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Street Harassment Round Up – July 12

July 12, 2009 By HKearl

Stories:

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

On this blog, a woman in London shared how a man in her neighborhood always harasses her when he sees her alone. Read through the comments to learn how she took the advice of a blog commenter and contacted the police and what happened from there.
On HollaBack Australia, a guy brags to his friends about touching the contributor’s butt in public.
On HollaBack Toronto, a contributor tells how she called the cops when she saw the same man who had masturbated by her in his car while she waited for the bus last week.
Holla Back DC! had three blog posts discussing street harassment while biking.
Blank Noise Project is asking people to send in photos of the clothes they have been harassed in to help disprove the perception that it only happens when women wear certain clothes. They say, “write to us at blurtblanknoise @gmail dot com subject titled “i never ask for it””

In the News:

Time.com published a good article about how the Egyptian government is tackling sexual harassment (including street harassment) through religion by distributing new books on sexual harassment to 50,000 imams at mosques across Egypt.
A taxi driver in Perth, Western Australia, who allegedly sexually assaulted a female passenger in February is now being charged with that crime.
Carmella Etienne, a transgender female, alleges she was hit by rocks and a beer bottle and threatened in Queens.
Since June 19, there have been nearly a dozen reports of a man slapping women on their backsides on the subway around Crown Heights in Brooklyn, NY.
Jessica Reed asks in a blog post on UK’s Guardian website: “What is it about a woman on a bike that attracts such unwelcome attention?

Announcements:

RightRides in NYC has just expanded their services of a free ride home from Saturday nights to include Friday nights too! They offer this service from 11:59 p.m. – 3 a.m. in 45 neighborhoods across four boroughs. To call for a ride, the dispatch number is (718) 964-7781 OR (888)215-SAFE (7233).

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

Street Harassment: A Feminist Guide to Analysis and Direct Action, by Cathy Ramos

Street Harassment Round Up – July 5

July 5, 2009 By HKearl

Stories:

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

On this blog, a woman in London talks about the constant harassment she receives by her home and another woman in Chicago talks about the high volume of harassment she experiences in her new neighborhood.
On HollaBack Toronto, a contributor tells how a man in a car pulled up next to the bus stop she was sitting at and started masturbating! He drove away when she took out her cell phone.
On Holla Back NYC, a contributor tells how a man said a sexually explicit comment to her in Macy’s in NYC.
Holla Back DC! had seven new contributor stories this week, ranging from stories about young harassers to getting grabbed on the street to inappropriate & sexually explicit comments on the metro.
Blank Noise Project is asking people to send in photos of the clothes they have been harassed in to help disprove the perception that it only happens when women wear certain clothes. They say, “write to us at blurtblanknoise @gmail dot com subject titled “i never ask for it””

In the News:

In NYC a woman was harassed and arrested by an allegedly misogynistic police officer on the subway.
Egypt is distributing books about sexual harassment to mosques to help educate and inform imams.

Upcoming Events:

July 8 (8 – 11:55 p.m.): SafeWalk Benefit by Friends of RightRides to help offset the operational costs of SafeWalk to provide safe, free walks to any destination in the northern Brooklyn area on Friday nights. Cost: $6-10 sliding scale. Location: Silent Barn, 915 Wyckoff, Brooklyn, NY. More info
July 10 (7 – 10 p.m.): BACK UP! concrete diaries documentary screening as part of Docs in Progress. Cost: $5 suggested donation. Location: George Washington University Media & Public Affairs Building, 805 21st Street NW, Auditorium B-07, Washington, DC. More info

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

Joan Fayer’s article “Changes in Gender Use of Public Space in Puerto Rico,” in Voices in the Street: Explorations in Gender, Media, and Public Space, eds Susan J. Drucker and Gary Gumpert (New Jersey: Hampton Press, Inc: 1996).

Street Harassment Round Up – June 28

June 28, 2009 By HKearl

Stories:

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

On this blog, a woman in the Bronx, NY, talks about getting followed on the street by a man she didn’t know.
On HollaBack Toronto, Claudia tells her success story for reporting a man who was touching her inappropriately on the subway. Way to go!
On Holla Back NYC, a 15 year old contributor tells about being assaulted on the D train on her way home from school. Very horrible 🙁
Holla Back DC! contributor asks a harasser if she has the right to be out alone on a Friday night!?
Two years ago Blank Noise Project asked readers to submit their list of things they wished they could do in their city (for example, smile when they wanted, not have to think about who’s watching them, be able to go out at night and be safe…) and last Saturday afternoon, they invited people to come to Cubbon Park to live out their wish list, including wearing something they wished they could wear but never had for fear of harassment. You can read quotes from participants on their blog.

In the News:

The Telegraph in the UK had an article about colleges in India who are banning certain women’s clothing in an attempt to cut down on the “eve teasing” women students receive from men.

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

Check out Blank Noise‘s new Step-by-Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking. Participate and share your experiences on their blog.

Public Debate Needed in India Re: Eve Teasing

June 23, 2009 By HKearl

Today I read more about the idiotic ban of certain clothing for women in colleges in Uttar Pradesh, India, as an effort to combat “eve teasing” by men there. Via the Telegraph:

“The ban has now been extended to colleges throughout the state and has caused outrage among student groups and women’s rights campaigners who say girls are being blamed for encouraging sexual harassment. The list of ‘vulgar’ clothes which the colleges claim can provoke sexual assaults include sleeveless blouses, tight tops, miniskirts and high-heeled shoes, as well as jeans. Instead, girls should wear traditional saris or kurta pyjamas – long baggy shirts and trousers to conceal their curves…’A dress code would check eve-teasing to some extent and also ensure that girls don’t waste their time selecting what clothes to wear. If girls wore salwar-kurta or Indian clothes, cases of sexual harassment near college campuses would decrease,'” (said Meeta Jamal, Principal Dayanand College, a woman).

Many women are not standing for this:

“The comments were fiercely rejected by the campaign group Blank Noise, which organises street protests against ‘eve-teasers.’

Jasmeen Patheja, a spokeswoman for the group, said the principals had reinforced the old fashioned view that ‘women are asking for it’ by wearing provocative clothes…

She said her group’s extensive research, including a campaign to persuade women to send them the clothes they were wearing when they were sexually harassed, had shown that ‘eve-teasers’ picked on conservatively-dressed women in traditional Indian outfits just as much as those in Western clothes.

The All-India Democratic Women’s Association said it was planning a series of demonstrations against the ban, which it described as ‘dictatorial’ and ‘unconstitutional.’

College and university officials say there has been an increase in ‘eve-teasing’ – which covers a range of behaviour from unwanted flirting to serious sexual assault.

Campaigners say the increase reflects rapid social change in India, where young, educated middle-class women are enjoying greater personal freedom – choosing careers, drinking in bars, and dating without family chaperones…

Ms Patheja said the college principals were wrong to shift the responsibility for eve-teasing from the male perpetrators to the female victims. She said India needs a public debate on the difference between sexual harassment and ‘acceptable ways of wooing.’

Yay Blank Noise & the All-India Democratic Women’s Association for standing up to the idiocy!

Street Harassment Round Up – June 21

June 21, 2009 By HKearl

Stories:

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

On this blog, women in Chicago and Hawaii talk about being fed up by the volume of street harassment they face on a daily to weekly basis.
On HollaBack Toronto, a contributor wrote a post about having a TTC subway employees flirt with/harass her when she was paying her fare. The Director of Corporate Communications for TTC saw the post and wrote to HB Toronto with information about how passengers can file complaints about employees. This post was followed by one from another contributor telling about a time a TTC employee made her feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Harassment on public transportation is global!
On Holla Back NYC, a contributor tells about getting oogled by men at a community pool, but they complained to the pool management and then men had to leave.
Holla Back DC! has a contributor post from a woman who was asked “how’d you get that cute ass” by a man who then turned very angry when she asked him not to harass her.
Two years ago Blank Noise Project asked readers to submit their list of things they wished they could do in their city (for example, smile when they wanted, not have to think about who’s watching them, be able to go out at night and be safe…) and this past Saturday afternoon, they invited people to come to Cubbon Park to live out their wish list, including wearing something they wished they could wear but never had for fear of harassment.

In the News:

In Beijing, a bill for sex-segregated subway cars has been submitted for consideration due to high rates of sexual harassment on the subway.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported on the work of the Rogers Park Women’s Action Team’s work to combat sexual harassment on public transportation in Chicago.
Emily May, co-founder of Holla Back NYC talked about harassment on New York’s public transportation system on radio station WBAI. People could call in with questions.

Upcoming Events:

June 27 (2-4 p.m.): Girls and women ages 12-25 are invited to share their stories about sexual harassment on the Chicago buses and subways with the Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team. Berger Park Cultural Center, 6205 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL.
June 27 (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.): Defend Yourself’s Intro to self defense for LGBTQI, downtown DC (near Mt. Vernon Sq. and Convention Center)

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

Girls for Gender Equity’s Street Harassment is a Crime poster

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