Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“You fat ass bitch!”

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I was walking back from the grocery store, carrying two big bags of groceries about nine blocks on a hot August day. I passed a man and he starts saying, “Hi,” to me. I just sort of smiled, but I kept walking, because it was hot and all I wanted to do was get home and put away my groceries. He then starts yelling at me, “I said hi! You don’t even say anything back? You’re rude as fuck, you fat ass bitch!”

Yeah, fucking lovely start to my day.

– Anonymous

Location: Columbus, OH

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Snapshot of street harassment stories, news, announcements & tweets: August 26, 2012

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Egypt, via The Egyptian Chronicles

Happy Women’s Equality Day!

Read stories, news articles, blog posts, and tweets about street harassment from the past few weeks.

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Street Harassment Stories:

Share your story! You can read street harassment stories on the Web at:

Stop Street Harassment Blog

HarassMap in Egypt

Bijoya in Bangladesh

Resist Harassment in Lebanon

Ramallah Street Watch in Palestine

Name and Shame in Pakistan

Safe Streets in Yemen

Street Harassment in South Africa

Many of the Hollaback sites

Street Harassment In the News, on the Blogs:

* Guardian, “Let women stand up to harassment from squids on the street“

* Lesbilicious, “Street Harassment: the taboo is finally breaking“

* Pavadanada, “I had to put an end to this“

* Women’s Web, “What Are Their Thoughts?”

* Zaghaleel, “Third Day of Patrolling against Sexual Harassment“

* Egypt Independent, “Sexual harassment wave continues for third day“

* Week Woman, “My Hijab, My Body – A Muslim Feminist on Street Harassment in Argentina“

* Egyptian Chronicles, “#EndSH : The Eid beasts are back !!”

* Egypt Independent, “In photos: Sexual harassment continues in Eid“

* Prince of Petworth, “Props to the Cops: Arrest Made in Sexual Assaults near Dupont Circle“

* The Times of India, “Stalked, abused in 1 minute, 27 seconds“

Announcements:

New:

* Stop Street Harassment recently incorporated as a nonprofit organization. Please donate so we can conduct a national street harassment study and gather much needed data documenting the problem.

* Tomorrow there is an open mic in Cairo. Share your street harassment and sexual harassment stories.

Reminders:

* Tonight in DC is a benefit concert for Collective Action for Safe Spaces

* Vote for Hollaback Philly’s transit ad project

* Activists in South Africa launched a new website about street harassment

* The anti-sexual harassment public service announcement signs are now up in several Washington, DC metro stations!

* The Stop Street Harassment book is available in paperback for $15.

* Submit art about street harassment for the VoiceTool Product exhibit in San Francisco, CA

* The Adventures of Salwa campaign has a hotline for sexual harassment cases in Lebanon: 76-676862.

* In Bangalore, India, there is a helpline for street harassment 080 – 22943225 / 22864023

* Report #streetharassment in Pakistan at @NameAndShamePk, email nameandshame@ryse.pk, SMS 0314-800-35-68 or online at http://www.nameandshame.pk

15 Tweets from the Week:

1. @mzjudge People who encourage exercise should also advocate to stop street harassment. How do you expect folks to jog when they don’t feel safe?

2. @_jenniwithani I hate that street harassment can still ruin my night.

3. @umberg: @EverydaySexism street harassment count tonight: 11

4. @oh_so_random Street harassment is real in DC though. I’m bothered by the aggressive entitled behavior by many men I’ve encountered on the streets here

5. @mirabaz Incidents of street harassment while dressed freely: only 1 in 17 months, walking past a construction site

6. @jesssolomon A few blocks N of Howard U is full of zombies, and one just literally tried to grab me. #streetharassment #dc

7. @PennyRed ‘I’m here with my mum and little sisters and you’re yelling dirty, sexist things, it’s not ok.’ They seemed genuinely shocked and sorry.

8. @MaiE_89 Hamzawy: We need legislation that targets sexual harassment specifically. #Egypt #EndSH

9. @SafeSpacesDC Props to the Cops: Arrest Made in Sexual Assaults near # Dupont Circle http://bit.ly/TZPfK9 via @popville @DCPoliceDept #vaw #DC

10. @yesgawdhunty If you catcall me, I’ll give you mean look and call you a worthless sack of shit. You’ve been warned.

11. @erindwyer Get outta ur shitbox car #dirtypervs to catcall me so I can enjoy knocking you to the ground. And teaching you some manners. #skells

12. @toridriggers Dear construction guys at McDonalds, if you catcall at me I’m not even going to give you the light of day. #Thisiswhyyour single

13. @sallyzohney AlMasryAlYoum reports 134 harassment cases in police stations over 3 days eiid holidays. These r just the women who spoke up! #endsh

14.  @MaelleP_ #VisitEgypt but with a pepper spray. Sexual harassment during Eid in pictures http://bit.ly/MMqz7v #EndSH.

15. @NihalSaad: Patrolling started at the metro #endsh pic.twitter.com/NrjGjpHC

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“Just an example of the average, normal experience of being female in public.”

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I used to work the night shift in a lab, so I would take public transportation home each morning as all the day shift commuters traveled in the opposite direction. At the time, the distance from my stop to my front door was about a block.

One morning, in that short walk to my house, I jumped in shock halfway there because a complete stranger grabbed my rear. Completely furious, I turned and glared, only to be met with raucous laughter from this adult man and five of his buddies. I was 23 and 5’4”, and these men were easily in their late 30s, towering over me, and with considerably more muscle. I shut my mouth, aware of my vulnerability, and went home.

That’s not even close to the worst harassment I’ve received in my lifetime. Just an example of the average, normal experience of being female in public.

– KJT

Location: Portland, OR

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“Around his friends he turns into some kind of misogynistic monster”

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I was thirteen, walking from my neighbor’s house back to my own. I was wearing a t-shirt and athletic shorts. My childhood friend and all of his friends were hanging around outside. They stood in the middle of the street that I had to cross and started to approach me. I noticed they were all wearing bike shorts or something. You know, the kind of shorts that makes their crotches pretty damn noticeable. Immediately, they all started asking me for my phone number and calling after me as I walked around them and into my house. I could hear chuckles and fits of laughter. Yuck. Sad to say that I still hang out with that kid. He doesn’t normally act like a jerk, but around his friends he turns into some kind of misogynistic monster.

– M.

Location: Cincinnati, OH

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“I am just me”

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Walking home from a friend’s house on Saturday evening in Glasgow, I was accosted by a man who saw fit to comment on my height ( I am 6′ 2 trans woman). I ignored him and continued on my way, only to then have him follow me and ask me if I was ” a wummin or whit (sic).”

I thought the best thing was to try to be firm but polite and said to him, “I am just me.” He then quickly made a grab for my breasts and slurred ” Naw,.. too hard to be real,” leaving me shocked and vulnerable.

–  Anonymous

Location: Glasgow G42, UK

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem.
Find suggestions for what YOU can do about this human rights issue.

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