Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

3 Ways to Fight Street Harassment in December

By

Dear Friends,

Thank you for everything you’ve done this year to make public places safer for everyone. You’re making a difference.

With the holiday season upon us, I wanted to share three ways you can continue to fight street harassment…while also taking care of some of your holiday shopping!

And if you’re doing end-of-the-year-giving, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Stop Street Harassment. An anonymous donor will TRIPLE all donations made this month.

Thank you & happy holidays,
Holly Kearl, Stop Street Harassment Founder

1. Donate

Make a tax-deductible donation to Stop Street Harassment in honor of someone you care about, to thank them for speaking out against street harassment or because you want to help create a world where they are not harassed in public spaces.

Your donations can help make my 2013 to-do list possible, including helping me launch a hotline and support group for survivors of street harassment. Added incentive: this month only, an anonymous donor will TRIPLE all donations made to Stop Street Harassment!

2. Buy a Book

Help your loved ones and friends become more informed and empowered on the topic of street harassment and buy them a copy of Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women. It’s in paperback (finally!) for the affordable price of $15. It’s also available as an e-book.

Additionally, one of my favorite books on the subject is Hey Shorty! A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets, and it’s available in paperback for only $9.

3. Purchase SSH Swag

Changing the social acceptability of street harassment is an important way to help end it. Let your loved ones and friends make a public statement about stopping street harassment and purchase Stop Street Harassment pins, stickers, tote bags, mugs, bumper stickers, and more for them.

Earlier this year, my mother wore a SSH sticker when she was shopping after a rally. A group of men looked like they were going to harass her, but then noticed her sticker and backed off!! No joke.

Share

Digest of Street Harassment News: December 9, 2012

By

** Sign up to receive a monthly e-newsletter from Stop Street Harassment ***

Street Harassment Stories:

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

Stop Street Harassment Blog

Collective Action for Safe Spaces

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

Everyday Sexism

Street Harassment In the News, on the Blogs:

* New York Times Blog, “Activists Tackle Sexual Harassment in Tahrir“

* Gawker, “Attention Men: If You Attack a Woman In Tahrir Square, You Might Get Your Ass Kicked, Finally“

* Daily Bhaskar, “Fears of sexual harassment forces Punjab to send lady teachers home on time“

* Born Whore, “‘Hey Baby, How Much?’: Stop Blaming Sex Workers For Street Sexual Harassment“

* Yemen Times, “Who is to blame? Street sexual harassment in Yemen“

* Beyond Black & White, “Fighting Back Against Street Harassment (part two)“

* Halifax NewsNet, “Taking harassment off the street“

* The Shadow League, “Analyzing The Street Harassment Epidemic“

* Tell Them, “Eww la la: Street Harassment in France“

* 7iber.com, “Harass Me, If You Can“

* Gwaker, “Have You Seen This Man? Or Maybe Just His Dick? Meet Your New Subway Flasher. (NSFW)“

* The Times of India, “Push for tougher eve-teasing laws“

* Women Worldwide Initiative, “More Than 16 Days: Violence Against Women on the Sidewalk“

* Gradient Lair, “Street Harassment “Prevention” Shouldn’t Have To Exist“

* Daily Bhaskar, “Chandigarh: City Beautiful is safe for women?“

* Egypt Independent, “Anti-sexual harassment campaigns to increase presence in Tahrir“

* The Times of India, “Zero-tolerance policy against eve-teasers“

* Barnard Center for Research on Women, “Catcalled“

* F Bomb, “On Learning More About Sexual Harassment“

* Decca Chronicle, “No check on sexual harassment in city“

* Video: “Eve teasing cases on rise in India – NewsX“

* Video: Unreported: “Egypt: Sex, Mobs, and Revolution“

Announcements:

New:

* Register — Webinar: Street Harassment: How To Stop Feeling Helpless and Start Feeling Empowered, Dec. 13, 2012: 8 – 9:30 p.m. ET, $15

* Tahrir Safe Zone for All!


Reminders:

*Follow Stop Street Harassment on Tumblr

* If you’re a woman ages 18-26, take a survey for a student’s thesis on street harassment

* HoodRules thebook is now available!

* Check out the project CATCALLED: the stories of 11 women in New York City from two weeks in August 2012, now online.

* Baltimore, MD, folks — take a survey about street harassment for Hollaback! Bmore

* METRAC released a free “Not Your Baby App” to provide responses you can use when experiencing harassment

15 Tweets from the Week:

1. @AmiraTahers I no longer feel belonging nor home. I no longer feel safe nor happy, sexual harassment on daily basis and street fights became a routine.

2. @PsychoticLynx Men paid to harass women 🙁 But #Egyptian #women inspire me with their strength, courage and determination #Egypt #EndSH #UnreportedWorld

3. @susie_c Every morning I hear the high school mating ritual from the street. “Red hair!” (giggles) “Fat ass!” (silence) “Fuck you, bitch!” Charming.

4. @scarlettnarwhal ‘where’s the brothel for some blowjobs you slut?’straight to the point harassment from 2 males near redchurch street..

5. @nanikush I love living in NY but the street harassment is on another level.

6.@TahrirBodyguard http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssirgany/8253716163/in/set-72157632194245369/ … These are some of our bodyguards. We want to thank them. Respect. #endSH

7. @ghazalairshad New mob sexual assault hotspot in Tahrir by Mugamma metro exit starting 9pm, according to @TahrirBodyguard & @OpAntiSH. cc @harassmap #endSH

8. @OpAntiSH Our video “Tahrir: Safe Zone for all” by @mosireen collective almost at 14000 views 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQhoaWu3jX8 … Help make more noise #endSH

9. @harassmap Tomorrow the first support group for women facing sexual harassment w @NazraEgypt http://bit.ly/QGMJdk Join us and spread the word. #endSH

10. @kiranmanral Dear TOI, can we stop saying “eve teasing”. There’s nothing ‘teasing’ about this. Call it street sexual harassment.

11. @RantingOwl Dude tried to say something nasty. I turned & gave him a look that communicated the fact that I.perceived him as little more than dog shit.

12. @kingxnova: I wish South Africa had PSA’s & ads, directed at men, creating awareness that *street harassment* is a thing & WE HATE IT.

13. @mrdaveyd This morning a woman was shot while riding her bike.. The assaults on women have been relentless http://bit.ly/TJOPq5 #VAW

14. @EverydaySexism “I have been sexually harassed since the age of 11. I am now 48 and it is still happening.” #StreetHarassment pic.twitter.com/ekyAtXgV

15. @hkearl Spotted: Anti- sexual harassment psa on the DC metro in Spanish! #endsh #streetharassment #wmata pic.twitter.com/Ncc233RV

Share

Stopping Harassers with Pins and Needles

By

Did you know hat pins used to serve dual purposes? They held elaborate hats in place on women’s heads and they were also an effective tool for stopping street harassers.

Imagine a trolley car in the 1940s, heading down a city street. Now imagine a woman standing in the car, on her way to the store or perhaps commuting to her secretary job (since that was one of the only professions open to women). It’s not crowded on the trolley, but a man is standing very close behind her. She stands alert and when he suddenly touches her inappropriately, she is ready. She discreetly reaches for her hat, seemingly to adjust it, but instead grabs a hat pin and stabs him! She never turns around.The harasser winces, backs away, and hopefully thinks twice about grabbing women on the trolley.

Fast forward to the 1980s in Istanbul, Turkey, and needles were the defense weapon of choice to stop harassers. Activists launched a “Purple Needle” campaign and handed out needles with purple ribbons tied onto them to women on the streets so the women could stab their harassers!

Kacie Lyn Kocher who founded the anti-street harassment group Hollaback! Istanbul said, “According to reports, street harassment went down substantially during the campaign.” The distribution of purple needles was briefly resumed in January 2008 in response to several instances of sexual abuse at Taksim Square in Istanbul.

Fast forward to today, and women in Nepal often use safety pins to ward off harassers. An ActionAid report about gender violence in cities includes a story from a college student in Nepal.

She said, “I carry safety pins with me while travelling. Whenever I feel that I am being harassed by someone around me, I poke him with my safety pin. It alerts the person who is conducting such violence on me. I was taught to do it by seniors in my college. I was hesitant to do it at first, but I found that when my friends did it, the person who harasses tends to back off.”

It’s infuriating that women have to resort to pins and needles to get harassers to back off but I do love reading about women’s long history of resistance! Don’t mess with us or you might get stabbed…

 

Share

Anonymous Donors will Triple Gifts Made This Month

By

Last night, I was contacted by two supporters of Stop Street Harassment and they gave me great news!

They will match every donation made to Stop Street Harassment this month, at a 2:1 ration. For example, if you donate $25, they will donate $50 and your $25 gift will triple to become $75!

I want 2013 to be a very big year for Stop Street Harassment but that will only  happen with your help. Here are some of the items on my wish-list/to-do list:

* A bigger and better Meet Us on the Street: International Anti-Street Harassment Week, April 7-13, in collaboration with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (they organize Sexual Assault Awareness Month).

* A complete website redesign and more concrete information about activism and how to build campaigns to stop street harassment.

* A “Know Your Rights” toolkit about what laws are relevant to street harassment worldwide.

* An email-based hotline where people can ask for help regarding street harassment.

* A weekly phone call support group for people dealing with street harassment.

* An online exhibit about street harassment & activism against it over the past 130 years.

* And, if we raise enough money, the first-ever national study on street harassment, which will inform future educational curriculum and other programs.

Please, take advantage of the generosity of the donors and make your gift triple by donating now and you can be proud next year of what your donations help achieve. Thank you!

 

Share

“She turned to me and gave me the most relieved, grateful smile.”

By

I was on the night bus in east London after a party coming home about half three. I was with my boyfriend and there were a few other people on the bus. There was one woman sitting by herself. When two men got on the bus, one clocked her straight away and made a bee line for her. He sat next to her on the empty seat while his friend sat behind them (there were loads of seats he could have chosen including the empty one by his friend).

The man struck up a conversation asking her if she was French. When she said no, he asked her if she was Spanish, then Italian and then she stopped replying and turned her face away from him while he continued to try to engage her in conversation.

I couldn’t just leave it so I said, “I don’t think she wants to talk to you, why don’t you respect the fact she’s not here for you to engage in conversation with, she’s on the bus just trying to go from A to B.”

She turned to me and gave me the most relieved, grateful smile.

He however was aghast that someone should challenge his behaviour and him and his friend both turned round and started yelling things like, “And who are you? Why are you getting involved.”

I told them to see it from a woman’s point of view, she is by her self at half three in the morning when two men surround her and she is forced to engage in conversation that this is intimidating behaviour. The man next to her carried on talking to her as she kept her face turned away as carried on ignoring him while his friend was saying, “It’s not that late, get your phone out and show me the time.”

He was also being really aggressive towards my boyfriend who was also speaking up for the woman. I had to stop him from speaking though as both men were getting aggressive in their tone towards him. I carried on however interrupting the man who was talking to the woman about respecting her personal space and she’s not his plaything on the bus to pass the time with.

When it came to our stop the man sat next to her (the main harasser) proclaimed, “Thank god.”

I again interrupted him with, “Yes, thank god for women like me who speak up for other women who must deal with sexual and street harassers like you who won’t take no for an answer.”

This actually seemed to hit a note with him, his face dropped as I said those words and he really seemed like he took it in and felt slightly guilty.

I really from the bottom of my heart hope I’ve opened his eyes.

– Nadine

Location: London, UK

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem.

Share