Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

From NYC to Nepal: New Transit Campaigns

By

As part of the revived anti-harassment subway campaign launched in the fall, New York City has new anti-harassment PSAs.

Meanwhile, in Kathmandu, Nepal, there is a new women-only minibus service that is in part in response to a World Bank survey showing that a quarter of young Nepalese women had experienced sexual harassment on public transport. As I’ve shared on this blog many times (including when I wrote about riding a women-only subway car in Cairo) and discuss in my first book, sex-segregated public transportation is in several cities worldwide but it is a sexist, gender-normative band-aid solution at best and at worst, it simply doesn’t work. You can read Jessica Valenti’s take on it at The Guardian.

Share

USA: Flash Mob Against Harassment on the CTA

By

Sarah Colomé , IL, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

Cold air, don’t care. Chicago’s time honored tradition of social protest reared its glorious head on Wednesday, November 5th, sparking public conversation about street harassment on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train system. Bridging passion, activism, and love of music, members of the Courage Campaign: CTA claimed a section of the Red Line as their own, breaking into a flash mob advocating public safety awareness.

Members of the Courage Campaign: CTA take a quick selfie before the flash mob begins.

Commonly referred to as the “el” or “L” the city of Chicago houses the second largest mass transit system in the country, according to the American Public Transportation Association. With an annual ridership of 229.12 million on the train system alone, in person contact — whether consensual or not — is a frequent reality for those who depend on public transportation in the city.

Frustrated with the lived realities of so many who traverse the transit system each day, Courage Campaign: CTA founder Kara Crutcher decided to take action in order to address these stories of harassment. “I’ve experience and heard horror stories from tons of people taking the CTA,” Crutcher explains on the campaign’s Facebook page.  ”Commuters have been physically, sexually and verbally abused on the CTA, and it’s unacceptable. Everything begins with awareness.” 

Awareness was to be had, and in droves when Crutcher and other Courage Campaign participants exploded into their flash mob. Using an adaption of Aretha Franklin’s timeless song “Respect,” the group swapped in the word “courage” for “respect,” ending with the call to action: “We have the courage to stop harassment on the CTA – do you?”

Watching the video, we see the scene open with a young man incessantly hitting on a young woman before the mob broke into their courage song.

Crutcher explains, “The best part was seeing how uncomfortable everyone was initially – and no one said anything.” Noting several reactions, she noticed people seeing the exchange, shifting uncomfortably, and looking around, but many clapped in support at the end of the skit.

Partnering with a photographer, among other campaign members, the concept of a flash mob was derived on the premise that the action would “be helpful in pushing this project forward,” particularly after seeing the popularity of a similar flash mob done by the Lion King cast on a New York subway in early August. As a dancer in college, Crutcher knows the power of performance.

Produced as collaborative effort, the flash mob finished each of the performances by providing campaign flyers, hoping to entice more support and awareness about the campaign, and the issue of harassment overall. The flyers included actions items, contact information and the campaign’s logo, which serves as a sort of homage to the city of Chicago. Hoping to gain momentum from civic pride Crutcher explains, “I think that is what will make this strong – people are so loyal [to this city.]”

For more information on Courage Campaign: CTA or to contribute to their cause, visit their Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter at @CourageCTA.

Sarah is a progress-focused educator and advocate dedicated to building strategic coalitions centered on creating social change who serves as an adjunct professor in DePaul University’s Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies department. You can follow her updates on Linkedin or hear her perspectives on Twitter.

Share

UK: Victim-blaming poster needs to go!

By

The Manchester police department is behind this poster targeted at college students. While the poster was created a while ago, it is finally receiving much-warranted attention/criticism.

Via The Tab:

“A third year Art History student was fuming from seeing this poster after recent events: “Everyone is terrified for their own safety after the rape in Fallowfield, and this is the last thing we want to hear.

“What the hell were they thinking?! Trying to suggest that we’re asking to get raped/mugged/attacked is disgusting and insensitive.

“The uni and the police should be trying to help and support us at this time, not rudely suggesting that it’s our own fault.”

“It’s so out dated” a second year Linguistics student told The Tab. “It’s like they’re trying to be ‘down with the kids’.”

Shocked students took so social media to express their outrage, branding the poster “bad taste”.

One student on Facebook sarcastically remarked: “I, for one, am very glad that I’ve seen this poster.

“I didn’t realise that wearing a thong makes it easier for people to steal my things. I will wear more clothing in the future!””

H/T Elizabeth Plank

Share

Harassment on Public Transportation News Round-up

By

In the last two weeks there have been several new articles and initiatives around sexual harassment on public transportation. Here’s a sampling:

GLOBAL:

YouGov polling conducted in 16 major cities worldwide asked participants about how safe they feel at night, their experiences with verbal harassment and physical abuse, the public response to abuse, their confidence in authorities, and their overall feelings of safety in the city. They then ranked the 16 cities safest (New York City) to least safe (Bogota). Read more here.

ENGLAND:

Via Independent:

“In September 2013 London launched Project Guardian, a collaborative effort by the British Transport Police, the Metropolitan Police, the City of London Police and Transport for London, to boost levels of reporting of sexual offences.

The Everyday Sexism Project, the End Violence Against Women coalition and Hollaback advised the police on the project, which saw 2000 officers receive special training and 120 officers – both in uniform and plain clothes – carry out daily patrols on the transport network. Since the launch of the initiative, there has been a 20% increase in the reporting of sexual offences, and a 32% increase in the number of cases where offenders have been charged or summoned.”

FRANCE:

Osez le Féminisme (Dare Feminism) launched a campaign on Friday in support of women’s right to be un-harassed on public transportation in Paris

Via rfi:

“‘When you are a woman on the subway in Paris, you are often the victim of different types of sexual aggression […] We have done a study in the metro this summer in Paris, and the study showed that three out of four women were adapting their behaviour or their clothes and their way of dressing when they were going to take the metro.’

The group asks that the RATP, the French public transportation operator, will join in the fight against gender-based violence.”

INDIA:

Via New India Express:

“Thus was born Safe Safar, a campaign started in 2010, to make travel in autorickshaws in Lucknow safe for women, by creating awareness among auto drivers. The campaign blossomed into a full-fledged, successful project that was awarded the IIM-L Manfest Prerna Fellowship Award-2013 by IIM-Lucknow.

“Our survey prior to the campaign revealed that while about 97 per cent of women were sexually harassed at some point of time while travelling in autorickshaws, drivers often chose not to stand up against the crime, considering it none of their business. So, we decided to address the crime at its root by making the driver aware,” says Zeeshan, 30, a postgraduate in social work, who has been extensively working on gender and youth-centric issues for the past four years.

Besides sensitising auto-drivers to play a pro-active role in ensuring security of women commuters, the campaign involved persuading them to stop playing pulsating music and removing pictures of scantily clad women from their vehicles.

Spanning two successful years, the campaign reached out to over 2,000 auto-rickshaw drivers while training 350 of them. Owing to its success, Zeeshan converted it into a full-time programme under his NGO Yeh Ek Soch, which he runs along with partner Shariq Ahmad.”

Share

World Bank Meeting about Harassment on Public Transportation

By

Today I joined Joe Vess from Promundo at the World Bank offices to discuss how to create an effective anti-harassment campaign on public transportation. The World Bank is preparing to launch a pilot campaign on 30 buses in Mexico City this winter.

Here is more about what and why they plan to do. Stay tuned for more updates:

“In Mexico City, 65 percent of women have been victims of some type of gender violence on public transportation or at mass transport stops, terminals or platforms, according to government figures.

It is a reality repeated in other countries of the region. A survey by the non-governmental organization Action Aid in four Brazilian states revealed that 44% of women had suffered sexual harassment on public transportation.

In the first eight months of 2014, 129 people have been arrested for this type of conduct on mass transport systems in Bogota, Colombia, according to police records….

The World Bank and local organizations are developing a pilot program to implement effective measures to combat the problem of sexual harassment on public transportation and mass transport stops in Latin America.

Preliminary research identified four common denominators in interviews with users and public transport officials:

* Reporting is not easy: there is an overall sense that it is not worth reporting incidents because it is a complicated procedure that almost never produces results.

* There is little solidarity among strangers: if there were more of a sense of community, people would speak up when an incident occurs and would be more likely to support victims.

* Segregation is not enough: many users consider segregation a stopgap measure that does not address inappropriate behavior. Some even believe that it is another way to victimize women since it suggests that they “choose” to subject themselves to harassment if they do not travel in the women’s sections.

* Improved infrastructure = more security: participants feel safer when stations and platforms are in good condition.

Based on these results, experts recommend several measures to address the problem.

These include a public awareness campaign to encourage users to join forces against perpetrators, and new services to make users feel safer (for example, night buses that go to users’ houses, in the manner of the San Francisco system). Recommendations also include the development of mobile apps to report harassment, seek help or information.”

Share