Congratulations to Aćim Vasić on persevering for six years to get funding for the film “Prey,” or “La Proie.” Check out the finished product!
“Prey” (“La Proie”) from Aćim Vasić on Vimeo.
Video: La Proie / Prey
16 Days – Day 3: UK Government Inquiry
Each day across the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we will highlight a 2018 activism effort undertaken to stop street harassment or a personal story about stopping harassers!
Day 3: UK Government Inquiry
A nine-month inquiry into street harassment led by the Women and Equalities Committee caused some MPs to call for the government to address street harassment.
“Committee chairwoman Maria Miller said: ‘Women feel the onus is put on them to avoid ‘risky’ situations – all of this keeps women and girls unequal.’
The report concluded that social attitudes underpinned sexual harassment, and the normalisation of it contributed to a ‘wider negative cultural effect on society.’
And while the government has pledged to eliminate sexual harassment of women and girls by 2030, the committee said there was ‘no evidence of any programme to achieve this.’
The report outlined seven key recommendations to tackle street harassment:
1. Force train and bus operators to take tougher action against sexual harassment and block the viewing of pornography on public transport.
2. Ban all non-consensual sharing of intimate images
3. Publish a new “Violence Against Women and Girls” strategy
4. Create a public campaign to change attitudes
5. Take an evidence-based approach to addressing the harms of pornography, along the lines of road safety or anti-smoking campaigns
6. Tougher laws to ensure pub landlords take action on sexual harassment – and make local authorities consult women’s groups before licensing strip clubs
7. Make it a legal obligation for universities to have policies outlawing sexual harassment.”
16 Days – Day 1: Research on Girls’ Safety
From sexual harassment and violence in homes to the streets, from schools to workplaces, women’s and girls’ equality and right to be safe is impeded every day by gender-based violence. Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, as designated by the United Nations to recognize this human rights violation and to say ENOUGH. Everyone deserves a life that is safe and free from violence.
What will you do to speak out against men’s violence against women and girls, including street harassment?
Today also marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. It will conclude on 10 December, International Human Rights Day.
Each day across the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we will highlight a 2018 activism effort undertaken to stop street harassment or a personal story about stopping harassers!
Day #1: Research on Girls’ Safety
Plan International released a report, based on interviews with 21,000 girls in Delhi, Kampala, Lima, Madrid and Sydney, that says street harassment is a pervasive problem for them. One researcher said, “The level of danger girls are facing in cities is shocking and we all have a role to play in ensuring everybody feels safe in our cities — whether they are on the street, on public transport or in parks. Individuals, communities, governments and authorities should all be spurred to act.”
Plan International Australia suggests that girls should be involved in planning cities to reduced gender-based exclusion and street harassment. They also recommend “behavior change programs that target toxic masculinity, tackle social norms and address the root causes of gender-based street harassment.”
“We have to have this conversation now. Good men, there are a lot of them, they’re a majority, they have to start speaking up and speaking out and they have to start calling out this behaviour because enough is enough. It shouldn’t be on girls to fix this problem,” said Plan International Australia CEO Susanne Legena.
In another report by Plan International, titled “Girls’ Safety in Cities across the World“, almost 400 experts in 22 cities across six continents discussed the safety risks that girls and young women face. It found that Lima is the world’s most dangerous city for girls to go out alone, while Stockholm is the safest city for sexual harassment and for girls to leave the house alone. “The poll is the first of its kind to highlight the universality of the dangers girls and young women face in cities and public spaces across different societies and cultures, which it says affects the lives of millions and yet remains ignored.”
Lastly, research conducted by Plan International UK found that one in three girls in the UK have been street harassed while wearing their school uniform and 66% have faced some kind of street harassment overall. They found that many girls feel street harassment is “all part of growing up.”
The organization has made several recommendations, including:
- Public awareness campaigns to spread the message that street harassment “is not OK”
- Offer training for bystanders on how to safely intervene
- Support boys and men to change their attitudes and challenge harassment
- Provide relationship and sex education to young people
- Training for workers in public places (shop staff, bus drivers) on spotting harassment and reporting it
21,000 Girls Agreed…
Plan International’s new report, based on interviews with 21,000 girls around the world, found that street harassment is a pervasive problem for them.
This is unacceptable – everyone should feel safe in public spaces. The real impact it has on millions of lives is is a big reason why we work to change the cultural acceptability of street harassment. We use research and story-telling to document it and then encourage community and government action to end it.
As the holiday season approaches, you can support us in your shopping by using our Amazon Smile link and you can donate to our forthcoming Giving Tuesday and Year-End giving campaigns in honor of the people in your life whom you want to feel safe.
If we raise enough money, we can fund a five-year update to our 2014 national study on street harassment in the US, oversee our 9th annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week, re-launch our Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Program and more!
Recent SSH Activities
- In September, we held our first board meeting with our newest board members – and held an in-person welcome session for the local DC-area members!
- Board member Patrick McNeil took the lead on crafting a “We Believe Survivors” letter for SSH in light of the US Supreme Court hearings earlier this fall.
- SSH volunteer Dr. Meghna Bhat represented SSH during the YWCA Week Without Violence campaign.
- Board member Maliyka Muhammad represented SSH in New York at a Ladies First Astoria workshop on sexual harassment.
- On Nov. 10, SSH Board members Lauren Pires and Ashley Badgley and I will present at Georgetown University’s WERC Summit in Washington, DC.
In the News:
It’s been one year since the #MeToo hashtag went viral and our study from earlier this year has been cited in many news articles, as has SSH’s work in general. Examples include: USA Today, Vox, Mother Jones, Daily Times – Pakistan, Times of India, San Diego Union Tribune, Lexington Herald-Leader
Again, if you want to take action now, please consider a tax deductible-donation to support our work.
Two New Books
Dr. Fiona Vera-Gray has a new book about street harassment out called The Right Amount of Panic: How Women Trade Freedom for Safety. I got to offer a review for the jacket back: “By reinterpreting women’s daily safety strategies as successful forms of resistance, this book presents fresh ideas for sexual violence prevention.”
Soraya Chemaly, a long-time supporter of SSH, has a new book out tomorrow called Rage Becomes Her, and in one chapter (“Smile, Baby”) she writes about street harassment. It is a book we all need to understand our anger and “transform it into meaningful change.” #RageBecomesHer