Boston Archives | Stop Street Harassment

New Transit Ads in Boston Focus on Persons with Disabilities

November 4, 2016 By HKearl

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has launched a new wave of ads! 800 posters will be on public transit until February.

Via Boston Globe:

“The campaign is explicitly inclusive of people with disabilities, both as people who may experience sexual harassment and as people who can intervene to prevent sexual violence,” Yen-Ewert said. “National and state studies show that people with disabilities experience sexual violence at two times the rate compared to people without disabilities.”

Karen Schneiderman, the senior advocacy specialist at the Boston Center for Independent Living, said the campaign “raises awareness about the issue of sexual violence against people with disabilities and the importance of having services that are accessible to all. I also appreciate that this campaign highlights people with disabilities in the role of assisting others, not just as people who are victimized.”

Learn more at MBTA.com.

Way to go, Boston! I also appreciate how they say they can be people who intervene, as well people who experience sexual harassment, recognizing they can have agency and take action.

MBTA has a nearly nine year history of anti-harassment ads. The first wave of ads went up in 2008, the next in 2009 and then the next in 2013. I’m glad to see them continue tackling this issue. Kudos also goes to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center for their partnership on the ads over the years.

Pervical Beer Company Jokes about Street Harassment

April 18, 2016 By Contributor

By Britni de la Cretaz

No matter how many times women and other marginalized folks make the point that street harassment isn’t a joke, it seems that advertisers aren’t getting the message. Last week, a new local brewing company out of Boston, Massachusetts, aired their very first TV spot. It ran during the Red Sox game and, unfortunately, it was problematic.

The commercial begins with a woman walking into a liquor store, the camera (and the store clerk’s eyes) lingering on her butt. She buys two six packs of Percival Beer Company’s beer and walks home, being subjected to catcalls like, “Hey, let me get some of that!” on her way. When she gets home, she tells her male partner that she’s never doing that again due to the harassment she received. The ad then cuts to her partner buying the same beer and facing the same catcalls on his walk home, presumably for a laugh.

When I tweeted at the company about the ad, they at first tried to explain away why the ad was OK, telling me that the “video also shows a man being catcalled.”

But as I (and another Twitter user) pointed out to them, men and women being catcalled are not comparable.

The thing is, when a woman is catcalled by a man, there is a power differential that doesn’t exist when a man is harassed by that same man. When women are harassed by men on the street, we legitimately fear for our safety. Often times, that harassment escalates into physical violence. Even if the woman is being catcalled about the beer and not her body, the intentions don’t change the impact of those comments. For a woman walking through public space, we don’t recognize the difference. What we hear is unsolicited commentary directed our way from men we don’t know. And this isn’t a funny hypothetical for us; it’s a reality that women and other marginalized people face on a daily basis when they walk down the street.

So while we can laugh at the man being catcalled, that’s an indication of the male privilege (and homophobia) inherent in that interaction. He has the privilege to be taken aback and walk on from the harassment because it’s not seen as threatening to him, whereas, even in the commercial, his female partner makes it clear that the same interactions made her feel unsafe.

To their credit, when faced with two women who were unhappy with their commercial, Pervical Beer Company responded that they are “still growing. Making mistakes but learning.” But these kinds of mistakes don’t need to happen. These kinds of mistakes happen when there are no women at the table to say, “Hey, this isn’t actually a good idea.” Mistakes like this are an indication that companies need to diversify their staff behind the scenes so that things like this don’t happen in the first place.

It’s even more disheartening that this ad is airing during Red Sox games, as the last people that need to have the idea that street harassment is a joke reinforced is the largely male audience that watches sporting events. Intentional or not, this commercial is harmful.

We need our advertisers to do better than this if we ever hope to end violence against marginalized folks in public space. So advertisers, the next time you think you want to make a joke about street harassment, I have some advice for you: don’t.

Britni de la Cretaz is a freelance writer, feminist parent, and Red Sox enthusiast living in Boston. She has been organizing against street harassment locally since 2011. Follow her on Twitter at @britnidlc.

USA: Harassment should not be an Intrinsic Part of Using Public Transportation

January 25, 2016 By Correspondent

Kathleen Moyer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

“Why don’t we get off the bus right here and go get something to eat?” said the man sitting next to me, who had been harassing me since he got on the bus.

“No,” I responded immediately for what must have been the fifth consecutive time. When I looked out the grimy bus window at the surrounding area, I noticed there were no restaurants in clear sight and doubtfully wondered whether he really wanted me to get off the bus so he could take me somewhere to eat. Before he got off at his stop, he asked for my number. When I wouldn’t give it to him, he gave me his instead, leaning over me to make sure I was saving it in my phone. I guess he wanted to be sure that I had it, just in case I changed my mind and decided that his incessant remarks about my appearance were actually charming.

This was the first time that I experienced harassment on public transportation. Seeing as I live in a large city and don’t yet drive, I rely on public transportation often. Unfortunately, since that first incident, I’ve learned that harassment on public transportation is something that’s simply expected, especially if you’re a woman. Recently, I asked other frequent public transportation users I know about their experiences with harassment.

“The conversation started out normal, but then he started asking me uncomfortable questions,” one woman began. “He said that he had a wife that he didn’t live with anymore and some grown children, and asked if I’d like to come with him to a hotel for sexual interaction…I told him no thank you and how he should be loyal to his wife, but he kept insisting and told me he’d even pay me for my time, because in Russia, that’s what he used to do. He then put his hand on my thigh, and then I stood up and moved to another seat on the bus to get away from him.”

Another woman I spoke to shared an experience in which she was harassed by a clearly intoxicated man who should not have been on the bus in the first place. “I was on the bus leaving work…I started eating a hoagie and this drunk guy in the row next to me started moaning and making obscene gestures at me. Then he moved to the seat next to me and said ‘Do you want to play?’ and reached out to grab me. Before he could, I yelled ‘Get away from me!’ and luckily that was enough to make him run out of the bus before anything else could happen.”

Fortunately, this woman, as well as another woman I spoke to, was able to scare off her harasser. I assume that the harassers ran away in these instances because they were taken by surprise. After all, we’re taught to simply ignore harassers on buses and trains, because sadly, that’s usually the safest and easiest response. I believe that harassers know this and try to take advantage of it. That’s why they sometimes act in such a cowardly manner when their victims respond in a way that deviates from what they’ve come to expect. However, victims of harassment shouldn’t be solely responsible for addressing the issue.

Thankfully, some transit authorities have taken action to fight harassment, with Boston’s transit authority leading the way in 2008 and Chicago in 2009.

* Since 2012, Stop Street Harassment and Collective Action for Safes Spaces have worked on a campaign with the Washington, DC area transit authority that includes PSAs, an online reporting portal, and training for frontline employees.

* In 2014, the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority created a webpage through which victims of harassment would be able to anonymously report incidents and submit photo evidence.

* Transport for London launched a campaign called “Report it to stop it” in April of last year. As the name suggests, the goal of the campaign was to encourage more people to report instances of harassment.

* Also last fall, the French government launched a campaign in which public transportation lines were plastered with posters printed with sexual remarks typical of those frequently heard on public transport lines. The bottom of the posters say, “A woman’s life should not look like this.”

While these efforts are promising, the problem seems to still remain unaddressed in most areas, allowing harassment to continue to be seen as an intrinsic part of using public transportation. Perhaps public transportation companies know that most people who use their services do so because it’s their only method of transportation; the fact that these companies won’t lose customers could be a factor in them not prioritizing the issue. Perhaps local governments are not aware of how prevalent the problem is. No matter what is preventing the problem from being addressed, it must change immediately. No one should feel threatened anytime they travel via bus or train and unwanted sexual behavior should not be a normal part of someone’s daily commute.

As the posters in France say, a woman’s life should not look like this. No one’s life should look like this.

Kathleen is a full-time graduate student studying professional and business communication. She plans initiatives to increase awareness of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other related issues through her university’s anti-sexual violence group, Explorers Against Sexual Violence.

Today’s Events – April 16

April 16, 2015 By BPurdy

Virtual Events:

April 16 | 4:30 p.m. in Delhi, 6 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur (7 a.m. EDT): @INBreakthrough, @FemIndProject and @PixelProject will co-host a Tweet chat about cultural differences in harassment and reactions.

No Moleste di Strada has designed thought-provoking stickers and are placing them in public spaces highly affected by street harassment. They intend to creatively raise awareness on the phenomenon by also asking peoples’ contribution. They encourage our followers to spot the stickers, send us the pictures, and suggest us new ideas! Find the stickers on their Facebook page, and share both online and in public spaces near you!

International Events:

Bahamas: Hollaback! Bahamas will be hosting a chalk art event at College of the Bahamas in collaboration with the PRO Society (art club) as well as a free self-defense workshop for College of the Bahamas students.

Canada (Toronto): The Street Talk Project is launching their new exhibit! Inspired by the Take Back The Night movement and #yesallwomen, The Street Talk Project is a public art installation and gallery exhibition that addresses how women navigate the city and the socialized sexism that governs their bodies on a day-to-day basis. Using humour and subversive advertising, this project will bring attention to the ways in which public space is navigated differently by different bodies; address how sexism is felt viscerally on a day-to-day basis; and further the belief that we are all responsible for making public spaces accessible and welcoming for all bodies. [Exhibit Launch is April 16, 7-8pm at the Whippersnapper Gallery in Toronto.]

Colombia: OCAC Colombia will host ANY AGGRESSION WITHOUT RESPONSE. The Colectiva Urgente Anárquica y Sinverguenza (C.U.C.A.S), will do a workshop teaching feminist defense. We are still waiting to confirm the place, so please be aware. [2pm] | JUEVES 16 DE ABRIL – 2PM. NINGUNA AGRESIÓN SIN RESPUESTA. A cargo de la Colectiva Urgente Callejera Anárquica y Sinverguenza (C.U.C.A.S), se realizará un taller de defensa feminista. Aun estamos a la espera de confirmar el lugar, entonces estén muy pendientes

France: Stop Harcelement de Rue will be going in subway and suburban trains, and a Paris train station in order to distribute flyers and to sensitize people to all the types of violence women have to go through in transports. During these events, they will be wearing a super-hero costume as the “Team Zero Relou” (no streetharassers team)! They will also hold a Artistic happening in the hall of the Gare du Nord station, where actors will play scenes of harassment (the public will not be made aware of it being acting until the end) [5pm Gare du Nord, Paris]

France: Stop Harcelement de Rue Lyon will hold a chalk walk [5 pm. Location: Quai Victor Augagneur]

France: Stop Harcelement de Rue Lille are holding a leaflet distribution at Lille Flandres subway station. [5 pm]

Nepal: This is the final day of Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj (Nepal Women Unity Society)‘s five day self-defense training with adolescent girls of the slum community.

United Kingdom: Hollaback! Nottingham is holding a clay workshop! They’ll be discussing street harassment and methods to deal with it while creating pieces for an upcoming exhibit [2pm at Nottingham Women’s Centre, 30 Chaucer Street, Nottingham UK. Women only please]

USA Events

California: Valley Crisis Center will have a button making machine where individuals can make/design their own button describing what they can do to fight street harassment/catcalling/degrading comments and also empower others to do the same. Today is your last day to snag one! [Merced Community College 10-1PM]

Illinois: Volunteers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne campus are holding a tabling event, and handing out buttons and sexual harassment resources [11a-1p, Main Quad]

Maryland: UMBC’s Take Back the Night 2015: In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, join the Women’s Center on Commons Main Street Thursday, April 16th and let’s take back the night!!

Events and activities include:
– Community Resource Fair (begins at 6pm)
– Clothesline Project
– Survivor Speak Out Forum (begins at 6:30pm)
– March Against Sexual Violence
– FORCE Monument Quilt Making Opportunity and other art activism projects
and more!

[Women’s Center at UMBC 1000 Hilltop Circle, Commons 004 at 6 PM]

Minnesota: Hollaback! Twin Cities is hosting a chalking event at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. [7:30 to 9 p.m]

Nebraska: The sociology, queer alliance and radical notion clubs at Hastings College will be distributing bystander intervention flyers on campus.

New York: No Disrespect & The Safe OUTside the System Collective present: Free the Streets. Panel discussion making connections between sexualized, gendered, and police harassment + breakouts creating solutions through prevention, intervention, support, and accountability. [6:30-8:30 p.m. at Audre Lourde Project, 85 South Oxford Street, NYC]

Pennsylvania: SAFE at Temple University, Philadelphia, is holding a self-defense class. [6pm in Morgan Hall D301]

Pennsylvania: Touch Me Philly Productions will be debuting “Reasonable Fear: A Series on Street Harassment and Rape Culture.” Touch Me Philly Productions Presents two weeks of theatre and events exploring the topics of Street Harassment & Rape Culture. This series includes a main stage theatrical production, workshops, comedy, films & more. All designed to let you explore this topic in a safe atmosphere. Nine short plays were chosen from our open submission call to create our Main Stage Theatrical Production. Catch this show Thursdays – Saturdays April 16-18 & 23-25 at 8 p.m. | INFO

Massachusetts: Guerilla Feminism Boston is collecting short stories for their handmade zine, to be passed out during their Chalk Walk (see below). As they say, “As Black women, women of color, queer, trans women & gender nonconforming poc we’re often made to feel unsafe in our own communities due to gender, homophobia, race, sexuality, and gender expression. Often this affects our commutes to and from work, school, social events and other engagements.” To submit your story to be included in our zine, please email submissions to guerrillafeminismboston@gmail.com. We’re looking for artwork, poetry, stories of what it means to be YOU walking down the street, hanging out at a bar, interacting with the police, etc. Please keep these writings under 500 words. [Submit by April 16]

Virginia: Hollaback! RVA is hosting a chalk walk on the VCU campus! They invite you to visit their table to pick up candy, literature, and chalk. [VCU Campus in Richmond]

Washington: Jaded at Club Contour, a weekly dance night with a heavy focus on safety in their community, is hosting a dance night and distributing pamphlets explaining what street harassment is and why it’s so dangerous, and (if feasible) set up a large poster board where people can write their own stories. [9pm-2am at Club Contour, 807 1st Ave Seattle, WA]

Washington, DC: American University will host a chalking on campus [10 a.m. – 1 p.m.]

Washington D.C.: Collective Action for Safe Spaces will be hosting their 6th anniversary party, “Lights, Camera, Collective Action!” [6-9pm at Room & Board, 1840 14 St., NW]

Today’s Events – April 14

April 14, 2015 By BPurdy

Virtual Events:

More than organizations from 15 different countries will be hosting an all-day Tweetathon about street harassment in various regions across the world, in various languages. Use #EndSH to join!

International Events:

Bahamas: Hollaback! Bahamas is issuing a press release to celebrate our one year anniversary, talking about Int’l ASHW, and announcing the STARR Initiative, their new our safe space program.

Colombia: OCAC Colombia has prepared a tizatón to claim that street belongs to everyone. Meet us at the Río Arzobispo, diagonal 40A con carrera 19 | MARTES 14 DE ABRIL – 3PM. NOS TOMAMOS LAS CALLES. Preparamos una tizatón para reivindicar que la calle es de todas y todos. Nos encontraremos en el río Arzobispo, en la diagonal 40A con carrera 19

France: Stop Harcelement de Rue – Lyon will be distributing leaflets [7 pm. Location in the Vaise subway station]

Nepal: Hollaback! Kathmandu will be doing a Mens Pledge at Patan Durbar Square. They will gather as many men and boys as they can to sign the pledge saying that “I say no to street harassment.” [1pm at Patan Durbar Square]

Netherlands: Hollaback! Amsterdam will be launching their brand-new chapter! Join them for their launch party! [The Doelenzaal room at the University of Amsterdam, Universiteitsbibliotheek, Singel 425, 6:30-8:30 pm]

United Kingdom: Hollaback! Nottingham is holding a Zine Workshop! The street harassment workshop will be followed by a zine making working. Expect collaging, typewriter, scribbling, doodles, thoughts, memories, experiences, stories! This is a mixed event and all are welcome. [6pm, Nottingham Women’s Centre, 30 Chaucer Street, Nottingham, UK]

USA Events:

Illinois: Volunteers at the University of Illinois Champagne-Urbana campus will be chalking the Quad with anti-street harassment messaging (led by Illini Art Therapy Association). [12:30pm, Main Quad]

Massachusetts: “Street Harassment is Not a Game” street action, hosted by Safe Hub Collective in Boston. “We invite women, people of color, trans and gender non-conforming people, queer folks, and disabled people to bring their jump ropes, balls, sidewalk chalk, and favorite playground songs to send the message that *street harassment is not a game*. It is violence. And it is hurtful.” [5 p.m., Boston Common] INFO.

Nebraska: The sociology, queer alliance and radical notion clubs at Hastings College will be holding an “Out in the Night” screening and panel.

Pennsylvania: Susquehanna University’s Women’s Studies Program will be hosting a Chalk Walk! Chalk the Walk 2015 encourages students, faculty, and staff to write anti-street harassment messages on the walk using sidewalk chalk. This year’s event marks Susquehanna’s third year participating in this international week of activism. [12 – 1 p.m. at 514 University Avenue Selinsgrove, PA, 17870] INFO

Washington D.C: Zerlina Maxwell will be speaking about campus sexual assault, rape culture and feminist leadership. [7pm in the Healy Family Student Center, Georgetown University, with chalking at 6pm]