Search Results for: police violence

Street Harassment and the Law: Related Resources

Scholarship on Street Harassment and the Law

* Ayres, Melanie, Carly K Friedman and Campbell Leaper. “Individual and Situational Factors Related to Young Women’s Likelihood of Confronting Sexism in Their Everyday Lives.” Sex Roles 61 (7-8): 449-460.

* Bowman, Cynthia Grant. “Street Harassment and the Informal Ghettoization of Women,” Harvard Law Review 106, no 3 (January 1993): 517-580.

* Chhun, Bunkosal, “Catcalls: Protected Speech or Fighting Words?” Thomas Jefferson Law Review 33, no. 2 (Spring 2011): 273

* Cohen, Patricia Cline. “Safety and Danger: Women on American Public Transport, 1750-1850.” In Gendered Domains: Rethinking Public and Private in Women’s History, edited by Dorothy O. Helly and Susan M. Reverby. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992

* Cooper, Davina. “Being in Public: The Threat and Promise of Stranger Contact.” Law & Social Inquiry 32, no. 1 (March 2007): 203-232.

* Crenshaw, Kimberle. “Race, Gender, and Sexual Harassment.” Southern California Law Review 65 (1991-1992): 1467-76

* Crouch, Margaret. “Sexual Harassment in Public Places.” Social Philosophy Today 25 (2009): 137-148

* Davis, Deirdre. “The Harm that Has No Name: Street Harassment, Embodiment, and African American Women.” In Gender Struggles: Practical Approaches to Contemporary Feminism, edited by Constance L. Mui and Julien S. Murphy. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2002: 214-225

* Fine, Michelle, Nick Freudenberg, Yasser Payne, Tiffany Perkins, Kersha Smith and Katya Wanzer. “’Anything Can Happen with Police Around’: Urban Youth Evaluate Strategies of Surveillance in Public Places.” Journal of Social Issues 59, no.1 (April 2003): 141-158

* Gardner, Carol Brooks. “Safe Conduct: Women, Crime, and Self in Public Places.” Social Problems 37, no. 3 (Aug. 1990): 311-328

* Heben, Tiffanie. “Reshaping of the Law: Interpreting and Remedying Street Harassment.” South California’s Review of Law and Women’s Studies 4, no. 1 (1994): 183– 219

* Kearl, Holly. Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers, 2010

* Kelly, Janice and Eric Wesselmann. “Cat-Calls and Culpability: Investigating the Frequency and Functions of Stranter Harassment.” Sex Roles (2010) 63: 451-462

* Laniya, Olatokunbo Olukemi. “Street Smut: Gender, Media, and the Legal Power Dynamics of Street Harassment, or ‘Hey Sexy’ and Other Verbal Ejaculations.” Columbia Journal of Gender and Law 14 (2005): 91-130

* Nielsen, Laura Beth. “Civility in the Streets: Reactions, Responses, and Resistance to Public Speech.” Insights on Law & Society 13, no. 2 (2013).

* Nielsen, Lara Beth. License to Harass: Law, Hierarchy, and Offensive Public Speech. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2006.

* O’Neill, Jarrah. “Gender in Public Space: Policy Frameworks and the Failure to Prevent Street Harassment.” Senior thesis at Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 2013

* Oshynko, Norma Anne. “No Safe Place: The Legal Regulation of Street Harassment.” Masters of Law Thesis, The University of British Columbia, 2002.

* Perry, Imani. “Let Me Holler at You: African-American Culture, Postmodern Feminism, and Revisiting the Law of Sexual Harassment.” Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law 8 (2007): 111

* Sigler, Robert T. and Ida M. Johnson. “Public perceptions and the need for criminalization of sexual harassment.” Journal of Criminal Justice 14, no. 3 (1986): 229-237.

* Stringer, Scott M. “Hidden in Plain Sight: Sexual Harassment and Assault in the New York City Subway System.” July 2007

* Thompson, Deborah. “‘The Woman in the Street:’ Reclaiming the Public Space from Sexual Harassment.” Yale Journal of Law and Feminism 6 (1994): 313 – 348.

* Tuerkheimer, Deborah. (1997) “Street Harassment as Sexual Subordination: The Phenomenology of Gender-Specific Harm.” Wisconsin Women’s Law Journal 12.

* West, Robin L. “The Difference in Women’s Hedonic Lives: A Phenomenological Critique of Feminist Legal Theory.” Wisconsin Women’s Law Journal 3 (1987): 81-145.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Legal Resources

* Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion.

* Know Your Rights at Work is a resource from the American Association of University Women that compiles legal developments and content intended to ensure workplace protection for employees suffering from harassment and discrimination.

* Legal Advocacy Fund of the American Association of University Women allows employees who have filed harassment lawsuits to apply for backing and support including legal case support, legal referrals and case support travel grants.

* What to Do If You Want to Take Legal Action is a page compiled by the Feminist Majority Foundation that provides an overview of legal steps and remedies that sexual harassment victims can take.

* US Cases and Precedents Related To Sexual Harassment in the Workplace are outlined and summarized on this resource page by the American Association of University Women.

Sexual Harassment and Assault in Schools Legal Resources

* The Office of Civil Rights provides sexual harassment resources for students and administrators including legislation, frequently asking questions, complaint forms and guidance on how to address it.

* Crossing the Lines: Sexual Harassment at Schools, a research report by the American Association of University Women on sexual harassment in grades 7-12 with action steps for students and community members provided at the end of the resource.

* The National Women’s Law Center compiled a sheet with frequently asked questions regarding harassment and bullying in schools that also includes a legal resource and contact information.

* Know Your Rights is a publication produced by the Equal Rights Advocates that outlines legislation related to harassment at school.

* UN Women has multiple modules dedicated to guiding program implementation and legislative change related to sectors such as safe spaces or violence against young women and men.

Sexual Harassment and Assault on Campus Legal Resources

* Know Your IX is a campaign to educate all college students in the U.S. about their rights regarding sexual harassment and sexual assault under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and what they can do to hold their campus administrators accountable.

* Students Active For Ending Rape have compiled fact sheets, podcasts, advice and resources for college students, victims, and activists detailing and providing instructions on how they can use Title IX as an effective tool for change.

* AAUW has a contact information sheet for activists and victims, including governmental resources, nongovernmental programs, and community outreach programs.

* US Cases and Precedents Related to Sexual Assault on College Campuses are outlined and summarized on this resource page by AAUW.

* The Feminist Majority Foundation provides a list of hotlines, websites and resources for victims, organized by state.

LGBQT Rights Legal Resources

* The American Civil Liberties Union provides educational resources related to LGBQT rights that also highlights key policy and legislation.

* The Transgender Law and Policy Institute provides legislation and data resources related to discrimination in all contexts as they apply to LGBQT populations.

* GLAAD provides resources related to legislation and policy, as well as a frequently asked questions section to offer clarity on policy.

* The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network provides resources on policy and legislature that exists, as well as efforts and victories for change at the federal and state level.

* Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays offers roughly one dozen downloadable booklets and materials related to LGBQT people for youth, adults, families, friends, and allies, that include information related to policy and resources.

Racial Equality Legal Resources

* Womenspace National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women provides resources on policy and legislation specific to immigrant women.

* The U.S. Department of Education provides information related to legislation and resources regarding race and national origin discrimination, as well as action steps for victims.

* The FBI allows victims of hate crimes to report and leave tips by calling or via webform, and their website provides details by state.

* The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides advice, guidance, legal resources, projects and policy highlights as well as general information about race discrimination and the promotion of race equality.

* The American Civil Liberties Union provides educational resources related to policy and legislature on racial justice.

Sexual Assault Resources

* RAINN Hotline: The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network is available by phone or online for advice or guidance for victims.

* Department of Defense Safe Helpline: 877-995-5247 is available to call for guidance for sexual assault victims.

* National Center for Victims of Crime offers information and help for victims as well as connecting them with local resources.
* Rape Kits: RAINN offers an overview of what a rape kit entails as well as policy related to rape kits.

* The National Sexual Violence Resource Center offers information and resources for victims, parents and advocates.

Human Trafficking Resources

* Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking

* National Human Trafficking Resource Center provides a hotline, tip line, training and resources related to human trafficking victims as well as people who want to assist or volunteer.

* The U.S. Department of Homeland Security provides resources related to policy and assistance and allows you to submit anonymous tips related to trafficking victims.

Sex Offenders Registry

* The U.S. Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website allows people to search for registered sex offenders by their area and location or by ending their full name.

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I Know My Rights

December 2, 2013 By SSHIntern

I work in a branch of psychological research that emphasizes: structural change, policy influence, and empowerment of marginalized groups as they exist within their communities. These are the tools and theories that have guided my work, and similarly, what attracted me to Stop Street Harassment. But what happens when structural change isn’t enough? What happens when the policies change but the culture doesn’t? I had an experience the other day that reminded me of my work—and reminded me that even when the policy and legislature are clear, I have to continue to work to change the culture.

The other day on my way home, having just dedicated hours to working on a section of the “Know Your Rights Toolkit,” I ended up in the transit center for about 30 minutes.

In a mere 30 minutes, mid-day, I was harassed, threatened, and berated by over half a dozen men. I had one man invade my personal space from behind and then simulate beating me with a crutch when I moved away in disgust. I had another pace back and forth staring at me as I was reading alone against a wall. I had one scream at me to smile in a voice that actually sounded annoyed. I was angry and exhausted and for the rest of the day—I actually felt a bit helpless. I knew my rights—and I did nothing. Even more, I was disappointed in the dozens of men who stared on, watched others treat me this way, yet said or did nothing.

When I finally got home, and was able to relax and calm down, I reminded myself that the toolkit was not intended to make victims feel guilty for not reporting—it was created so that we know our rights. And I do.

In the following days, I talked to a mutual acquaintance who is a police officer stationed in the transit center about keeping an eye on the harassment and let him know which areas were the most problematic. I took solace and satisfaction in knowing that my city offers online reporting, and that I can snap a camera phone picture of the particularly heinous offenders in the future. I felt proud of the way I chose to handle those particular harassers in that moment, and I felt grateful for my safety. The experience not only served as a reminder of the challenges in my work, but also reminded me that however I choose to respond that day, is the right way, and that the same remains true for all of you. I hope you all find the toolkit informative and possibly empowering when it releases on December 10. You can join our Tweet chat at 1 p.m. EST that day.

Rickelle Mason is Stop Street Harassment’s fall 2013 intern. She is an undergraduate senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. With a major in Psychology and a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, she has a passion for feminist psychology, and using community-based participatory research to dismantle gender-based violence. She has worked for several years in the university’s Community Psychology Research Lab, which was recently the recipient of the “Outstanding Training in Community Psychology” International Award.

Digest of Street Harassment News: Dec. 2, 2013

December 2, 2013 By HKearl

This is a bimonthly digest.

** 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

Bijoya in Bangladesh

Collective Action for Safe Spaces

Everyday Sexism

HarassMap in Egypt

The Hollaback sites

Name and Shame in Pakistan

Ramallah Street Watch in Palestine

Resist Harassment in Lebanon

Safe City India

Safe Streets in Yemen

Street Harassment in South Africa

Street Harassment In the News, on the Blogs:

* Washington Post, “How should bicyclists handle harassment? D.C. area groups teach empowerment tactics“

* Mother Jones, “Meet the Woman Who Waged an Artistic War Against Her Street Harassers“

* Clutch Magazine, “#FastTailedGirls Hashtag Examines Stereotypes Facing Young Girls“

* Newsworks, “Photographer turns lens on Philadelphia street harassment“

* Women’s News Network, “EGYPT: Bike riders campaign works to stop sexual harassment of women“

* The Jewish Daily Forward, “Who Harasses Women on the Street“

* PolicyMic, “Burt’s Bees Shouldn’t Joke About Street Harassment“

* The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, “Stand against street harassment“

* I Am Nirbhaya, “Bihar: Woman athlete assaulted for resisting harassment attempts“

* Prospect, “Sexism goes underground“

* Planetizen, “Tools to Protect Cyclists from Street Harassment“

* NYU Local, “Asking For It: NYU Local Explores Street Harassment“

Announcements:

New:

* We’re holding our holiday online auction Dec. 3-8. Check it out tomorrow!

* Our Safe Public Spaces Mentee in Cameroon, held a successful final event on Saturday with more than 20 youth.

* Our Safe Public Spaces Mentee in Chicago taped three dating commercial spoofs on street harassment.

* Holiday Shopping Guide Part 1

* We’re releasing our Know Your Rights Toolkit: Street Harassment and the Laws on Dec. 10 for International Human Rights Day.

* 5 Ways to Take Action during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence that runs Nov. 25 – Dec. 10.

* There’s a new UN report: Study on Ways and Methods to Eliminate Sexual Harassment in Egypt

Reminders:

* Donate to help fund the FIRST EVER national study on street harassment in the USA!

* Save the date — International Anti-Street Harassment Week is March 30 – April 5 in 2014!

* Read about the successful Philadelphia City Council Hearing on Street Harassment on Nov. 7!

* Buy a copy of the new book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers! Here’s how to hold a book club fundraiser for SSH

10 Tweets from the Week

* @Sabali89 I figured out why men making the first move is an automatic turnoff- PTSD from too much street harassment. Sorry fellas. I’ll initiate.

* @CSRA_prsn It’s the first day of the meteorological winter. That means it is prime street harassment season in the South. #endSH

* @mujer_cita_MIA i told a male friend that a man had shouted “lemme lick it” to me in the street & he didn’t believe me #streetharassment

* @msbrandiebrown First experience with #streetharassment as a 9 year old in The Dot, 40 year old dude drives up next to me. Licking his lips #fasttailedgirls

* ‏@DanTresOmi As men we can’t get mad at police when they harass us but give #streetharassment a pass – that’s hypocrisy

* @AwakeBlackWoman You’ve read the stories: 20, 30, 40+ years of dealing with street harassment, abuse, fending off creepers & rapists. But we #FastTailedGirls

* @AwkwardGirlLA Why is it that bc I’m wearing exercise clothes while riding my bike, men think its okay to yell at me from their car? Perv #streetharassment

* @ericadanielle89 Did I ask you if I had a cute ass? Then DON’T COMMENT ON IT. #streetharassment

* ‏@wtsnia nearly every morning these shitheads feel the need to catcall at most of the women who walk by. why. why are you doing this.

* @emmavoight walked back from other side of campus, had four black guys in a car smelling of weed catcall at me on telegraph, feels like home berkeley

A Few New Fall Anti-Harassment Campaigns

November 5, 2013 By HKearl

Check out these new anti-harassment campaigns, from Canada to the UK to the USA.

1. A campaign to address harassment on Translink in Vancouver, Canada

Via Straight.com:

“Katie Nordgren and her Simon Fraser University classmate Alexa Dredge launched a website to share stories of harassment from public-transit riders across Metro Vancouver. For now, Harassment on TransLink is a project for their third-year gender, sexuality, and women’s studies course, but Nordgren hopes its scope will grow beyond that.

According to Nordgren, the site received more than a dozen submissions in its first day, and stories of “aggressive” and “scary” behaviour continue to come in to translink.harassment@gmail.com. In one post, a woman—who is anonymous, like all of the site’s contributors—recalls a man, with his hands in his pants, telling her he wanted to “shove it” in her butt on the SeaBus. Another woman wrote that she was harassed on the SkyTrain by two men who said she wanted to “fall all over their dicks” and then joked about shooting her in the head….

Metro Vancouver Transit Police has heard stories like those posted on Harassment on TransLink, according to spokesperson Anne Drennan. She told the Straight that transit police take sexual harassment and assaults “extremely seriously”, but they’re concerned that many people aren’t reporting incidents to them.

“It’s great to see people being encouraged to tell their stories,” Drennan said by phone from New Westminster. “That’s cathartic, right? But we want them to tell us.”

2. New student campaigns in England aim to combat sexual harassment and assault in night clubs

Via The Guardian:

“The Sheffield Anti-Sexual Harassment (SASH) is campaigning for clubs to hang posters on their walls to raise awareness. It is also asking them to train their bouncers and staff to spot and deal with harassment…. SASH wants to put a list of clubs online that are believed to be “safe spaces” for women. It plans to talk to student societies to make sure that they are not collaborating with clubs that are unsafe. The group hopes that the commercial incentive to get on to the approved list will encourage bars to work with it…

Students in Leeds are also demanding change. There, the feminist society and student paper are running a campaign to get the club night that hosted ‘Fresher’s Violation’ – where female staff “have what is meant to look like semen on their trousers” – closed down. Their online petition has reached over 3,500 signatures, at the time of writing, and has attracted attention from police and the local council. In addition to this, Leeds Femsoc want to persuade clubs around Leeds to sign a pledge against sexual harassment….

Students in Bristol have used Facebook to draw attention to the problem, creating a page called ‘Spotted: Sexism at Bristol‘, where students can name and shame those involved. “One post showed a young girl in a club who had passed out,” says Alice Philips, women’s officer at Bristol University. “Instead of helping her, four boys took pictures up her skirt.” She adds: “We want to show people that this is happening. It’s dangerous for people to say there’s nothing wrong and everything’s alright. We are giving women a voice and enabling them to shout back.”

3. A new Safe Sites effort in Massachusetts led by the Coalition for the Prevention of Domestic Abuse and the North Shore Rape Crisis Center

Via Wickedlocal.com:

“Participating businesses will display a Safe Sites decal in their windows to indicate that help is available, if needed [for people facing street harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of violence]. Safe Sites are provided with basic written information about emergency services and local resources to share with anyone seeking assistance. They may also offer use of their phones and allow someone feeling threatened to remain in their business until help arrives. Safe Sites is modeled after the successful Safe Streets program of the Arizona Center against Sexual Assault and is also being implemented in other North Shore communities by the YWCA North Shore Rape Crisis Center.

Kyrgyzstan: Street harassment of transgender people in Bishkek

October 30, 2013 By Correspondent

By: Aikanysh Jeenbaeva, in collaboration with others from the BFCSQ, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, SSH Correspondents

T World — “T-World, Transgender Advocacy Comic, Kyrgyzstan” Via www.Active-Art.org

Transgender people remain one of the most vulnerable groups of the population in Bishkek. Up to 90% of all transgender people experience constant pressure, violence and discrimination at the hands of relatives, acquaintances, law enforcement officials, medical professionals, complete strangers on the streets, etc.

The story below is told from the perspective of my fellow trans*activist, for whom harassment in public places is just one of the many facets of violence in his everyday reality.

“We get harassed by the police most often”, he says. “They come up to me or to my friends and start demanding to show identification. After seeing what they consider a discrepancy in the documents between indicated and real gender identity, they take us to the police station, where we are subject to more severe harassment in the form of humiliating interrogations and threats. One of the officers once said that people like me “are perverts and should be killed”.

This kind of attitude by the police officers is not only seen as normal, but also encouraged. Even if you call the MIA (the Ministry of Internal Affairs) hotline to report police misconduct and brutality, they hang up on you upon hearing that this was done on the basis of gender identity.

You never feel safe and you are never protected. Home is not a place where you feel loved and secure for a large part of my friends and myself and the streets are like a battlefield, where you never know when and who will accost you.

When I or my friends walk down the street, people usually stare at us trying to guess gender identity. Women (mainly) stare at the genital area trying to make out whether the transgender person has male or female genitals. People loudly comment my appearance, stop and start giggling or discussing between themselves whether I am a boy or a girl. And this is even worse for people who do not look masculine/feminine enough and thus do not fit into the cis-normative patriarchal gender binary.

Harassment is so normalized that people simply do not consider it as such. It is normal for them to come up to an unknown person and laughing, start asking whether you are a man or a woman, a boy or a girl. It is also normal for them to start contradicting you, if you choose to reveal your gender identity. They ask incredulously: “Do you really consider yourself a man?! But… just look at yourself!” I get called a hermaphrodite, a faggot, an “it”… there are so many insulting names that it won’t be possible to list them all here.

However, street harassment is not limited to staring or verbal abuse. Many of my friends have been harassed physically by strangers on the streets who have grabbed their chest to “check whether it is real or not”, have hit and beaten them.

Part of the harassment comes when people confuse transgender people with lesbians and gays, and in such a highly homophobic society as the Kyrgyzstani one is, you have to expect threats, loud insults, hateful and disgusted looks. And just imagine what happens to those who are non-heterosexual or queer transgender people…

When we gather as a group to go somewhere to eat or just hang out, we almost always get harassed. When it happens, some of the guys try to start a fight or curse back. Strange thing, if we react in an aggressive manner and yell or shout back at the people, that shuts most of the harassers up. This has led us to believe that the only language people understand is the language of violence and that it is the only efficient way to react. However, acting violently and aggressively in response to harassment makes you feel disgusted and angry that you have allowed yourself to get provoked once again.

Of course, not everyone can or wants to use the tactic. Some of my friends just gave up and stopped leaving home without any urgent need. The streets are a too scary and hostile place for them.

In the past, I used to react in a very angry manner. I was very upset after every such encounter and brooded over it for a long time. But after a while, I just stopped reacting to it. Now when someone makes a comment on the street, I simply pretend not to hear it. Still every time I experience it, it completely kills my mood and leaves me empty on the inside.

This is the society we live in — a discriminatory transphobic, homophobic, biphobic (add your description here) society. I know that tremendous efforts and time are needed to change it. But one thing that any person can do next time he/she has an urge to harass others on the street, is to think how it would feel, if you were in the place of that person.”

Aikanysh graduated from the University of Freiburg with a degree in European Literatures and Cultures and recently from the Diplomatic Academy of the KR with a degree in International Relations. Aikanysh is a co-founding member and coordinator of the Bishkek Feminist Collective SQ. Salidat is an undergraduate student at Kyrgyz National University and a dedicated volunteer at the Bishkek Feminist Collective SQ.

Bishkek Feminist Collective SQ was founded in 2012 by activists from various communities of Bishkek city. Follow BFC SQ on Twitter, @bish_feminists and on Facebook.

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