Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“Lift your skirt up a bit higher, love.”

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i first got catcalled at 12 years old, it was by an older man around 30ish who wolf whistled me whilst getting on a train. I was always taught, “That’s just what men are like and you should get used to it.”

I have been catcalled hundreds of times since then, all by older men. whilst in my school uniform even. A majority of them are in cars. The other day me and my friend were walking to McDonald’s and two workers in a van honked their horn at me and her and rolled down their window yelling, “Lift your skirt up a bit higher, love.” We were clearly in school uniform and my skirt is always mid-thigh (and no i won’t roll it down because that has n0 effect on whether they still do it).

Honestly, I’m 15 now and it’s sad how I have gotten used to it and I pray that my daughter one day will never have to go through it, but you never know anymore since it’s never a topic of discussion! We’re taught to let it just slide into our daily lives because it’s “nothing new.” It’s honestly so shit.

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

Honestly there’s no way other than to discuss it in schools from year 5 (ages 9-10) all the way up to year 11 (ages 15-16), yearly to ingrain it into peoples heads that catcalling is vile.

– PC

Location: Scotland

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.

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UK: Bristol Zero Tolerance

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Annabel Laughton, Gloucestershire, UK, SSH Blog Correspondent

For the last in my series of blog posts speaking to activists in Bristol and the UK, I spoke to Charlotte Gage, Partnerships Officer at Bristol Zero Tolerance (BZT). This is an initiative that was set up by Bristol Women’s Commission in 2015, and its vision is to “make Bristol zero tolerance to all forms of gender-based violence, abuse, harassment and exploitation”.

BZT does not run frontline services but is working towards becoming an umbrella for all relevant services in the city, aiding coordination and collaboration. Gage works extensively with business, offering training and awareness-raising to create a safe culture and change attitudes and behaviour. BZT can also advocate for particular policy positions on gender-based abuse, something frontline organisations often don’t have time for. Local police and the local council, for example, have drawn up action plans in conjunction with BZT, who can then hold them to account.

So what’s happening specifically with street harassment? Gage recently started a street harassment campaign.  “Local women were talking about it, so I felt it was important”, she says. The campaign is in its infancy as yet, being launched in International Anti-Street Harassment Week this April. At present Gage is focusing on gathering data to get a better picture of street harassment in the city. She has a researcher collecting data via local networks and specific communities. BZT also have a filmmaker recording women’s stories of street harassment.

Where the campaign goes after that will depend on the outcomes, but de-normalising street harassment and empowering people to speak out, either as victims or bystanders, is key. Gage explained she has had discussions with the local Police and Crime Commissioner and local organisation SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality) about the best way to enable this. “The police always say that if it’s not reported there is no data, and therefore there’s no problem”, she says, but exactly how street harassment is recorded is not straightforward. Gender is a “protected characteristic” under the UK Equality Act 2010, but street harassment isn’t automatically recorded as a hate crime, as, for example, attacks on someone because of their race or a disability would be. Victims have to specifically request that the offence is logged by police as “other – gender”, and even that won’t tell the whole story, because gender could mean male or female, masking the fact we know the vast majority of street harassment is targeted at women.

Gage is considering if BZT might lobby Avon and Somerset police to follow Nottinghamshire police’s lead and add a hate crime category of misogyny (the #NotACompliment campaign calls for this to be rolled out by police forces nationally), but is also wary of completely relying on a criminal response. “Not everyone wants to report to police. We want to give women different options”. One of these options might be a toolkit for people experiencing harassment, and bystanders.

BZT is clearly doing incredible work, but it’s not easy. Apart from Gage, BZT has just one other paid member of staff, Gage’s assistant, and they are both part-time. The initiative is funded by Public Health as it is prevention work, but like many publicly funded services in the UK, money is running out. It’s obvious that her drive and commitment are essential to the ongoing survival and success of this important work. As we finish our chat, Gage is clear that the issue of street harassment, which nearly all women experience, is a good way into a broader understanding of violence and abuse against women. “We need to get the message out there – street harassment is part of a culture which normalises and condones gender-based violence”.

Annabel is involved in campaigns for human rights, mental health, environmental issues and social justice. She has an honours degree in Classical Studies, a diploma in counselling, and works in Higher Education.

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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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“He kept filming us all the way”

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My friend and I were sitting in the parking lot at the Topanga Mall at night talking. We noticed a man from far away filming us as he was walking. He went around the wall and started walking over to us, still filming. We backed up to leave…he was three feet away and he kept filming us all the way until we were on the street and lost him from our view. It was creepy.

– Anonymous

Location: Topanga mall / Target side, Canoga Park, CA

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.

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“The man following me wasn’t allowed off the bus”

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I have two stories of being followed.

One occurred when I was in college, 17 years old. The college day had finished and I was headed to big band practice. I was with my friend whose house was part-way on my route so we started the journey together. We got on the bus and all was okay until we both noticed an older guy (about mid 40’s, already on the bus when we got on) staring straight into my eyes and smiling creepily at me. That was unsettling. We communicated this through our phones to each other.

Then our stop came and we got off the bus. He followed. The stop was a university so it’s wasn’t implausible for it to be His stop. It’s what happened next that really worried me. This was the point where me and my friend went different ways. We got different buses from the same bus stop. He was still waiting at our bus stop staring at me, making me uncomfortable. My friend’s bus came first. She got on and I crossed the road. He followed. I walked and doubled back to the bus stop. He didn’t follow – that I could see. I was on the phone to my friend since the moment we split because I was feeling really uncomfortable with the situation. My bus arrived and I got on. The bottom was full but the majority of the seats upstairs were free so I went to the free seats at the back. It looked all clear and a few stops later I was feeling better.

Then He came to the top level and went straight to the back and sat right next to me. The majority of the seats were free and he didn’t even look at the empty seats. He made a beeline for me. As He sat I ran down the stairs (still on the phone to my friend) and told the bus driver I think I’d been followed. He started down the stairs too. My stop was also coming up. It was a remote area, just housing and the primary school which I had my big band practice in which furthered my worry. The driver stopped the bus at the stop and closed the doors after I got off. The driver watched to make sure I got into the gated primary school (my destination). The man following me wasn’t allowed off the bus.

I ran to the gated primary school and then to the entrance in tears to my friend on the phone. I got to my band practice and told my band leaders of the follower with a full description. All I can say is thank you to that bus driver and fellow passengers who stopped him following me inside the primary school. I’m also thankful I wasn’t headed home as he doesn’t know where I live. I got a ride home from my dad that evening. I never saw the follower again after that but it was an experience which really shook me up. Especially as a girl of 17 alone in a city. This happened in Manchester, England.

The second following incident happened when I was in University, 20 years old. I work the night shift at McDonald’s and finished my shift at 4 a.m. The streets are empty at this time and the only thing I usually have to worry about are foxes…at least they run away when you approach. I was walking home as I’d just missed the bus and had forgot my purse (I haven’t since). I was halfway down the high street when a guy asked if I had a light. I politely said I didn’t and kept on walking. He carried on walking next to me. It was an uncomfortable situation. He started talking and kept insinuating he wanted a kiss…also hinting he wanted more.

As I approached the halfway point to my way home I got my phone out and was prepared to call my university campus security to come and meet me as I approached campus and escort me home (there is an app on my phone which the university has which makes this possible). Luckily he figured out he wasn’t going to get anything from me and started walking the opposite way. To make sure he didn’t follow me home I walked around and doubled back to my route. He didn’t follow but it was still unsettling and scary. Especially as he was big enough that if he wanted to, he could have taken what he wanted and I wouldn’t have had much chance of fighting him off. This happened in Canterbury, England.

– RP

Location: Manchester and Canterbury, England

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.

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