Meet our 2015 Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Program mentees! They come from four countries, three continents.

Through the end of 2015, we will hold weekly check-ins, offer advice, materials and a small monetary stipend for the projects they proposed. Each team will write at least two blog posts about their projects (mid-way and at the conclusion) so you all will have a chance to hear from them directly.

These are the mentees and their projects!

1. Stop Harcèlement de Rue – Lyon will host an exhibition of drawings against street harassment in a number of locations in Lyon, France, including a high school, city square, and bar. Members of the group will be on hand at various times to discuss street harassment with passersby.

2. In India, the Safe Safar: Safe Streets project will entail gender-sensitization and anti-harassment trainings with auto rickshaw drivers in Uttar Pradesh. The team will also hold monthly awareness campaigns with street plays, signature campaigns, and public dialogue around the issue.

3. FILIA Centre will hold a three workshop series about street harassment at a high school in Bucharest, Romania. The students will have the opportunity to create art, videos, or write an essay on the topic during the process.

4. A high school student-led group Me=You: Sexual Harassment Awareness will engage in a number of actions in Florida, USA, around street harassment, including writing letters to the school board, writing articles for the school newspaper, and holding anti-harassment events for the local libraries’ monthly teen programming.

We are excited about the big impact we know they will each have in their communities.

APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE FOR OUR 2015 SAFE PUBLIC SPACES MENTORING PROGRAM! DUE JULY 15, 2015

What is it? Our mentoring program empowers people to consider what efforts might decrease street harassment in their community, and then propose and carry out a project. Across four months, selected activists receive advice, network connections, input, and up to $350 for expenses from SSH.

In 2013 and 2014, we worked with a total of nine teams in eight countries (Afghanistan, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Nepal, Nicaragua, Serbia and USA).

As three examples:

* In Afghanistan, college students held workshops on street harassment for hundreds of high school students. For all of the students, it was their first time having the space to talk about the issue, share their feelings, and brainstorm change.

* In Serbia, activists surveyed more than 600 college-age youth. Publishing their findings had two immediate impacts. 1) The college psychologists decided to take action around the issue. 2) Members of the Board Commission for Gender Equality of the City of Nis decided to conduct another survey.

* In the USA, the BikeWalkKC group in Kansas City, Missouri, worked with a number of groups to see the passage of an anti-harassment ordinance in their city.

The projects will begin on August 15 and run through December 15.

SPONSOR A TEAM!

Street harassment can cause people to feel unsafe in public spaces and also can make them feel powerless and unsure what they can do. Your sponsorship of $10+ can help give someone their power back and let them take action to address and work to end street harassment.

The amount of money we raise will determine how many teams we can fund this year. 100% of your money goes to the selected teams. Help make a difference today!

Our 2014 Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Team Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero, Nicaragua, surveyed 900 women about street harassment in the city of Managua in the last months of 2014. More than fifteen volunteers interviewed women ages 14-55 at bus stops across the city.

You can read about their preliminary results here. Today they are officially releasing the full report at a big event, with a press conference.

Congratulations to them and many thanks for their dedication to bringing attention to this issue in their country!

UPDATED: Here are photos and some of the media coverage!