So chilling

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Via twitter, I was alerted to this chilling video that captures a huge group of men harassing and attacking women in the streets of Iran.

In the comments of the article, someone posted a link to a video clip from a film by a Dutch woman who goes to Iran to see what it’s like to be a female tourist. On camera, men grope her and harass her as she walks down the street. Next it appears she goes into a building to escape them and a security guard comes to talk to her and starts off by kissing each cheek and hugging her, which she allows b/c it seems like he’s just being polite and reassuring. But then he won’t stop and soon is seen groping her breasts while she fights to get away.

I feel frightened for the women. I feel frightened for all women around the world who face street harassment from men in public places. We must work to end this global problem!

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In Bangladesh, six street harassers go to jail

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Earlier this month, six young men in central Bangladesh were sentenced to seven days in jail for engaging in eve teasing, or street harassment, under Section 34 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This is the first time men have gone to jail for eve teasing.

A unit of the Rapid action Battalion (RAB-11) caught the accused young men harassing a group of female students from the Gono Bidyaa Niketon School, in Narayanganja District. They were arrested on the spot and tried the next day.

The police superintendent said the punishment was meant to serve as a warning to any potential wrongdoer. “It will prevent this type of crime,” he said, “which we are trying to eradicate.”

Their attention to this matter—which impacts women worldwide—has been spurred by an increase in the number of women committing suicide because of harassers. Recently, for example, 14-year-old student Umme Kulsum Elora killed herself by drinking pesticide in order to escape a 19-year-old man and his friend who had been harassing her in the streets for a year. Her family had talked to the man’s family and to school authorities but nothing changed. So she took matters into her own hands. So sad!

In Bangladesh, human and women’s rights activists welcome the prison sentence. They hope it will set a precedent and be used in future cases. They also hope it will deter street harassment from occurring. Me too.

When will police, legislators, and human rights activists in the United States pay attention to this issue? When will we have a law against street harassment?

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Salwa says, “fight sexual harassment”

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Salwa

The Lebanese League of Independent Activists (IndyACT) launched a new Anti-Harassment Campaign on March 30. Salwa is their animated heroine and star of a new social media campaign and her motto is “Fight Sexual Harassment.”

“’Our campaign ‘Adventures of Salwa’ comes at a time when young women cannot find any legal or social deterrent for sexual harassment in all its forms in any public place,’ said Leen Hashem, the campaign’s coordinator in IndyACT. ‘It is no longer acceptable for our streets to become a place where we are unable to walk, and being silent about such practices shows our weakness, so Salwa will speak.’”

I love it!

In addition to this new form of activism, anti-harassment activists started women-only taxi services in Beirut last year and now a Lebanese feminist group The Feminist Collective announced plans to launch a ride-sharing service, giving free rides to women waiting for taxis in the street, in an attempt to “combat harassment in taxis.” (RightRides in NYC offers a similar service, late at night on weekends.)

I love reading about the activism going on around the world to make public places safe for women!

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