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Street Harassment is Illegal in Buenos Aires

December 8, 2016 By HKearl

Another city passed a law against street harassment in Latin America!

Via Broadly:

“In a unanimous vote, the city of Buenos Aires has enacted a law making public sexual harassment illegal in hopes of diminishing gender-based violence….

The law takes both a punitive and educational approach. It creates an easy way for women to report street harassment as a crime and requires police to take the situation seriously, which has not always been the case in Argentina. Proven cat-callers could be slammed with small fines or court-mandated public service. The legislation also creates educational campaigns within the health, education, and transportation ministries that would teach Argentines that any comment or interaction in the street still requires a woman’s consent. These programs will also emphasize how to spot street harassment and intervene on a victim’s behalf.”

Stay tuned, for UN Women I am working on a guide about street harassment and laws around the world, and I will share a full list in the coming weeks.

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Filed Under: News stories, public harassment, street harassment Tagged With: Argentina, bueons aires, city ordinance, illegal, latin america, laws

City in Colombia Bans Street Harassment, Survey in Nepal & More

December 2, 2016 By HKearl

Here are four notable news stories from the past day:

DECREE:

In Timbío, Colombia, a non-binding decree was made on November 25, 2016, to ban public-sector workers and contractors from making “lewd, coarse catcalling that offends ladies.” Those in violation will face verbal reprimand, sensitivity training, or counseling.

Along with the decree was the launch of a city-wide campaign against street harassment, including ads at harassment hotspots, like public transit and stadiums.

iwalkfreelysurveynepalnov2016The decree is supported by la Casa de Mujer, a local women’s organization.

Learn more here.

SURVEY:

More than 1000 people took the #IWalkFreely survey in Nepal and 98 percent of all women said they had been harassed. Besides the streets, 71 percent of respondents also reported harassment in public transportation, 63 percent said they were subjected to physical harassment of some form, and 20 percent reported sexual harassment. Nearly half the participants who said they had faced harassment were between 20-29 years old, and 41 percent were between 13 and 19.

DOCUMENTING:

Here are two efforts to show what street harassment is like globally.

Via BBC News:

“As part of the BBC’s 100 Women season we would like you to join in and help us build up a picture of street harassment around the world.

We would like you or any of your female friends or family who experience harassment between Friday 2 December and Sunday 4 December to share your story with us.

We only need a brief description of the incident and the city where it happened. Tweet it using the hashtag #mappingharassment or if you prefer, email bbc100.women@bbc.co.uk

Do not put yourself at risk or try to take any pictures of the incident. Also do not give us further elements that could lead to your full identification, like your name, or address. Only post a brief description, the city and the hashtag.”

Via Vice News:

“As a woman walking around the city alone at night, there’s not much you can do if some creep decides to follow you around and harass you. But many women try to find a way to deal with feeling unsafe – to project an aura that will stop the harassment from happening. A brisk and confident step, eyes on the pavement and a hand in the pocket of your coat, clutching your phone.

To see how women from different countries in Europe deal with street harassment, VICE offices across the continent asked women from 13 cities if and where they feel unsafe alone at night, and how they deal with that feeling.” Read more.

 

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Filed Under: News stories, Resources, street harassment Tagged With: BBC, colombia, europe, latin america, law, Nepal, survey

Piropos

June 29, 2009 By HKearl

From  http://blogs.ya.com/diariodegolifre/files/piropos.jpgMany women – both Latina and not – whose street harassment stories I’ve read have commented on the volume of harassment they receive from Hispanic men due to the culture of machismo. I know men of all races harass women of all races, but this viewpoint is common enough that it is one I am exploring.

A few months ago, a woman in Colombia who, as part of her PhD work, is examining how people justify violence against women in Colombia, contacted me because she was interested in my research. One of her case studies focused on a woman’s experience being groped in public by a stranger. We exchanged a few e-mails and she shared the following with me when I asked her about street harassment in Colombia.

“One more thing you might be interested in…in Hispanic countries there is a cultural history of a sort of courtship in the streets.  “Piropos” (http://www.piroposkc.com/whatis.html) are probably the best way to name this historical-cultural act. If you use the word ‘piropo,’ many people will tell you how beautiful and wonderful they are.  However, if one looks closely, there are definitions of piropo which also include unpleasant piropos, such as ‘you look like a nice f*ck’, and ‘I want to suck your …’.  There are those who would say that any piropo too directly related to sex is vulgar and uncalled for.  Also, piropos don’t have to only be verbal.  Some articles mention that they might be accompanied by a ‘touch.’  I know that many women will say they don’t mind or even like the nice piropos, but no one likes a quick stranger grope nor a vulgar comment.”

I recently read an article by Joan Fayer entitled “Changes in Gender Use of Public Space in Puerto Rico” which further educated me about “piropos,” which seems to be a tradition adopted by many (most? all?) Hispanic cultures from the Spanish. I found the article to be very useful, so I’m including highlights from it below.

Fayer says that piropos are “compliments or flattering comments traditionally given by men to women” which are “more than ever restricting equal access of women to public space. The hostile environment piropos create by making women ‘open’ to all and any other comments by men” (Fayer, 214).

Piropos were originally compliments given by aristocratic Spanish men to women as a way to admire their beauty and grace. Over time, piropos spread to other social classes and to Hispanic areas. Apparently, piropos used to be fairly prim and proper but gradually vulgar piropos creeped in so that today there’s a good mixture of both being given by men (Fayer, 216).  In fact, in Spain a law passed in 1931 prohibiting piropos and related gestures that were impolite and vulgar and violation of said law resulted in a fine or a jail sentence of 5 to 20 days (can you imagine if the US had a similar law!?!).

She  says, “Machismo, as a public act, is evident in street culture in Puerto Rico and other Hispanic countries in which men control public space not only by looking at women, but also verbally by giving women piropos – compliments that can range from the polite and poetic to the vulgar” (Fayer, 216).

“Piropos are typically given on streets by a man or a group of men as they pass by a woman or women they do not know or as the women pass them…Today piropos are usually given when walking, but it also possible for males to shout from cars to women who are walking or who are themselves in cars. Although they are more common from young men to young women, there are no age restrictions. Some men give piropos all their adult lives; however, there are some men who never give piropos. Although class distinctions may be a factor, there are men of all social classes who would never make comments about women in public” (Fayer, 217-218).

“The conventional female response is to ignore piropos, both verbally and nonverbally. The woman may be flattered, offended, or feel sexually harassed, but to respond in any way is ‘to ask for trouble.’ Women who are offended by piropos may, if possible, avoid areas in which piropos are common. Avoiding piropos ‘areas’ thus limits the access women have to public space. Recently, there has been a change in the response women make to piropos. Some female teenagers who receive vulgar piropos now turn to the males and say, ‘Would you say that to your mother/sister?’ ‘Go to hell,’ and so on. These young women are claiming more equal access to public streets; they do not just avoid piropos ‘areas'” (Fayer, 218).

“Piropos given by women on the streets can also be vulgar…however there are differences in the way women give men piropos in public space. Women almost always give piropos when they are in groups on the street or when they are in cars. For a woman to say something when she is alone would be too dangerous. The group or the car insures protection and prevents the male from interpreting the remark as an invitation” (Fayer, 219).

“Public space can also become a hostile environment when women become targets of both piropos and other types of verbal and nonverbal harassment” (Fayer, 220).

Fayer’s conclusion for the article as related to piropos is that they are largely male to female and thus permit “men to intrude and sexually harass women in their personal space in public areas. This hostile environment serves to restrict the access women have to public space…The gendered use of public space in Puerto Rico indicates that although there have been recent changes, social organization and public space continues to be male dominated” (Fayer, 223).

Does anyone know more about piropos and the way it impacts the way Hispanic men treat women in public spaces? Also, the article focused on heterosexual piropos, but are same-sex piropos ever given?

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Filed Under: street harassment Tagged With: Changes in Gender Use of Public Space in Puerto Rico, colombia, Joan Fayer, latin america, machismo, piropos, puerto rico, sexual harassment, spanish, street harassment

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