Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Watch OVARIAN PSYCOS Tonight

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Watch OVARIAN PSYCOS on PBS’ Independent Lens TONIGHT at 10 p.m.! 

“Riding at night through Eastside Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos use their bicycles to confront the violence in their lives [including street harassment]. At the helm of the crew is founder Xela de la X, a single mother and poet M.C. dedicated to recruiting an unapologetic, misfit crew of women of color, yet she struggles to strike a balance between motherhood and activism. Evie, a bright eyed recruit, joins the crew and despite poverty and the concerns of her protective Salvadoran mother, discovers a newfound confidence.  Meanwhile, Andi Xoch, a founding member and street artist who knows the deeply activist legacy from which the Ovas emerge, journeys to become a new leader within the crew.”

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Post-Election Map of Hate, Including Street Harassment

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splcnov292016The Southern Poverty Law Center released a new report yesterday on the more than 860 post-presidential election hate incidents that have been reported so far in the United States. You can see the breakdown and learn more about the types of incidents they are tracking here:

Here are examples of the Anti-Woman incidents, which they classify as street harassment.

“Since the election, the frequency and tone of street harassment of women seems to have changed. Women — about 5% of the total reports — reported that boys and men around the country are parroting the president-elect’s sexist and vulgar comments from the now-notorious 2005 audio tape.

In Minneapolis, middle-school boys leaned out of a school bus to yell, “Grab her by the pussy!” to a man walking with a female colleague.

A 50 year-old woman from Venice, California, reported that she had not been “catcalled” in over 20 years. The day after the election, three white men in a pickup truck bearing a Trump sticker shouted at her, “Do you want us to grab your pussy?”

In Arlington, Virginia, a woman crossing the street reported that two young white men yelled at her from their car: “You better be ready because with Trump, we can grab you by the pussy even if you don’t want it.”

In New York, a girl on her way to school reported that a man on the subway told her he was “allowed to grab my pussy because it’s legal now.”

A woman in Spokane, Washington, reported that she encountered young men who she described as being “‘liberated’ from normal behavior since the election.” They shouted “We’re going to rape you!” from a Jeep with the word “TRUMP” emblazoned on its side.

And in a Brooklyn, New York, restaurant, a woman who voiced her support for Hillary Clinton was punched in the face by a male patron.”

If you’ve experienced any of these types of harassment (e.g. anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-LGBT, anti-woman), you can report it via this URL or the hashtag #ReportHate.

Related, here is a Ms. Magazine article by Carly Lanning about how Trump is a “trigger” for sexual abuse survivors.

H/T our board member Patrick!

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TDOR 2016

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Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Via HRC:

“Now in its 18th year, TDOR is a time for the transgender community and allies to mourn those who have been victims of anti-trans violence, and to recommit to ensuring that their lives – and deaths – are not forgotten. TDOR allows us to call attention to the continued violence and injustice transgender people face every day.

In 2015, HRC reported the murders of at least 21 transgender people in the United States, more than any previous year on record. A disproportionate number of these victims were transgender women of color. That alarming trend has continued in 2016. HRC and the Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) just released A Matter of Life and Death: Fatal Violence Against Transgender People in America 2016, a new, heartbreaking report documenting the often deadly violence faced by the transgender community and exploring the factors that fuel these tragic attacks.

“TDOR is about mourning those who have been taken from us through violence, transphobia and hatred, and it is a way of recognizing the loss that those lives represent to our community,” said Nicole Cozier, HRC Director of Diversity & Inclusion.

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“TDOR empowers HRC’s steering committees, members and other activists on the ground to support members of the transgender community in their regions. It’s about mobilizing our communities to reach out and say, ‘We’re here and we stand with you.’” Cozier said.

It’s for this reason, I’m so pleased that the latest anti-harassment transit campaign we worked on in the Washington, D.C. area includes a transwoman of color in one of the ads. Trans people, including Trans people of color deserve respect, dignity, love and — to not fear for their lives!!!!

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Two Efforts to Document and Map Hateful Acts, Post-Election

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Here is an update on places where you can report discriminatory harassment in the USA, since we know there has been an uptick since the Presidential election.

FIRST:

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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is collecting reports of hateful and harassing acts.

On November 18, they wrote:

“This is the second update from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s effort to collect reports of hateful incidents of harassment around the country. This report covers the full week (Wednesday Nov. 9 to Wednesday Nov. 16) since the presidential election.

The SPLC collected reports from news articles, social media, and direct submissions from the #ReportHate intake page. The SPLC made efforts to verify each report but many included in the count remain anecdotal.

While the total number of incidents has risen, the trend line points to a steady drop-off. Around 65 percent of the incidents collected occurred in the first three days following the election.

 

SECOND:

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“In the wake of the 2016 US elections reports of harassment and hate crimes directed at minority groups of all kinds have been widespread. The purpose of this multi-team effort is to collect and map reports of harassment and hate crimes against [discriminated against] communities. We also seek to collect and map reports of [discriminated against] communities being helped.

Important: This is not an emergency response system. If you are the victim (or an eyewitness) of harassment/attacks, please call 911.

This project is a collaboration between CrisisMappers, Harvard University, MIT and UCLA.
Contact: contact@harassmap.us”

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New Transit Ads are Up in Washington, DC

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It’s nearly been five years since a group of us testified before the DC City Council to pressure the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to do something about sexual harassment — and they did.

A year ago when we met to talk about next steps, one of their commitments was to a third wave of anti-harassment PSAs. They were supposed to be done in April but after many many delays, they are now up across the system. Huge kudos to Jessica Raven at our collaborating org Collective Action for Safe Spaces for adamantly saying the ads should include focusing on some of the demographics we know are facing a lot of harassment, like trans women of color and Muslim women. Then, when WMATA said there was a lack of stock photos of these two demographics, Jessica suggested she could provide photos of people she knew (with their permission). That inspired WMATA to hold their own photo-shoot and the resulting photos are beautiful.

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As of Nov. 10, WMATA told us,

“Riders should see ads at the following stations:

Anacostia, Archives, Ballston, Benning Road, Bethesda, Branch Avenue, College Park, Columbia Heights, East Falls Church, Eastern Market, Eisenhower Ave., Farragut North, Farragut West, Federal Center SW, Federal Triangle, Forest Glen, Fort Totten, Franconia-Springfield, Friendship Heights, Gallery Place, Glenmont, Greenbelt, Huntington, Judiciary Square, King Street, L’Enfant Plaza, Landover, McPherson Square, Metro Center, Mt. Vernon-UDC, National Airport, Navy Yard, New Carrollton, Pentagon City, Prince George’s Plaza, Rhode Island Avenue, Smithsonian, Stadium Armory, Takoma Park, U Street-Cardoza, Union Station, Van Dorn, Vienna, West Falls Church, West Hyattsville, Wheaton, Woodley Park.

Additionally, the ads will be in rotation on the 10 touchscreen digital panels at:  Capital South, Gallery Place, Federal Triangle, Foggy Bottom, Pentagon, Farragut North, Farragut West, and Metro Center.”

This year we also worked with WMATA on the first-ever transit-wide survey on sexual harassment (results) and an outreach day at several Metro stations during International Anti-Street Harassment Week. They also began doing sexual harassment training for their bus operators.

WMATA harassment transit ad

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