Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Playboy’s Consent Flow Chart

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A key reason why street harassment IS harassment is that we haven’t given our consent to be commented on, yelled at, followed, touched etc. This concept is difficult for some to comprehend and so Playboy (of all outlets!) is helping to educate the (mostly male) masses about consent on the streets with this flowchart.

I am not a fan of Playboy and the way they sexually objectify women, contributing to a society where women are valued more for their looks than for their intellect and (non-sexual) talents, but presumably all of the women featured in their magazine gave consent to be there, so hopefully they do understand the concept of consent.

And I am glad to see an outlet that I NEVER would have expected to talk about street harassment in this way do so. Maybe some of their mainly male readership will absorb the information on the chart and think before the harass…

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New Android Phone App: No Kitty!

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“I’m part of a organization that strives to equality for women and members of the LGBTQ community. Recently, we’ve been focused on the issue of street harassment.

We’ve developed an Android application called “No Kitty!“, which empowers people to confront their brothers, fathers, husbands, boyfriends, sons, and friends who they believe may be street harassers.”

— Passing this along, from Rebecca Hall —

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Poem: “Cornerstorecandy”

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Calayah Heron, a participant of the New York City GirlsWriteNow wrote and performed a powerful poem about street harassment called “Cornerstorecandy.”

In two minutes, she covers so many important topics about street harassment. The young age it starts (at 8 years old for her), its regularity, its physicality, the underlying fear of escalation, and the disgust and panic you can feel when experiencing it.

Thank you for your eloquence, Calayah and for showing exactly what street harassment is all about and why it MUST END.

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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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