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* @Midnightproblem Sometimes I feel bad for ignoring guys for saying hello but after so many years of street harassment I would rather not set myself up 4 that

* @eloise265 when are people going to understand that street harassment is NOT OKAY

* @lenubienne From street harassment to song lyrics, misogyny is everywhere, and it is debilitating.

* ‏@marciethehuman people who think street harassment are compliments: can u not

* @thesparkoflightPeople think negative attention = self worth, and when they don’t receive street harassment they consider themselves ‘unattractive’

* ‏@_HellFrozenRain @TheRealMrWriter -i got egged on the way home once. Endured a plethora of street harassment as i had to take off my jacket

* @MegascgMastenbr man just yelled at me from inside his car, I want to lick your asshole streetharassment catcalling cc hollaback

* @TheChirpingCat New #StreetHarassment strategy: Say “Nooo Waaay” to everything regardless of content just like my favorite toddler says to me.

* @mmmariesa Nothing like good old fashioned street harassment to ruin a night before it even starts

New Campaign in Vadodara, India

November 18, 2013 By HKearl

Youth in Vadodara, India, in association with Rotaract Club of Vadodara have created a platform to girls facing harassment to share their stories at NAARI-Against Sexual Harassment.

The Times of India reports:

“Vadodara is much safer compared to cities like Delhi, Mumbai or Pune, but we cannot deny the fact that even here girls really can’t walk freely on the streets and in public gathering. Miscreants chase them on bikes, honk or stare at them making girls uncomfortable. Just using ‘the safest city’ tag does not help. We have to stop street harassment,” the youngsters are making this online appeal.

“For getting real stories, we have embedded a form where the girls can share their experiences without disclosing their real identities. Since, women residing in slums don’t have any access to internet, we will be personally visiting the slum areas and collect their feedback,” says Kush Vyas, president of Rotaract Club of Vadodara, which with its 30 young members has spread over 11,000 Facebook invitations.

“Our motive behind this campaign, which will be initially for 20 days, is to spread awareness and inspire girls to speak up. Even if it changes the mindset of five per cent population, it will act as a major step towards betterment of the city and its streets,” adds Vyas.

Stories of courage have also started pouring since the time, the drive has been started. For instance, a girl has shared her experience of how she was chased by two boys, who had made indecent comments against her when she was returning home on a two-wheeler near Jail Road. After she stopped the duo and threatened to call police, the miscreants were forced to apologize.”

H/T @KDesborough

Sexual Violence after Typhoon in the Philippines

November 15, 2013 By HKearl

In times of natural disasters, women and girls often face sexual harassment and sexual violence. Sadly the typhoon in the Philippines is no different.

Via The Telegraph:

“Just surviving in the aftermath of a major disaster like Typhoon Haiyan can be testing enough.

But amid the large scale devastation and rush to get international aid to those who need it the most – hampered so far by severe rain and damaged infrastructure – there is one other, sadly inevitable, problem that is much less talked about. And it has the British Government deeply worried.

“We are concerned about the safety of women and girls in the Philippines,” an aide to Justine Greening, Britain’s international development secretary, who is helping to coordinate the UK’s response to the crisis, said last night.

“After previous emergencies in the Philippines, we have seen an increase in violence against women and girls and in particular the trafficking of girls.”

It is unthinkable to most of us that as well as having to contend with the basic human need of finding food and water, shelter for you and your family and medicine to prevent disease spreading or treat those with wounds, hundreds of thousands of women and girls will face the very real risk of violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse, rape, forced marriage and trafficking…

Greening and the UK Government believe that violence against women and girls is life-threatening; and international aid effort should prioritise protection in the same way it would prioritise food and shelter.

Anti-rape clothing?

November 8, 2013 By HKearl

Have you heard about AR Wear? It’s anti-rape clothing.

The designers write on their website: “We developed this product so that women and girls could have more power to control the outcome of a sexual assault. We wanted to offer some peace of mind in situations that cause feelings of apprehension, such as going out on a blind date, taking an evening run, ‘clubbing’, traveling in unfamiliar countries, and any other activity that might make one anxious about the possibility of an assault.”

Check out what SSH staff had to say.

Talia Hagerty went on Fox 5 in NYC, saying, “The challenge is to find a way to prevent people from committing rape, not to give women another reason to feel it’s our responsibility if we’re raped.

New York News

I spoke to a writer for the Washington Post, “This product places the focus on women as being the responsible party for stopping their own rape. That is highly problematic.”

What do you think?

Five Countries Tackle Street Harassment

November 6, 2013 By HKearl

There have been several articles lately about harassment and anti-harassment efforts in many countries around the Mediterranean and Red Seas —

1. Palestine: “There are many untold stories about sexual harassment in Gaza, home to 1.7 million Palestinians. In a conservative society such as Gaza’s, female victims of sexual harassment seldom speak out, and when she does, society usually places the blame on her. [After her harassment experience was caught on video tape], although Hamas-affiliated media hid Abu Salama’s face due to such concerns, she bravely disclosed her identity on her Facebook page, acknowledging that she was the person videotaped. “I’m not the one who should feel ashamed, only him and everyone like him,” read Abu Salama’s post.”

2. Saudi Arabia: “A video purporting to show a group of men sexually harassing women in an eastern province of Saudi Arabia sparked outrage on Wednesday on social media. It led many social media users to call for harsher laws punishing sexual harassment in the kingdom. The video shows a group of men chasing women in what seems to be a car park, with an apparent scuffle going on between the two groups.”

3. Libya: “Sexual harassment of women is increasing in Libya and women complain that combined with the general lawlessness in the country their daily lives are becoming more of an ordeal and perilous. It was bad under former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi with men jostling, groping and pestering women in shops, universities and offices and demanding sex but since his ouster two years ago harassment has worsened, say activists and ordinary women.”

4. Lebanon: “Mirna Karouny said verbal abuse was the most common type of harassment in Lebanon, adding that it was almost impossible for a woman to walk through the street in Beirut without being subjected to sexualized language. The trend is also visible in malls and other public venues. She said that overcrowding in Beirut, the increase in the refugee population and the general lack of security in the country was contributing to the rise of cases. As a result, she said, local non-governmental organizations and civil society can only do so much – authorities and security agencies must also do their job.”

5. Egypt: “I Saw Harassment said in a report on Friday that a total of 65 incidents of sexual violation were stopped during Eid Al-Adha, including two cases of mob harassment… A four day long campaign called Warriors against Harassment was activated by the I Saw Harassment initiative on Tuesday, the first day of Eid Al-Adha and ran until Friday. I Saw Harassment had said that during the religious holiday it would “be providing awareness and spreading the concepts of equality and renunciation of violence.”

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