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* Stop Street Harassment recently incorporated as a nonprofit organization. Please donate so we can conduct a national street harassment study and gather much needed data documenting the problem.

* Contact Bowlmor and the New York City Transit to complain about this offensive subway ad.

* Activists in South Africa launched a website about street harassment

* The anti-sexual harassment public service announcement signs are now up in several Washington, DC metro stations!

* The Stop Street Harassment book is available in paperback for $15.

* Submit art about street harassment for the VoiceTool Product exhibit in San Francisco, CA

* The Adventures of Salwa campaign has a hotline for sexual harassment cases in Lebanon: 76-676862.

* In Bangalore, India, there is a helpline for street harassment 080 – 22943225 / 22864023

* Report #streetharassment in Pakistan at @NameAndShamePk, email nameandshame@ryse.pk, SMS 0314-800-35-68 or online at http://www.nameandshame.pk

10 Tweets from the Week:

1. @_MissBre Street harassment scares me. I don’t even defend myself because I have no idea where his head is.

2. @tinydancer06 It’s like the men of Chicago have never seen legs or cleavage before. #doubletakes #catcalls #wtf

3. @psichedelico insert tweet about how much i hate rape culture and street harassment.

4. @timmesa It is getting increasingly irritating to walk by a building with construction workers every day to get to work. #catcalls #Iamalmost40

5. @katyadodds I swear I get whistled an honked at more in Hawaii than I ever have in my life #catcalls #creepers

6. @maps4aid CCTVs to be installed, Helplines numbers to be posted to check Street Harassment in Barasat, West Bengal. http://bit.ly/P2MqVW #Win

7. @ashaberry You know what’s never cool? Street harassment. #funwithcreepers #waitfunisnottherightword

8. @FatFemPinUp Street harassment can be truly traumatic for women & the WORST thing you can do as a friend/lover/significant other is deny them validation

9. @joannajpost #Egypt anti street harassment initiative is awesome – let’s create something similar for #Israel http://harassmap.org

10. @MeLaMachinko The age old ‘wear your headphones even if u aren’t listening to music to ignore street harassment” trick… tried & true!

Egyptian Street Harasser Murders Woman

September 18, 2012 By HKearl

Trigger Warning —

In rare instances, street harassment ends in murder (here are a few examples) and sadly, that is what recently happened in Egypt. The Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights just released this press release about it:

“The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) strongly condemns the horrible accident murder of a young lady who is 20 years old in Assuit via an Automatic rifle. The incident began when “Iman Mostafa Mohamed” was walking in the village’s main street with her friend, then she felt that someone touched part of her body that is considered a sexual assault, so she spit on his face and insulted him and said: “I will get my rights back..I will get my rights back against your will.”

Therefore, he pushed her to the ground and kicked her; then he shot her before she rises and she died in a matter of few minutes. This is terrible crime happened within the increase of sexual harassment which is considered a cancer that should be treated as soon as possible.

Based upon ECWR’s close monitoring of the phenomenon and noting the increase in the percentage of sexual harassment crimes, ECWR sent a law draft to President Mohamed Morsy on Monday 27 August 2012 in order for him to adopt the law draft of criminalizing sexual harassment for the year 2012 by amending the No.58 of 1937 and no response was received. Additionally, the law draft was sent several times to the elected councils with no response as well.

It should be noted that the law draft was developed through continuous efforts for three years on behalf of the legal personnel, security personnel, civil society representatives and activists. This law draft was developed based on two studies; the first, “sexual harassment is a social cancer” where the sample of 3000 women mentioned that they were harassed at least once before.

As per the second, “Clouds in Egypt’s Sky” of 50% women and 50% men sample where 83% of the Egyptian women said that they were harassed and 63% of the Egyptian men mentioned that they sexually harassed at least one time before.

This is a serious indicator concerning women’s safety in the streets, as this phenomenon of sexual harassment is leading to murder crimes.

Consequently, the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights ECWR demands voluntarily defending the victim and asking the state to take the necessary and strict procedures by:

Fair and quick trial of the murderer, so that the Egypt’s streets shall not turn into a violent environment like street wars.

Passing the suggested law of sexual harassment that was sent before to President Mohamed Morsy in order to adopt it as part of his legislative authorities that were passed to him due to the absence of the legislative council.”

It’s horrible that she was murdered simply for standing up for herself. What a terrible, senseless end to her young life.

Her story shows the seriousness of street harassment and it illustrates how a woman can never be sure what kind of reaction will escalate the situation. Maybe in another situation, her response would have scared or embarrassed the harasser and caused him to leave or apologize. The onus really should not be on women to have to figure out in a split second what will be the “best” response, the one that will keep them from getting spit on, chased, called a “bitch,” assaulted or murdered. (And for those who may say, well her angry response provoked him, first that is victim-blaming and second, other murders by street harassers have occurred when the woman ignored them!) The onus should be on men to not harass and on bystanders and society at large to work on prevention efforts and hold harassers accountable.

Until there is a cultural shift so that street harassment is no longer dismissed, trivialized, or blamed on the harassed person, street harassment will continue. Will a law criminalizing it help spur a cultural shift? Maybe. But Egypt’s political landscape is unstable so it seems unlikely it will be enforced. I would bet that the citizens who are taking it upon themselves to patrol for harassers will have more of an impact right now than an unenforced law.

Digest of street harassment stories, news, announcements & tweets: September 16, 2012

September 16, 2012 By HKearl

Read stories, news articles, blog posts, and tweets about street harassment from the past few weeks.

** Sign up to receive a monthly e-newsletter from Stop Street Harassment ***

Street Harassment Stories:

Share your story! You can read street harassment stories on the Web at:

Stop Street Harassment Blog

HarassMap in Egypt

Bijoya in Bangladesh

Resist Harassment in Lebanon

Ramallah Street Watch in Palestine

Name and Shame in Pakistan

Safe Streets in Yemen

Street Harassment in South Africa

Many of the Hollaback sites

Street Harassment In the News, on the Blogs:

* The F Word Blog, “Spanish feminist subjected to harassment campaign“

* Lesoir.be, “Bruxelles punit les sexistes“

* Le Nouvel Observateur, “Harcèlement de rue : les femmes racontent le machisme“

* Women’s Media Center, “Native Americans Speak Out About Street Harassment“

* Torontoist, “New Mobile App “Not Your Baby” Calls Out Sexual Harassment“

* The Guilfordian, “Sexual harassment in Egypt escalates“

* LAist, “Women Share Their Stories Of Sexual Harassment (And Worse) On Public Transportation”

* XO Jane, “I Think We Should Have a Collective Response To Strangers Who Tell Us To Smile”

* Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, “Baghdad Neighborhood Imposes Strict Dress Code On Women“

* Bikyamasr, “Sexual harassment awaits Egyptian girls outside schools“

* Washington Post, “In Egypt, a backlash against harassment“

* Lydia, “TAKE BACK THE DAY: ON BRINGING AN END TO STREET HARASSMENT“

* A Thrift Store, “Midge and I have a Chat About a Streetcar Named Anger“

* Cardboard Sunshine, ““The learning process is something you can incite, literally incite, like a riot.””

* SocialistAlternative.org, “Fighting back against street harassment“

* xoJane, “Where’s Your Line Between Flirting and Harassment?“

* DelawareOnline.com, “Officials: Man exposed himself at beach restrooms“

* Alternet.org, “Porn Star Stoya Speaks Out on Street Harassment“; Jezebel, “I’m a Porn Star, and if You Harass Me I Will Punch You in the Balls“

* NBCNews.com, “Suspect arrested in rape of 73-year-old birdwatcher in New York’s Central Park“

* Guardian, “Central Park rape sparks debate about social media making women safer”

* College Gloss, “Combating Street Harassment: What You Should Know“

* Sparkwood & 21, “The Story of My Sexual Assault on Muni in San Francisco“

Announcements:

New:

* Harlow Project Seeking Participants For Street Harassment Web Video Series

* METRAC released a free “Not Your Baby App” to provide responses you can use when experiencing harassment

* In San Francisco, there is a new arts-based anti-street harassment initiative called Little Bird SF

* Male allies won prestigious awards for their anti-street harassment initiatives this spring.

* Hollaback Istanbul released a new anti-harassment video featuring male allies

* In Washington, DC, Collective Action for Safe Spaces and Voices of Men acted out an anti-harassment skit on the Metro. You can do this in your city too!

* Talalo, an Afghan graffiti band, fights street harassment by putting messages on street walls.

* Denice Frohman, Poet, performs “Dear Straight People”

Reminders:

* Sign a petition about ending street harassment in Egypt.

* Stop Street Harassment recently incorporated as a nonprofit organization. Please donate so we can conduct a national street harassment study and gather much needed data documenting the problem.

* Contact Bowlmor and the New York City Transit to complain about this offensive subway ad.

* Activists in South Africa launched a website about street harassment

* The anti-sexual harassment public service announcement signs are now up in several Washington, DC metro stations!

* The Stop Street Harassment book is available in paperback for $15.

* Submit art about street harassment for the VoiceTool Product exhibit in San Francisco, CA

* The Adventures of Salwa campaign has a hotline for sexual harassment cases in Lebanon: 76-676862.

* In Bangalore, India, there is a helpline for street harassment 080 – 22943225 / 22864023

* Report #streetharassment in Pakistan at @NameAndShamePk, email nameandshame@ryse.pk, SMS 0314-800-35-68 or online at http://www.nameandshame.pk

10 Tweets from the Week:

1. @harassmap It is time this is escalated, we’re losing our lives to harassers, silence has never been more disgraceful. #endSH #Egypt #Enough

2. @alicexz I usually respond to sexual harassment on the street by 1.) INTENTLY TEXTING A NON-EXISTENT PERSON, or 2.) “No English!”

3. @Hollaback_DSM Being a male ally isn’t about what you DON’T do (harass) but what you DO do: confront other men. Together we will end #streetharassment

4. @PennyRed Ah, New York street harassment, how I haven’t missed you #hollaback #alwaysabittooscaredtohollaback

5. @mortari If you’ve never been catcalled or followed, then yes, you are missing information which is relevant to discussion of street harassment.

6. @TheCariLand Why do guys feel it’s ok to catcall out a car window or honk at females?

7. ‏@TheFemaleWiz There’s a fine line between charming and creepy.On that note,there’s a place reserved in hell for dudes that catcall on ladies!

8. @AngryWriterGirl I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a million times more: Don’t believe in #streetharassment? Walk a few steps behind a woman on a sunny day.

9. @nd_kane @anaees Agreed, so not okay. There’s a whole campaign about Street Harassment online that’s worth a look: https://stopstreetharassment.org

10. @MarwaMfarid Who is ready to participate in an experience to document the fact that even Niqab wearing women are sexually harassed #EndSH #Egypt

Man rapes 73-year-old woman in Central Park

September 13, 2012 By HKearl

central park rapist — Surveillance video showing the man who may have been the attacker

Via NBC News:

“A 73-year-old birdwatcher said she was raped Wednesday in Central Park, possibly by a man angered because she photographed him exposing himself there, NBCNewYork.com reported.

The woman told investigators the man asked, “Do you remember me?” before attacking her about 11 a.m. near the park’s tranquil Strawberry Fields that serves as a memorial to John Lennon, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a news conference.

The woman, who regularly visits the park to watch birds, said she thinks the assailant was the same man she photographed masturbating about a week ago in another, more isolated part of the park, police said.

She said he demanded she delete the image before they went their separate ways. Police said that initial encounter was not reported…

Eric Ozawa, 34, told reporters he was in the park about 11:30 a.m. when he noticed a pair of legs sticking out along the path but thought it was somebody sleeping. As Ozawa got closer, he realized it was a woman lying face down. Her face was badly swollen, she had a black eye and was covered in mulch, he said.”

Horrific and traumatic. I hope she will be okay!

This story sadly illustrates how some men use rape as a weapon/source of power or revenge against others (women and men) regardless of age, time of day or night, or location. It’s not a crime of passion. It’s a hate crime.

9/14/12 Update: The police caught a suspect and he sounds even more horrifying. Via Jezebel:

“Mitchell’s disturbing criminal history began when he was just 18 and charged with molesting and beating to death 87-year-old Annie Parks during a burglary in his hometown of Jenkinjones near the border of Kentucky and Virginia. […]

After his release, the ex-con was arrested at least twice more before being convicted of kidnapping in 2003 and sent back to prison for eight more years.”

Judge to survivor: “Bad things can happen in bars”

September 7, 2012 By HKearl

Robb Evans, former police officer and sexual abuser (Josh Biggs/Arizona Daily Sun)

Sadly, we know that sexual harassment and assault is rampant in our culture, including in public spaces like our streets and the town bar. Here’s an example: Last summer, a drunk 43-year old male police officer named Robb Evans walked into a bar, walked over to a woman, and reached up her skirt and assaulted her. The bouncers threw him out.

Horrible.

A jury convicted him of sexual abuse (a class 5 felony) and, after an internal investigation, thankfully he was fired from the police force.

But that’s not the end of the story.

Via Think Progress:

“Arizona trial Judge Jacqueline Hatch, who was appointed to the bench by Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ), decided that Evans’ actions did not warrant jail time — sentencing him probation and 100 hours of community service. Evans also will not have to register as a sex offender. Yet, while Judge Hatch apparently did not view the disgraced former cop’s actions as particularly serious, she had some very harsh words for the woman he assaulted:

Bad things can happen in bars, Hatch told the victim, adding that other people might be more intoxicated than she was.

“If you wouldn’t have been there that night, none of this would have happened to you,” Hatch said.

Hatch told the victim and the defendant that no one would be happy with the sentence she gave, but that finding an appropriate sentence was her duty.

“I hope you look at what you’ve been through and try to take something positive out of it,” Hatch said to the victim in court. “You learned a lesson about friendship and you learned a lesson about vulnerability.”

Hatch said that the victim was not to blame in the case, but that all women must be vigilant against becoming victims.

“When you blame others, you give up your power to change,” Hatch said that her mother used to say.”

The Arizona Daily Sun reports that the judge also said that “even going to the grocery store after 10 p.m. can be dangerous for a woman.”

When a cop sexually assaults a woman and then a judge practically supports him, is there any wonder so few survivors of sexual abuse or harassment want to report it?!

The survivor of the assault is not standing for this kind of victim-blaming and is calling for an apology from the judge. Someone else started a Change.org petition you can sign calling for the judge to step down.

Here’s contact info if you want to tell the judge how you feel about victim-blaming:

Honorable Jacqueline Hatch
Judicial Assistant: Kathy Sandstrom
(928) 679-7551
200 N. San Francisco St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Sadly, the judge’s comments show just how pervasive victim-blaming is in our culture and how even women, especially older women, help perpetuate it. In my own experience of giving talks about street harassment, it has only been older women who have made inappropriate comments to me like, “Well, with the way girls dress these days…” I know that they were raised in a different era when that was the dominant mentality, but times have changed and their unhelpful comments need to stop.

When I hear women victim-blame each other, I also feel badly for them. Their attitude suggests that they think men sexually assaulting and harassing women is so inevitable that the only way women can be safe is to stay home/dress conservatively/have a male protector.

I’m not so cynical, nor do I have such a narrow picture of sexual assault.

I’m glad to be part of a generation that by and large doesn’t want to “prevent” sexual assault by blaming women and telling them to stay home after 10 p.m., but instead understands that sexual violence happens in homes/schools/workplaces/bars/streets/subways to women and men, boys and girls. We want to change the cultural acceptance and normalcy of sexual violence and harassment and we do our best to work with allies of all genders, ages, and backgrounds to make that happen. There are many older people who agree with us and work with us and I hope that one day people like Judge Hatch will too.

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