Our Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Site BikeWalkKC in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, is already in the thick of their project.

1 – They are working to pass an anti-harassment ordinance in Kansas City. From their website:

“Many pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users are experiencing harassment on Kansas City streets, and it’s hindering their right to a safe trip.

Mothers walking children to school, cyclists biking to work, and individuals waiting at the bus stop are just a few examples of the countless people who have become targets on our streets and in our neighborhoods, and it’s time for a change.

Harassment is illegal in many US states. Most states — including Missouri and Kansas — have statutes explicitly prohibiting “harassment.” These laws ban behavior like using “coarse language” or committing a “threatening, intimidating, or alarming action.” Many states also make disorderly conduct or disturbance of the peace offenses.

The problem is that — except for the most serious actions, like groping and assault — street harassment behaviors are rarely explicitly prohibited. That lack of specificity means that something like a suggestive comment or taunting, sadly, is often not legally recognized as harassment.

BikeWalkKC is dedicated to making our streets safe for walking, cycling, and other modes of transportation. As we build new bike lanes and sidewalks, tighter laws and education will be equally important. BikeWalkKC is working in concert with other organizations to pass Safe Streets KC, an ordinance that defines and prohibits street harassment.”

You can help out by SIGNING THEIR PETITION | TAKING THEIR SURVEY (if you’re in Kansas City)

2 – They are partnering with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Women’s Center to hold a workshop on bicycling, September 25, 4 p.m. It’s open to the public!

I am thrilled to see our Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Program grow so much this year. Last year, for the pilot we received 5 applications and took on 3 sites. This year, we received 15 really great applications from all over the world. Thanks to donations from our supporters, we have been able to accept six of them! They are in six countries and four continents. GLOBAL!

Through December 15, 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. Schools of Equality in Chennai, India, will create toolkits, in both English and Tamil, to educate and raise awareness about street harassment among teens in schools. The toolkit will also contain resources for schools to conduct their own campaigns around ending street harassment along with ways to brainstorm culturally appropriate responses to street harassment.

2. In Kenya, the Teen Watch Centre will address the rampant problem of harassment on their local ferry system, which 5,000 people ride each day, through a five day awareness campaign on the boarding ramps and a sticker and poster campaign.

3. Women LEAD Nepal will recruit 10 volunteers in Kathmandu and train them to lead theater forums on street harassment. Then the volunteers will go into schools, universities and public spaces to perform the theater and a workshop to allow people to learn about the topic and have a safe space to discuss it.

4. In Managua, Nicaragua, the new group Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero Nicaragua (OCAC NIC) will conduct surveys about street harassment at six of the busiest buses stations. They hope to survey at least 2,000 people and have volunteers ready to analyze the data. Then they will do outreach to media outlets to publicize the findings and bring more attention to the issue.

5. In Nis, Serbia, the informal youth group Generation Y will conduct a street harassment survey among high school and college students. Then, they will use the information they collect to design informational flyers about street harassment and they will do flyering and outreach at places found to be high-risk for harassment based on the survey results.

6. In Kansas City, MO, USA, the BikeWalkKC team will work to pass a cyclist anti-harassment ordinance and hold workshops on street harassment and bicycling.

Do you want to do something about street harassment? Here are several ways you can join up with us in the mission to document and end gender-based street harassment.

1. Apply for our September – November 2014 Blog Correspondents Cohort. Apps due August 29, 2014. It’s an unpaid, volunteer position. 

2. Apply to join our Board of Directors for the 2014-16 term. Apps due September 8, 2014. It’s an unpaid, volunteer position.

3 & 4. — We’re looking for new dedicated volunteers! To apply, please send your resume/CV and a cover letter to Holly Kearl, HKearl@StopStreetHarassment.org.

3. SSH Social Media Manager:

SSH needs help managing the Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram accounts. The position will entail a little bit of work on the Facebook page, too. Applicants must have experience with each platform and be able to devote around three hours per week to managing these accounts.

The person must be able to manage these accounts through at least the end of 2014, ideally through the end of Spring 2015.

This is an unpaid volunteer position.

Apply by September 13, 2014

4. International Anti-Street Harassment Week Manager:

International Anti-Street Harassment Week will be held April 12-18, 2015. It will be the fifth year of activism.

Leading up to the week (Dec – early April): We need someone who can help manage the #EndSHWeek social media-specific accounts, reach out to groups and people to invite them to participate, follow-up with past participants, update the website, develop new flyers for 2015, work with translation volunteers to translate materials, find media contacts and outlets to pitch, and other duties as relevant. You will have weekly check-ins with SSH Founder Holly Kearl.

During the week: We need someone who can help dedicate time every day to searching online for photos and articles about activism happening by participants (they are often slow to send links or never do – so SSH has to do a lot of searching) and then sharing them on the SSH blog, photo album, and social media accounts, help manage the daily tweet chats, and also, ideally the person will hold or participate in an offline event.

After the week (late April): Following up with participants to hear about their events. Continuing to look online for actions that took place. Compiling links.

This position will require about 5-10 hours/week leading up to April. During April it could be up to 15-20 hours per week.

The position would begin in December 2014 and run until the end of April 2015 (5 months). This position will pay a small stipend of $500/month ($2,500 total).

Apply by October 1, 2014.