By Kendra Corbin, SSH Intern

Prior to becoming involved with Stop Street Harassment, I was under the impression that harassment on and off the streets was an isolated issue that took place in the United States. I now have a global perspective as it relates to street harassment. This disheartening issue impacts the lives of women and girls around the globe. Recently, I had the privilege to reach out to a new group dedicated to fighting street harassment in Chile. The Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero Chile (OCACC) was gracious enough to consent to answering a few of Stop Street Harassment’s questions in order to spread the word to our global readers.

SSH: Can you briefly describe OCACC?

OCACC: OCAC Chile is the first non-profit organization in the country aimed at stopping street harassment. Our main objective is to raise awareness and understanding about this issue, so that it can be clearly understood as a form of gender-based violence. We intend to achieve this through cultural and educational activities.

SSH: What does your organization hope to accomplish?

OCACC: Our long-term goal is to create legislation to end street harassment. However, we first need to help society understand what constitutes street harassment, and that this is a form of gender-based violence. We want to promote social reform not only through new legislation, but at a cultural level.

SSH: What kind of feedback has OCACC encountered from society?

OCACC: Since we started back in November, we have received a tremendous amount of support and encouragement, particularly once we were featured on several media outlets. So much so, that our current activities run solely through the support and goodwill of our adherents. At the moment we don’t have any kind of financial backing, so the contribution from our supporters cannot be understated; they keep us motivated to push harder than before.

It all started with the idea of providing a space through which to bring consciousness about street harassment, to help people understand that this is a social problem that needs to be reformed. Initially we did photo shoots and posted anonymous stories from women willing to tell us about the harassment they suffered. As we garnered support, psychologists, lawyers, artists, illustrators, musicians and others willing to help us joined our cause, which has allowed us to expand the scope and reach of our activities.

SSH: In what ways do you feel society allows continued violence against women, including street harassment?

OCACC: Just as in most of South America, there is much to be desired in the way that Chile has managed gender equality policies. As a country we have a very limited view as to what constitutes gender-based violence: femicide, rape, and domestic violence are the commonly accepted interpretations. Chilean society as a whole has been unable to take accountability for many of the forms of gender-based violence that exist to this day, since this severely restricted perspective has allowed many other facets of this type of violence to remain unchallenged. Our country promotes a sexist culture, from our media (TV, radios, newspapers and publicities) down to our education system, which is why it’s hardly surprising that so many different aspects of gender inequality and violence remain unquestioned to this day. About a month ago we were invited to talk about street harassment on several media outlets, and even though it allowed us to introduce this topic to the public eye – to promote the idea that women were in fact not fond of being harassed out on the streets – it was disheartening to engage with many interviewers, most of whom showed a complete lack of understanding and maturity when discussing this topic.

This type of violence keeps recurring because we are not yet capable of recognizing the many facets of gender-based violence. In Chile, street calling – as well as making out-of-place comments – is seen as cultural heritage, and we must challenge this perspective to bring to light the fact that women do not want to suffer and be subject to this type of treatment. That we as a society can change.

SSH: Can you offer any advice to men about how to approach women in a healthy, safe manner?

OCACC: It’s important to note that street harassment is not a way to approach a woman (such as when cat-calling or making clearly lewd comments). There is no desire in the harasser to establish any type of relationship with a woman; a man that does this is doing so with a specific intent to exert violence through a socially accepted ritual. Men who want to approach women with an honest intention have nothing to worry about – flirting and harassing are not the same. We sincerely believe that men and women are capable of creating beautiful and healthy relationships with each other if they both have respect and consent from each other.

Kendra Corbin is senior at Shenandoah University. She is majoring in Mass Communications and minoring in Women’s Studies.

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

As activists across the nation work to end street harassment in their cities, there is one organization that is doing some serious work in making our streets safer: Hollaback! Baltimore. As a non-profit, Hollaback! Baltimore is currently on a mission to building a network of supportive non-threatening environments in Baltimore City.

This month Hollaback! Baltimore are encouraging local businesses in Baltimore City to sign the Safer Space Campaign Pledge, which declares their commitment to ending street harassment against women and LGBTQUIA people. This pledge would require staff to take complaints seriously, deal with the harasser, and offer support resources as needed.

By signing the pledge, each venue is given a packet of resources to assist them with keeping their space safer for guests. The packet includes a background on the issue, simple things to do and not do, the official Hollaback! Employer’s Guide to Ending Street Harassment, and a poster to hang publicly so guests will know what won’t be tolerated.

According to Hollaback! Baltimore, this campaign began in March 2013 when Hollaback! London formed a partnership with Fabric, a local club that was fed up with hearing that women were being harassed in their venue. The complaints they received motivated the club to make a difference, so they partnered with Hollaback! London to develop a campaign that would work directly with venues to ensure their current employees and security policies are effective. After hearing about their success with the campaign, Hollback! Baltimore felt Baltimore City needed a similar campaign. This is what they created:

THE PLEDGE:

By signing this pledge, we the undersigned do hereby agree to:

* Post the “Safer Space” poster provided by Hollaback! Baltimore in a prominent place for all employees/staff/volunteers and attendees/customers to see
* Take complaints of harassment, discrimination, and violence against customers or staff seriously
* Remove any offending parties from our space
* Ensure our staff, particularly those responsible for security, are aware of our policies
* Use the resources given to us by Hollaback! Baltimore to better understand the issues at hand as well as the best methods for dealing with them
* Inform victims of their right to share their story publicly and anonymously on Hollaback! (via the website or free phone app) by handing out informational postcards

I believe this campaign will not only help to make streets safer, but it will hold venue owners accountable for what goes on during business hours. You shouldn’t have to be an activist to want to make a difference. Whether you’re a teacher, police officer, business owner, janitor, or student, all members of the community should be willing to make our streets safer for everyone.

Ending street harassment has to be a team effort if we want to get the message across that harassment is NOT OKAY. Through this campaign, local businesses can now become effective agents of change by making their establishments harassment free for everyone.

To learn more Hollaback! Baltimore and the Safer Space Campaign, visit http://bmore.ihollaback.org/

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.