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Discussions, rallies, photography competitions: Anti-Street Harassment Week in Delhi, India

March 29, 2012 By Contributor

(Editor’s Note: This guest blog post was written by the Safe Delhi Campaign Team to recap their efforts during International Anti-Street Harassment Week in Delhi, India)

CONTEXT:

Delhi has changed a lot in the past decade. Skyscrapers, flyovers, shopping complexes rapidly covered the city making it for a particular section of the society. But, a general animosity and a sense of belongingness lacks in the city. Equal participation in the city and the right to ownership is not guaranteed for women. The sense of enjoyment, of loitering and of using public places in the way they desire are very limited and at times non- existent. Their presence in this ‘urban city’ has to be constantly negotiated and compromised. The fear of and the incidence of being sexually harassed in public spaces have unfortunately become a part a woman’s experience in the city.

Women’s access to safe and violence free public spaces is her right. Sexual harassment in public spaces restricts choices and opportunities for women in education, livelihood, health and decision making. The gendered nature of public spaces not only denies their access but also ‘legitimizes’ the invisibility of women after a particular hour of the day. It is the right of every citizen to enjoy public spaces irrespective of gender, caste, class, sexuality, disability or any other social identity. The responsibility of society to ensure equal rights for all has to increase. Safety and right to the city can be guaranteed with a more sensitive and effective service delivery for all the citizens. It is time to understand and address factors of safety and make the city accessible and inclusive for all.

Global Week on Anti Sexual Harassment and Safe Delhi Campaign:

Delhi University 2011

100 co-sponsors across the world have joined hands to mark the International Anti-Street Harassment Week, a program of Stop Street Harassment . A core team of activists led by Holly Kearl volunteered their time to make the campaign possible. Last year, the first Anti Street Sexual Harassment Day was celebrated in Delhi and saw the largest turn out worldwide. The march coordinated by Safe Delhi Campaign and a group of students from University of Delhi,  saw participation from students, faculty and police constables. This year the plan has been expanded for a week.

Safe Delhi Campaign co-sponsoring the event in India called for action from different partners across the city -from individuals, to organizations to media houses. The intent was to involve people from different walks of life to talk about the issue and address it in their own way.

Objective of the Campaign:

  • To initiate dialogues and discussions among students in different colleges and universities on safety in public spaces.
  • To spread awareness on factors of safety through advocacy materials of the campaign.
  • To initiate and moderate discussions on social media platforms on safety in public spaces and right to the city.

Campaigning On Streets:

Dialogue with Students: ‘Let’s Reclaim Public Spaces’

The first day of  The Global Anti Street Harassment Week 2012 was marked by an extensive discussion on gendering of public spaces with students from the Department of Human Development of Institute of Home Economics. Students shared their personal experiences of ‘gender’ as an identity that impacts their choices and opportunities to live equally in the city. The students deliberated on gaps in emergency helpline numbers for women.

Service provisions like public toilets or well lit parks to also talking about the role of larger society to create an enabling environment for all. With the remark that safety is a woman’s right to the city, the students undertook a ‘class to class campaign’, sharing with students the message against sexual harassment on streets and also sharing some.

An open lawn discussion at Lady Sri Ram College for Women on ‘Reclaiming Right to Public Spaces’ was called by students from National Service Scheme on Tuesday, the 20th of March, 2012.  There was an interesting discussion on the factors that attribute a place as being safe and unsafe. A street play by the college theatre society marked the beginning of the discussion.  The students were shared helpline booklets, poster and other relevant material after the discussion. More than 100 students participated in the discussion.

Let’s Make Delhi Safe for Women! Reclaiming Right to Public Spaces:

The recent weeks in the National Capital Territory of Delhi has seen an sudden increase of reported sexual assaults on women, mostly while their presence in public spaces. Following such incidences were remarks given to women to not work after 8 p.m. or to not wear “revealing clothes.”

The blame of these and many more incidences was left on the woman. This led to agitation not just among the civil society group of the city but also individual masses. Everybody across the city decided to stand against violence on women and say no to unsafe public spaces.

The first public protest was called in Gurgaon as a response to the incident that took place outside one of the malls in the area following which remarks by police representatives on girls should stay home after 8:00 pm was called for. The protest was joined by women’s groups, youth organisations, individuals from the city and several media houses as well.  Following the first protest, a Citizen Charter of Demands was drafted and a petition to state agencies to implement the same was circulated all across. Social networking pages to public campaigns to meeting individuals where ever possible, the petition was taken all across the city.

The city saw a series of public protests in different places and through different forms. To mark the end of the Global Week, the students from  the University of Delhi called for a candle light vigil to “Reclaim your Right to Safe and Violence free City for Women.”  The vigil was held on March 24, 2012, in the evening and was participated by residents of the area, students, individuals from the city asking for a right to safe public spaces. An appeal to more men to join

Winning entry by Aranyaka Verma.

and for police support was constantly being made during the protest and that actually led to more people joining in the middle of the protest. More than 100 hundred people signed the petition and participated in the march.

CAMPAIGNING ONLINE

Photography Competition on Right to A Safe And Inclusive City

An online photography competition in solidarity with the Global week was hosted on the Safe Delhi Campaign Facebook page. The competition was well received and saw multiple entries. A panel of judges was formed to choose the winning photograph. Discussion around factors to make city safe was also initiated online.

 

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Filed Under: anti-street harassment week, street harassment Tagged With: global activism, Jagori, rape, Safe Delhi, sexual harassment, street harasment

Education on street harassment in Delhi, India

March 21, 2012 By Contributor

This guest blog post is written by Parul with Jagori/Safe Delhi, in Delhi, India.

Discussion on the gendering of public spaces

The first day of The Global Anti Street Harassment Week 2012 was marked by an extensive discussion on the gendering of public spaces. Students from the Department of Human Development [at Delhi University] shared their personal experiences of ‘Gender’ as an identity that impacts their choices and opportunities to live equally in the city. The students deliberated on gaps in service provisions, like public toilets or well lit parks to also talking about the role of larger society to create an enabling environment for all.

Safe Delhi performances

With the remark that safety is a woman’s right to the city, the students undertook a ‘class to class campaign’, sharing with other students the message against sexual

harassment on streets and also sharing some emergency helpline numbers for women.

Two days later, an open lawn discussion with girls from Lady Sri Ram College for Women on ‘Reclaiming of Public Spaces’ occurred. There was an interesting discussion on the factors that make a place safe and unsafe.

A street play by the students on homosexuality marked the beginning of the discussion. The girls then shared a poster on ‘Helpline numbers’ in Delhi with their fellow students.

Other activities occurring so far include a photography competition on the topic the “Right to a Safe and Inclusive City” as well as online activities.

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Filed Under: anti-street harassment week Tagged With: delhi, Jagori, Safe Delhi

Details for two more confirmed events for Anti-Street Harassment Day

March 15, 2011 By HKearl

If you’re in these areas, I hope you’ll participate and spread the word!

Delhi, India:

Bol ke , Bas Ab Aur Nahi campaign

“Let’s Unite! Let’s Fight! . ‘BE THE CHANGE’!  Let’s mark the first International Anti-Street Harassment Day on March 20th by saying NO to Street Sexual Harassment. Come join us as we go around the Delhi University north campus protesting and claiming for our space! Further details call 26691219 or write to safedelhi@jagori.org”

Cairo, Egypt:

زيارات التوعية الميدانية الثانية لمتطوعي خريطة التحرش الجنسي

يتزامن ميعادنا لعمل زيارات التوعية الميدانية في شوارع ومناطق مختلفة من مصر لمناهضة التحرش الجنسي، مع اليوم العالمي لمناهضة التحرش الجنسي في الشارع 20 مارس، وهي المبادرة التي تم الإعلان عنها في بداية العام ويمكنكم معرفة المزيد عن اليوم من خلال هذا الرابط:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=200134909997177&ref=ts
وعلى خلاف المرة الأولى للتوعية الميدانية، فنحن الآن نعيش ظروف تاريخية عقب ثورة 25 يناير، يجدر بنا الإستفادة منها لع…مل تغيير حقيقي في كل شوارعنا، وأن ندعو للإيجابية وعدم السكوت على مشكلة التحرش الجنسي.
كيفية المشاركة:

– يخرج المتطوعين في هذا اليوم في مجموعات (نساء ورجال معا) لعمل التوعية في المناطق التي ينتمون لها وتعاني من مشكلة التحرش الجنسي
– تكون التوعية مع الأفراد الرئيسيين في الشارع أو المنطقة (أصحاب المحلات، حراس العمارات، أي مجموعات موجودة في الشارع بصورة مستمرة، اللجان الشعبية مثلا، وسائل المواصلات)
– تتم الإستعانة بدليل المتطوعين الذي أعده المتطوعون أنفسهم ويضم معلومات حول: ماذا نقول؟ ما هي الردود والأعذار المعتادة، والرد عليها)
– تتم الإستعانة بنسخة من الخريطة مطبوعة لإقناع الأفراد بخطورة المشكلة وتجنب إنكارها
– تتم الإستعانة بملصقات الخريطة والأماكن التي تبدي تعاونها تضع ملصق (المناطق الآمنة)
– لا تطول مدة الزيارة الميدانية عن ساعتين بحد أقصى
– ضرورة الرجوع لمنسق المتطوعين عقب الإنتهاء من الزيارة بالملاحظات ونتائج اليوم (من تعاون من المحلات مثلا ويمكننا الإعلان عنهم عن طريق موقعنا)
– في حالة إستخدام تويتر لتغطية تفاصيل التوعية الميدانية نرجو إستخدام #antistreetharassmentday مع #harassmap
– يمكنكم إرسال أي صور أو فيديوهات تم تصويرها خلال اليوم وتوثق تجربتكم لنا

يمكن للمتطوعين الحصول على الدليل والملصقات من أماكن سنعلن عنها قبل نهاية الأسبوع.

ملاحظة: يتزامن أيضا 19 مارس مع ميعاد الإستفتاء على التعديلات الدستورية ويوصي فريق العمل الجميع بضرورة المشاركة، ويمكن عمل التوعية في المنطقة المحيطة باللجنة التابع لها.

لتأكيد المشاركة أو لأي أسئلة أو إستفسارات يمكنكم التواصل مع :
أحمد عجور، منسق المتطوعين: 0110602110
info@harassmap.org

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Filed Under: street harassment Tagged With: HarassMap, Jagori, Safe Delhi, sexual harassment, street harassment

New Indian study: 98 percent of women report street harassment

December 22, 2010 By HKearl

There aren’t a lot of studies out there about street harassment, so this week I was happy to read about two more. They were recently conducted in Korea and India.

#1: In a study of 828 salaried employees in an unnamed city in Korea, 43 percent said they experienced sexual harassment during their commute, and 79 percent were women. Via The Korean Times:

“Nearly 72 percent of the incidents occurred on subway cars, followed by buses at 27.3 percent and taxis at 1.1 percent. Nearly 60 percent said they experienced harassment between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. when most workers are on their way to work, while 17 percent were between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. while returning home from work.

About 61.9 percent said at the time of the sexual harassment, it was too crowded for them to move within the subway train or bus. In response to the harassment, 43.2 percent said they did nothing about it, and 25 percent moved to a different place. Only 18.2 percent strongly protested against the assailants and 6.3 percent shouted in anger.”

Unfortunately, the findings aren’t too different from surveys conducted in Chicago and New York City regarding harassment on the transit systems. The growing number of women-only transit around the world plus studies like these are a testament to the global problem of sexual harassment on public transportation.

#2: In the state capitol of Thiruvananthapurm in the south Indian state Keralaas, 1000 women were recently interviewed about street harassment. Ninety-eight percent said they had experienced it and 90 percent said the harassment was either physically or vocally violent. The harassment was notable on public transportation and 62 percent had experienced it there. Only seven percent had reported any of their experiences of harassment.

The study was part of UNIFEM’s safe cities project in India and once they have completed their studies they will work on solutions to make public places safer for women and girls. I met several people working on this initiative within the UN and Jagori at a recent conference in India. I am so grateful for the work they are doing!

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Filed Under: News stories Tagged With: Jagori, safe cities, sexual harassment, street harassment, Thiruvananthapurm, UNIFEM

Call for Artists: Women and Mobility in the City Exhibition

July 27, 2010 By HKearl

Artists:

How do women experience cities? How does harassment impact their mobility? JAGORI and Women in Cities International want to see your artistic depiction of these questions for their transportraits exhibition.

They’re calling for photographs (even those taken by cell phone), posters, cartoons, paintings, slogans, collages, and illustrations. Full details for the contest are found on the JAGORI website. Entries are due by October 1, 2010.

Their exhibition will be displayed at the Third International Conference on Women’s Safety: Building Inclusive Cities which is taking place in Delhi, India, Nov. 22-24, 2010. (Incidentally, I just bought my plane ticket today so I’m definitely attending!) Following the conference, the exhibition will travel to different schools and cities around India.

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Filed Under: Events, Resources Tagged With: eve teasing, inclusive cities, international conference on women's safety, Jagori, sexual harassment, street harassment, transportraits, women in cities international

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