Sandria Washington, Chicago, IL, SSH Blog Correspondent

One week before Christmas, a 15-year-old Chicago girl was beaten and sexually assaulted while walking to school. Her body was found in the backyard of a northwest side resident, where she lay bleeding in the snow for nearly two hours.

The attack happened in the early morning around 6 a.m. when it was still dark as night and before any Safe Passage guards were on duty.

With the story making national headlines and sparking more fear in parents locally, the city’s Safe Passage program came under scrutiny. Could having more eyes and ears on the streets truly protect our children from violence?

I wonder.

The program was created in response to the horrific 2009 beating (and subsequent death) of 16-year-old Fenger High School student Derrion Albert. Trained Safe Passage workers stand guard along designated routes throughout the city during peak hours before and after school in an effort to provide additional safety to students commuting in high-risk areas.

Beatings, drive-by shootings, gang violence and sexual assault are just a few of the possible gauntlets children are required to maneuver through on their way to schools that are meant to be safe havens. Yet, I wonder if street harassment is equally seen as a threat along Safe Passage routes.

Although the full circumstances surrounding the assault of the 15-year-old student still remain unknown, it’s possible the attack could have started as harassment. The stories of street harassment escalating into assault and sometimes death don’t always go viral, but they are no less real. In a September 2013 Huffington Post article, writer Soraya Chemaly recounts the story of a 14-year-old Florida girl who was attacked and run over after refusing sex from a stranger driving by.

As a young girl, even before entering high school, I regularly walked alone and took public transportation to get to school. My mother, like many parents, was unable to escort me and I’m sure her heart was up in the air each day until I returned home.

I have countless stories of being harassed by male peers and male adults while walking or waiting at bus stops. Crossing guards were sometimes nearby, but their focus was of course monitoring traffic and getting children safely across the street. A car circling the block or someone getting too verbally aggressive simply blended into the background noise.

Even with adults standing watch in the full hustle and bustle of the school day, street harassment can be another obstacle in the fight to get to and from school. In general, street harassment is likely to go unchecked by bystanders, as in the case of the Florida girl, because they may not know how or if to intervene.

Unfortunately, more eyes and ears on the street may not do much when it comes to street harassment. It’s a form of violence that’s hiding in plain sight.

Sandria Washington is a writer, health/wellness ambassador and community activist. Read her ChicagoNow blog and follow her on Twitter @SandriaWrites.

Brittany Oliver, Baltimore, MD, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

Last week, Egyptian feminist Nana Elhariry and DC-based Arab/Muslim writer Rami el-Amin shared their personal reflections at the event “The Egyptian Revolution: It’s Context, the Feminist Movement, and the 3 Years Since,” held at Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, MD.

Both women were distinctively able to recall instances of street harassment they witnessed during the movement. They mentioned that women were subjected to vulgar remarks, insults, indecent exposure, stalking and fondling despite advocating for the same issues among their male counterparts. I attended because I wanted to learn about the experiences women faced during the Egyptian Revolution and, aside from reading about it, I wanted to have a face-to-face discussion about it.  Their mentions of street harassment definitely hit home for me.

The reason why I connected with these instances so much is because I’ve experienced street harassment myself and I know others who have as well, but who are afraid to speak out about it. Because these acts are very likely to happen if you are a woman, walking along the streets of Baltimore at certain times can get very scary. And with the countless number of stories, reports and facts, you would have to wonder – what exactly is Baltimore doing about it?

According to Stop Street Harassment, studies around the world show that 80 to 100 percent of women experience street harassment. In a study of 811 women from 23 countries, almost one in four had experienced street harassment by age 12 (22%) and nearly 90% by age 19. So, there should never ever be an issue on whether or not street harassment is a current form of gender-based violence because the research and facts are there. It’s an issue that more people need to be educated on because not only is it rarely reported, but also the least legislated against.

So what IS being done? Aside from Stop Street Harassment, Hollaback! Baltimore is a local movement of activists who are making some serious moves to ending street harassment within the area. Just this week, Hollaback! Baltimore hosted a Street Harassment 101 workshop for the volunteers of Repair the World, which was intended to help them become better allies to the movement.

One of the best ways to stop street harassment is by educating as many people as we can on ways to better interact with women and LGBT individuals in our communities. As Baltimore ranks as the seventh most dangerous city in the country, I still believe there are a lot of actions we can take to make it a better place to live. We may not be able to change it all at once, but every bit of work towards making our streets safer will help make a difference for the future.

March 30^th to April 5^th will be the 3^rd annual of International Anti-Street Harassment Week and I’m looking forward to seeing what activists in Baltimore will do in continuing the fight.

Brittany Oliver is a recent graduate of Towson University and works in the non-profit communications sector and supports local anti-street harassment advocacy through Hollaback! Baltimore. She blogs at brittuniverse.wordpress.com and publicly rants on Twitter, @btiara3.