Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

End-Of-Summer SSH Programmatic Updates

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Dear Friends,
First, thank you for your support in helping us serve more than 300 people in the first year of the National Street Harassment Hotline! Special thanks go to monthly donors Alan Kearl and Beckie Weinheimer for their consistent support.

You, too, can help people in need all across the nation by making a $10 or more donation today. You can also help by spreading the word about the hotline to ensure that the people who need it know about it!

Volunteer as a Blog Correspondent:
We’re looking for a few more volunteer blog correspondents for our last cohort of 2017 — Sept. to Dec. Apply today!! Past correspondents can apply. We are especially seeking people outside the USA.

Many thanks to our latest cohort that just wrapped up their session. Hailing from Brazil, Indonesia, Nepal and USA, they wrote on topics like the psychological effects of street harassment, Latinx women’s experiences with street harassment, the line between humor and harassment and women-only transit.

Recent Board Member Actions:
The SSH community was horrified by the events in Charlottesville, VA, and the growing boldness of Nazis and White Supremacists. SSH board member Maureen Evans Arthurs was among those who took to the streets and marched in solidarity with Charlottesville.

SSH board member Lani Shotlow-Rincon worked with the Chicago Veterans Affairs Medical Center on a campaign aimed at eliminating sexual harassment at their facility. They adapted her anti-street harassment artwork “Hello, My Name is NOT HEY BABY” as part of their campaign. All of the people featured in the campaign are veterans.

SSH board member Patrick Ryne McNeil wrote an article for the Huffington Post, “These Resources Are Critically Important During Trump’s Toxic Presidency.”

Groping is Sexual Assault:
When Taylor Swift went to court in Denver, CO, for two lawsuits stemming from a former DJ allegedly groping/assaulting her, she took a strong stance against victim-blaming. Then her win was a win for abuse survivors everywhere. I did an interview about the lawsuits for the Associated Press and two TV interviews for the Morning Dos (and aired in six major cities). I also penned a piece for Huffington Post.

Meetings, Events & Initiatives:
We partnered with Free Women Writers, an initiative by and for Afghan women, as they fundraise to be able to print booklets with resources for survivors of violence (including street harassment) to distribute them in Afghanistan. While the booklet is available online, many women in need do not have access to the Internet. You can donate online to help them reach their goal — they’re only about $100 from achieving it!

SSH is supporting the New York-based Sydnie L. Mosley Dances’ The Window Sex Project Community Workshop presented in collaboration with I, Too Arts Collective on Sept. 14 and Oct. 16 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Harlem women and genderqueer folks ages 18-40 are invited to participate in a FREE workshop rooted in movement, storytelling, discussion and healthy living. RSVP + more info.

Our partner Safecity in India and The Red Elephant Foundation are launching a mobile app on Sept. 21. Via Project 21, people will be able to report sexual violence globally as well as access help for their communities. If you would like to collaborate and join in as a partner either for the solidarity event on Sept. 21 or for a longer period, you can sign up.

Lastly, I gave talks to the Institute for a Democratic Future cohort in D.C. and the Women’s Network at Exiger Diligence in Maryland. On Sept. 20, I’ll be a speaker at the University of New Hampshire. This month I also joined Jessica Raven, the Executive Director of Collective Action for Safe Spaces, in a meeting with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to discuss launching anti-harassment audio announcements on the transit system this fall and to meet with a new staff member who will work on more comprehensive sexual harassment training for WMATA staff.

Thank you, and please do consider making a $10 or more donation today to support the National Street Harassment Hotline as we enter year two of service!

In Solidarity,Holly Kearl
SSH Founder, CEO

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Apply to be a SSH Blog Correspondent | Sept. to Dec. 2017

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Apply to become part of the third 2017 SSH Blog Correspondents cohort from September to December 2017!

During these four months, correspondents must commit to writing one blog post per month about street harassment issues in their community, region or country. This means four posts total. The topics could include incidents of street harassment in the news, activism to stop it, interviews with activists, and street harassment in popular culture, traditions or the news.

We aim to have geographic diversity among our cohort members and people of all genders, ages, backgrounds and locations can apply. You do not have to apply in English (or write your blog posts in English) if another language is more comfortable for you.

Deadline is Aug. 30. Position begins Sept. 5, 2017.

This is an unpaid, volunteer position. Our blog receives around 30,000 unique visitors per month. The Facebook page, where many of your articles will be posted, has nearly 40,000 likes.

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Welcome New Blog Correspondents of 2017!

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Since 2013, cohorts of people from around the world write monthly articles about street harassment and activism efforts in their communities. Read their articles.

Meet the Blog Correspondents of the Second Cohort of 2017

Yasmin Curzi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Yasmin is a Research Assistant at the Center for Research on Law and Economics at FGV-Rio. She has a BA in Social Sciences from FGV-Rio and a Master Degree in Social Sciences from PUC-Rio, where she wrote her thesis on street harassment and feminists’ struggles for recognition. She received a second degree in the Law at FGV-Rio. She is interested in studies about social movements in Brazil, theories of justice, feminist constitutionalism and the strategic use of Law by feminists.

 

Pritha Khanal, Kathmandu, Nepal

Pritha is doing her Master’s degree in Anthropology and her thesis is on the menstruation practice issues among rural teenagers in Nepal. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. She works in a non-governmental organization focused on women empowerment. She is passionate about working on and writing about various women’s, and she is also fond of travel writing. Follow her blog www.prithakhanal.com and my Facebook account: @pritha.khanal.

 

Astrid Nikijuluw, Serpong, Banten, Indonesia

Astrid received her Bachelors of Business at Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Australia on July 2000. She majored in Banking and Finance. She finished her Masters Degree at Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta on August 2003 where she majored in Human Resource Development. Although her educational backgrounds are economics and social science, she volunteers with many types of organizations and people. She is really concerned about street harassment and aims to help spread information about it for the benefit of her fellow women so that they can walk on the street in peace. Besides writing, she also enjoys reading her favorite books, swimming, watching movies and playing games. Follow her on Twitter at @AstridNiki or on Facebook.

 

Dee Rodriguez, Reading, PA, USA

Dee is a volunteer coordinator and domestic violence/sexual assault advocate for a non-profit social services agency. She is currently involved in a project to better serve Latinx women survivors of sexual assault in her community. Dee received a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies with a focus on Latin American Culture from Penn State University. Dee originally hails from New York City and is a proud daughter of immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic. Dee is also particularly interested in the intersection between sexual violence and race as well as how street harassment contributes to rape culture. In her spare time, Dee enjoys cooking, reading, and going for walks. You can follow Dee on Instagram at @missdeerodriguez.

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2017 Anti-Street Harassment Week Report

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Thank you again so much to everyone who participated in the 2017 International Anti-Street Harassment Week!!!

Participating groups/orgs hailed from 40 countries and 20 U.S. states (and D.C.). Even more joined in for the Global Tweetathon and three tweetchats.

Here’s the wrap-up report!!!

The photo album is also updated.

Please mark your calendars for the 2018 event, April 8-14!!

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Preventing and Ending the Cycle of Street Harassment and Sexual Violence

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Cross-posted from PreventConnect for International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Its author Meghna Bhat is a former SSH Blog Correspondent. She also hosted a podcast episode with Holly Kearl of SSH and Jessica Raven of Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS) to talk about the anti-harassment transit campaign in the Washington, D.C. area.

Being born and raised in India, I assumed only young girls and women in my city experienced and witnessed multiple forms of sexual harassment in our country, especially on the streets and in public transit. Until I arrived in the U.S. in 2004 and continued to read about sexual violence, especially the blogs at Stop Street Harassment, I realized that street harassment is unfortunately prevalent all around the world in shared public spaces. Street harassment, often a troubling factor attributing to sexual violence and physical harassment, is often trivialized and normalized due to being a part of our everyday lives. Being catcalled, groped and grabbed, physically and sexually assaulted, stalked or exposed to flashings and lewd gestures are all types of street harassment. We often overlook the most troubling fact — most of us experience it everyday in our commutes, parks, walks, drives, bike rides and many more avenues. Imagine the trauma, the impact, and future implications on the lives of those affected and victimized.

Street harassment is also intersectional in nature as it often connects with sexual and domestic violence, racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, transphobia, reproductive injustice, Islamophobia, and other forms of oppressions.

WMATA-CASS-SSH add in DC that features a transgender woman.

Denying and trivializing the prevalence and the traumatic impact of street harassment on our communities continues to contribute to the hostile, negative, and misogynistic environment for young girls, women, and trans women. Unfortunately,when it comes to preventing street harassment and other related forms of sexual violence, the victims/ survivors are often held accountable for their victimization and are taught ways to prevent the harassment. Many women have been taught to be aware and cautious of their surroundings, and some have even learned self-defense, in an effort to increase their sense of safety and strength. These things are important, but when young girls and women are frequently asked to dress ‘appropriately’, asked to smile when catcalled, not to stroll ‘alone’ outside in the dark, always be with a friend in public, not to be ‘alone’ at bars, parks and other shared spaces– it contributes to rape culture and perpetuates sexual and domestic violence. Gendered policing and victim-blaming are not going to help prevent street harassment.

An example of collaboration and collective community organizing between Stop Street Harassment, WAMTA Metro and Collective Action for Safe Spaces.
(L to R): Jason Minser, Jessica Raven, Lynn Bowser, Holly Kearl, Deputy Chief Leslie Campbell, and Morgan Dye

This week (April 2-8, 2017) marks the 7th year of the International Anti-Street Harassment Week. In order to prevent and end the cycle of street harassment, we can take the following steps:

  1.  Collectively shift the culture in how our society sees and responds to street harassment and sexual violence. We need to identify protective factors and effective ways to change these harmful gender and social norms that condone harassment, sexism, and other forms of oppressions.
  2. Take action: Get inspired by examples of events and activities of how other activists around the world are resisting and challenging street harassment in their towns. Take a look and see how you can adapt the elements of collaboration and community organizing to stop street-harassment in your community and town.
  3. Share resources with survivors and communities: Those who has experienced street harassment and need help, can call toll-free: 855-897-5910 or click here for online hotline.  You can find other resources here through Stop Street Harassment or read stories shared by other victims/ survivors of their experiences on Collective Action for Safe Spaces.
  4. The month of April also marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM): It is important we recognize how street harassment, an often overlooked and minimized form of sexual harassment, is connected to sexual violence and other types of systemic and institutional oppressions. Check out how you can get involved.
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