activism Archives | Stop Street Harassment

Thank You – International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2021

April 21, 2021 By HKearl

Scores of groups in at least 30 countries, on six continents, joined us in raising awareness about street harassment during the 11th annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Thank you so much for joining us.

Here’s a list of participating groups and a photo album documenting much of what took place (you can add your own photos if you don’t see them there!)

With COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions underway in many parts of the world, most of the activism took place online, and people used a lot of creativity in sharing stories, statistics and facts about street harassment on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Groups like OCAC Guatemala, Accion Respectook, Gender Hug Azerbaijan, Hollaback! Jakarta, Historias de Acoso Callejero and Our Streets Now posted facts and informational graphics each day on their Instagram accounts.

There were zoom panels, tweet chats, Instagram Live discussions and so many posts across the platforms, many of them hosted by our main partner for the week, Safecity. Safecity also ran a “Confidence is Beautiful” campaign on social media.

L’Oreal Paris was another big partner and they released the results of their 15-country study and encouraged people to share their stories and take an active bystander campaign they run in collaboration with Hollaback! Several celebrities joined their campaign to encourage bystander action.

The Chalk Back/Catcalls of NYC was another critical partner this year and their groups did chalking in cities across the globe. Catcalls of NYC did a big chalking event and in partnership with The Real Catwalk held a story-telling, chalking, reclaim-your-power event.

Many other groups did chalking, put up stickers, posters and flyers in their community and held awareness-raising events like demonstrations and rallies.

There were three rallies against street harassment held in the Netherlands organized by various groups, for instance.
Plan Belgium held a “safety walk” in a few cities to evaluate what could be improved to make the city feel safer.
Plan UK and Our Streets Now collaborated to release a PSA campaign on billboards and bus stops across the UK for their “Crime not Compliment” campaign aimed at changing national laws (sign the petition).
In Lambeth, UK, there was a violence against women forum where street harassment was part of the discussion.

In Australia, the organization It’s Not a Compliment launched a new campaign #NoSpaceForHarassment with story-sharing, videos and social media posts. They launched the results of a new study about street harassment in Victoria at an in-person event. And they made a video with anti-harassment groups around the world: Observatorio Contra el Acoso Chile, Stop harcèlement de rue, Next Stop_mi, Fairspace, Bristol Zero Tolerance and 婦女新知基金會

This is a challenging time in the world, with COVID-19 cases continuing to surge, and with it issues like poverty, hunger and joblessness soaring. Many of us have even less time to engage in activism as we take on more care-taking duties + work (me included!). But even still, street harassment continues to be a big problem and it’s important for us to speak out when and how we can – and we appreciate everyone who took the time to join in. Your stories, your voice, your time matters. Together we are stronger.

USA: Calling out “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”

January 28, 2018 By Correspondent

Connie DiSanto, New Hampshire, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

Take Back the Night (TBTN) events have been held worldwide since the 1970s as a way for women to “take back” their right to walk safely at night, within their own communities. Earlier event participants were exclusively women but today, many include men as allies and survivors. Here at the University of New Hampshire, TBTN events date back to the 1990s and our program, the Sexual Harassment & Rape Prevention (SHARPP) has, in various forms, sponsored and participated in TBTN events. This past fall was no exception.

Led by a handful of dedicated SHARPP peer advocates, some of whom are affiliated with sororities and fraternities on campus, a couple hundred students and a few staff members gathered to say that all forms of sexual violence and harassment and rape culture do not have a place on our campus. The group marched in solidarity in the dark and cold with hand-made signs with messages of strength and support for a safer campus. And at the end, the vigil brought forth brave survivors who spoke to the group.

We were proud of the student turnout and even happier that several fraternities had come out in support. However, our celebration of a successful event was cut short when a female student reached out and reported to our office that a group of male students from a particular fraternity was in fact, the opposite of what they presented themselves to be. Not in support. Not allies. Not true to the spirit of the event and all it stands for. Despite an initial plea from our student event leader who specifically asked the group to be respectful while participating in this event, these men mocked the true participants’ chants by shouting, “Assault is hot, consent is not” and engaged in sexually harassing comments to female students.

Reports were made about the incident to the Greek Life administration, the Dean of Students, and the Title IX office, resulting in disciplinary actions by Greek Life. University disciplinary action has not been communicated to our office to date. The students that came forward to report what had happened did everything they could in the moment. They confronted the individuals, pointing out that their behavior was unacceptable. It even prompted a male student among them to say, “You might want to watch what you say.” We applaud the students for coming forward to report the behavior at this event, knowing that they might be putting themselves in a vulnerable situation. Campuses need safe spaces for students to come forward and they need staff to support them and speak on their behalf.

As we de-briefed as a staff, we recognized this incident was not unique in itself since we’ve experienced similar behaviors among students through the years, but in this case, the brazen action taken by those students who were presenting themselves as “participants” was more than troubling. In a time when sexual violence and harassment on campus, and in all areas of society, is finally able to ‘come out of the dark’ and be discussed for what it is, an epidemic, we have to continue call out those individuals who feel they can walk among us, and make us feel unsafe and threatened.

#Metoo and The Silence Breakers have done more than reveal we are not alone as those impacted by sexual violence and harassment. It has given many people a voice and an opportunity to call out those individuals who assault and harass and make sure they know we see them for what they are. And as the new #TimesUp movement’s mission states: “No more silence. No more waiting. No more tolerance for discrimination, harassment or abuse.” The call for action is now.

Connie is the Marketing Communications Specialist for the Sexual Harassment & Rape Prevention Program (SHARPP) at the University of New Hampshire. She can be reached at connie.disanto@unh.edu.

New Stickers Against Harassment in Minneapolis

October 2, 2016 By HKearl

A group of friends in Minneapolis, MN, who were tired of street harassment recently formed the Design Bitches Collective and they’ve been taking suggestions for stickers against street harassment. Check out some of the forthcoming designs!

Survivor Activists Call on Campuses to #JustSaySorry

August 11, 2016 By Correspondent

By LB Klein, former SSH Blog Correspondent

*Kamilah Willingham, via her Twitter page*

There is a joyful moment during which applicants to institutions of higher education turn into admitted students. This moment is perhaps best captured by students sporting newly-acquired campus swag such as a sweatshirt in official colors with the campus name emblazoned on the front or a t-shirt with a mascot. However, for survivors of sexual assault on many campuses who felt their schools did not support them, these coveted items quickly become a tangible reminder of a dream promised and nightmare delivered. To capture the hollowness of institutional betrayal, Wagatwe Wanjuki and Kamilah Willingham, two prominent Black feminist survivor activists and founders of Survivors Eradicating Rape Culture, are literally setting these items on fire.

Willingham and Wanjuki are burning their once-prized possessions and asking for other survivors to do the same until their alma maters do what they see as the bare minimum: acknowledge their experiences by apologizing. Through this #JustSaySorry campaign Survivors Eradicating Rape Culture is asking for “public acknowledgements of past failures” to “restore a sense of trust in the school’s intention and ability to approach campus gendered violence with integrity.” They argue that this action is simple but would have a huge impact on survivors who often feel their campuses see them as numbers in a crime statistics report and not treasured students or alumni who deserve restoration.

A few years have passed since Wanjuki and Wilingham were sexually assaulted while students at Tufts University and Harvard Law School respectively, they discuss the long-range impact of institutional betrayal. In a recent article she penned for The Establishment, Willingham mentions the “PTSD and a six-figure student debt amount” that linger, while her pride in her Harvard Law School attendance have faded. Much like movements to address street harassment, #JustSaySorry uses a grassroots and community approach to ask institutions to move beyond the often clinical official statements often issued by college and universities. #JustSaySorry is calling for acknowledgment of survivors as people and to consider the human impact of sexual violence and its aftermath when handled poorly.

Survivors Eradicating Rape Culture and the #JustSaySorry campaign come at a time during which there is increased attention to the issue of sexual violence on campuses, but the road to accountability can be a long and fruitless one for survivors. No matter how well we enhance our university systems (and we should) we are in need of more than just more laws and more policies. Our processes for holding institutions accountable for the harm they have caused survivors frequently mirror the failings of systems of perpetrator accountability.

Wanjuki and Willingham are reminding us through their deeply personal and cathartic actions that genuine apologizing is a rare, critical, and distressingly radical act for administrators and institutions. Survivors Ending Rape Culture is calling on survivors to send them items from alma maters who failed them or to post videos or photos of themselves withholding their donations to their institutions.

Anyone can show solidarity for their work by using the hashtag #JustSaySorry to call out institutions that have caused survivors harm or by tuning into their live broadcasts of burning protests. To create more survivor supportive cultures, we cannot rely solely on strengthening formal systems. As Willingham and Wanjuki are demonstrating, we must also recognize the powerful role that the people who make up institutions and communities have to help survivors heal.

LB Klein, MSW, MPA has dedicated her professional and academic life to ending gender-based violence, supporting survivors, and advancing social justice. She is a doctoral fellow in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work and serves a lead trainer and curriculum development specialist for the Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

Street Harassment Support Group in Iowa City

March 20, 2016 By Contributor

International Anti-Street Harassment Week is an opportunity to raise awareness and protest the gender-based violence that occurs in our communities year-round. This year, in addition to a chalk-the-walk, op-ed writer’s workshop, several community-wide art projects, and a concert/bystander intervention training, End Street Harassment – Iowa City has organized a support group where victims of harassment can share their experiences in a safe space. The group will be facilitated by professional social workers and counselors. During the event, participants will have the option to create posters protesting harassment, which will then be displayed throughout our community.

I co-facilitate a weekly music and art support group at an emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence. Since starting the group, I’ve witnessed how cathartic and empowering it can be for victims of trauma to voice their stories and vent in a comfortable environment. We laugh, cry, and practice grounding and mindfulness exercises, such as deep breathing, stretching, and progressive muscle relaxation techniques. We also color, paint, make crafts, journal, write poetry, and rewrite popular songs so that they are about our personal experiences. This work served as the inspiration for a street harassment support group.

Some dismiss street harassment as a trivial issue. To me, street harassment is an every-day occurrence that reinforces the detrimental power dynamics that lead to gender-based violence. Street harassment is terrifying because victims do not know if the encounter will end in sexual or physical assault. Street harassment disproportionately affects women, LGBT* individuals, and people of color. It reinforces power inequalities and prevents those who are affected from moving through public space safely and with dignity.

When someone characterizes street harassment to me as “harmless” – or, even worse, a “compliment” that I should receive gratefully – I share a story about an abuse survivor I worked with who fled her home and community to save her life. While walking in public in a new city, a man in a car honked at her and catcalled her. Her first thought was “my abuser has found me,” followed by “could he have paid someone to follow me?” She had an intense panic attack as a result of being catcalled and she was unable to accomplish any of her goals that day related to securing housing or employment, which caused her stress and further anxiety. Perpetrators of harassment shouldn’t need to hear stories like this to cease their behaviors.

Our support group will hopefully give victims of harassment a place to process their experiences and know they are not alone. Actions protesting harassment that will occur in Iowa City – and around the world – this April can help make our communities safer for everyone. Together, we can end street harassment.

Stella Hart is a writer and activist who lives in Iowa City, Iowa. She is a founding member of End Street Harassment – Iowa City.