Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

UK: 129 Reports of Harassment on Public Transport in the West Midlands

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Via BBC:

“BBC Inside Out looks at what is being done to tackle sexual harassment on buses, trains and trams.

Last year there were 129 reports of sexual offences or harassment, predominantly inappropriate touching, on public transport in the West Midlands.

Laura Bates travels to Birmingham and Coventry to meet the victims of sexual harassment on transport. She hears their stories and also discovers that many victims do not report these crimes.

West Midlands Police has launched Project Empower to tackle sexual crimes on the transport network and build passenger confidence to report unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature.

Inside Out West Midlands is broadcast on Monday, 22 September on BBC One at 19:30 BST and nationwide on the iPlayer for seven days thereafter.”

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Will Kansas City Pass An Anti-Harassment Ordinance?

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Woo, great press this week for our Safe Public Spaces Mentees BikeWalkKC in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

Via Kansas City Star:

“‘We’re encouraging people to walk and bike more,’ Kansas City Councilman John Sharp said, ‘and they certainly ought to be allowed to do that without harassment.’

Broad anti-harassment ordinances are already on the books in Kansas and Missouri.

But before the end of the month, Sharp, chairman of the council’s public safety and emergency services committee, hopes to pass an ordinance that would outlaw threatening and dangerous behavior to protect “vulnerable road users.” That includes everyone from bikers, walkers and cyclists to people in wheelchairs or waiting at bus stops.

The ordinance is based on similar ones passed in Columbia, St. Louis, Independence and Greenwood, Mo., in the last five years. Sharp and advocacy group BikeWalkKC hope to have Kansas City’s ordinance on the books by Oct. 8.

That’s International Walk to School Day. Fifty years ago, half of American school kids biked or walked to school. Now it’s less than 15 percent at a time when many children are overweight and need more exercise.

But attempts to reverse that trend aren’t going to work, Sharp said, unless parents believe the streets are safe. Nor will anyone other than the bravest cyclists use the new bike lanes the city is striping across town if they’re fearful of being run off the road by aggressive motorists.”

Via KC TV 5:

“The Kansas City Council is considering an ordinance to crack down on harassment and threats for those taking a stroll or riding a bicycle.

The ordinance amendment is sponsored by Councilman John Sharp. He said he hopes to protect anyone from being made to feel uncomfortable…

The council’s public safety committee will discuss the issue on Sept. 25. If it passes out of committee, the full council could take it up as soon as Sept. 26.

The following is the proposed ordinance:

 Sec. 50-205. Harassment of a Bicyclist, Pedestrian or Wheelchair Operator

(a) The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them below, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Bicycle means any device upon which a person may ride, which is propelled by human power through a system of belts, chains, or gears, and may include an electric assist motor, and has wheels at least 16 inches in diameter and a frame size of at least 13 inches.

Wheelchair means any manual or motorized device designed specifically for use by a physically disabled person for means of conveyance.

(b) No person shall, for the purpose of frightening or injuring any person riding a bicycle, walking, running, or operating a wheelchair:

(1) Throw an object, direct a projectile, or operate a vehicle at or in such person’s direction; or

(2) Threaten such person; or

(3) Sound a horn, shout or otherwise direct loud or unusual sounds toward such person; or

(4) Place such person in apprehension of immediate physical danger; or

(5) Engage in conduct that creates a risk of death or serious physical injury to such person.

(c) Any person convicted of a violation of this chapter shall be punished for that violation by a fine of not less than $50, but not more than $500 or by imprisonment of not more than 180 days or by both such fine and imprisonment.”

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Help More People in the UK and Ireland Enjoy a Good Night Out!

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From Hollaback! London:

“Since March 2014, we’ve been working with pubs, clubs, bars and venues across London to prevent harassment and create safer nights out. The response has been overwhelming. Now, organisers across the UK and Ireland want to bring Good Night Out to their towns and cities. We’re fundraising £5000 to make this happen – watch our crowd funding campaign video and find out more.

Good Night Out is a pioneering new campaign designed to transform the way pubs, clubs and bars handle harassment and assault at their establishments. We’ve designed a pledge which we invite venues to sign up to, which reads:

‘If something or someone makes you feel uncomfortable, no matter how minor it seems, you can report it to any member of our staff and they will work with you to make sure it doesn’t have to ruin your night.”

Upon signing up to our campaign, all participating businesses

  • display our pledge posters informing customers what to expect
  • fully brief staff on the new addition to the workplace policy
  • have access to our special training workshops for staff
  • are named and linked to on the Good Night Out website
  • feedback regularly to us for advice and support about dealing with harassers

Since March this year, we’ve worked with venues, pubs bars in clubs ranging from local bars, to 1000+ capacity venues to improve their safety policy. We’ve had 100% positive feedback from the venues we’ve worked with so farwho include Village Underground, Dalston Superstore and Fabric. Since launching, we’ve been inundated with enquiries from organisations and activists across the country who want to see Good Night Out in their area, so we’re working with them to make this happen!

Here are some of the venues we’ve already worked with across London.

We’re now organising with groups around the UK and Ireland from Sheffield to Galway, Glasgow to Kent, Limerick to Oxford, Brighton, Bristol, Norwich, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Coventry and more to get the message out and ensure we have a real impact on the way the nighttime economy deals with harassment, whatever form it takes.”

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Vancouver Transit Police Agree to Change their PSA

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Advertisement by the Vancouver Transit Police. Photograph by Anoushka Ratnarajah.

The Vancouver Transit Police have been working to address sexual harassment and assault on their system. Their latest effort included this poster, which suggests that not reporting an assault is the real shame (as opposed to the assault) and ignores valid reasons why someone may choose not to report.

Vancouver-based artist Anoushka Ratnarajah shard the poster’s message on Instagram and Ms. Magazine and other outlets covered the story at the end of last week. The Vancouver chapter of Hollaback! issued a powerful statement to the Vancouver Transit Police and Lucia Lorenzi wrote an excellent essay about the ads, Lost in Translation: What The Vancouver Transit Police Advertisement Teaches Us About Language Use.

Thankfully, the Vancouver Transit Police issued an apology: as the CBC reports, they will be taking these posters down, and replacing them.

Hollaback! Vancouver shared this on their site today:

“Anne Drennan of the Vancouver Transit Police (VTP) called Shannon Fisher, Hollaback! Vancouver Team Lead, last night to apologize and say that the VTP will have the victim-shaming ads down by the end of the week as train cars return to service yards.

Anne spent the day calling everyone who complained about the ads to apologize for the harmful messaging. The VTP didn’t mean to blame victims, and they genuinely wish to encourage people — victims and bystanders — to report what they see as they feel comfortable and safe.

Anne invited Hollaback! Vancouver to be on a team with other women’s support groups to approve the copy on replacement ads. We said, yes!

Thanks to everyone who saw something and said something. Together we made change. Let’s keep using our voices until street harassment and the culture that supports it is no longer tolerated.

Thank you VTP for being swift and respectful. We’re thankful for the effort of the VTP, the See Something Say Something campaign, and the ways you’re willing to include us to make it as effective as possible. If you see something on transit, say something by texting 87-77-77.”

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Stopping Harassment at Comic-Con

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Via Geeks for CONsent’s Facebook Page

In San Diego, there are 130,000 people at Comic-Con International, a place, the LA Times says, “where fans celebrate superheroes and science fiction and Hollywood studios promote their upcoming geek-friendly fare. As comic book characters have broadened, so too has their fan base. More women have begun attending Comic-Con in recent years, and now comprise about 40% of convention-goers, according to Glanzer.”

But even with the increase in women attending, sexual harassment continues to be a problem. For example, Janelle Asselin, who the LA Times writes “has edited comics for DC and Disney, said she has been groped at half a dozen conventions. She said a male comic book artist once told her he would like to eat her ‘like a pie,’ and she received rape threats in comments posted online after she had written a critique of a comic on her blog.”

In response, our friends at Feminist Public Works/Geeks for CONsent submitted a petition with 2,500 signatures calling on organizers to post signs in the convention halls detailing its anti-harassment policies. It also wants convention volunteers trained on how to respond to harassment incidents.

Comic-Con feels it’s already doing enough as they “already posts its policy, that “harassing or offensive behavior will not be tolerated,” on its website and in a printed events guide.”

Geeks for CONsent disagree and since Comic-Con isn’t doing more, they are in San Diego now, handing out anti-sexual harassment information to attendees. They’ve also developed an anti-harassment training manual for convention use. We support them in their effort!

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