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Philippines: City of Stars Has ‘Anti-Catcalling Ordinance’

January 24, 2017 By Correspondent

Ken Rodrigo, Makati City, Philippines, SSH Blog Correspondent

More than being the Philippines’ Hollywood and Metro Manila’s largest city, Quezon City recently made its mark as the first local government to enact a law penalizing street-level harassment. Enacted last May, the ‘Anti-Catcalling Ordinance’ intends to protect and empower women by imposing a fine and prison term for acts constituting sexual harassment in public spaces. While only women (and girls) may be victims under the local law, the offender may be of any sex.

The ordinance proposed by lady councilor Lena Mari Juico is part of the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Initiative of UN Women.

The ordinance divides violations into light, medium and severe.  A person may be fined or jailed up to a month for committing light violations such as cursing, catcalling, repeatedly asking the subject for a date or her contact number, or taunting a woman with constant talk about sex. With the same penalties as light, medium violations include stalking, making offensive mouth, hand or body gestures with intention to demean or threaten a woman.

Acts such as unnecessary touching, pinching or brushing against the subject’s body, public masturbation or lascivious exhibition directed at a woman, or inserting any object into the genitalia, anus or mouth of a victim regardless of sex constitute severe violations which carry a higher fine or jail term from one month to a year. Corresponding penalties are also provided for repeated violations.

Victims may file a complaint at the women’s desk of police precincts or seek assistance by calling the Quezon City Police Department (QCPD) hotline. Other implementation measures were also set such as strengthening the ‘barangays’ or community administrations.

The attention gained by the ordinance allowed Filipinos to discuss the important yet neglected issue of street harassment. Some were delighted by the city’s initiative and called other cities to follow suit. There were others who wished for the policy to be a national legislation. However, those who disapproved criticized the ordinance’s penal provisions arguing that a jail term is disproportionate to the offense, and expressed concern about the vagueness of the acts constituting harassment, the feasibility of implementation, and the possibility of the abuse of the ordinance by women against men. While the breakthrough ordinance spells hope for the anti-street harassment movement, it also reflects the movement’s struggle with breaking misogynist culture.

The City of Stars shines bright with this safe public spaces initiative. It champions women’s rights and serves as a model for other cities. Next, the national government should include street harassment in its human rights agenda in order to meaningfully promote safe cities and public spaces throughout the country.

Ken is a teacher of international studies at a university in Manila. After law school, she traveled to Denmark and eventually studied in Malmö University in Sweden where she earned her master’s in Human Rights. You can contact her at krnrdrg@gmail.com or on Facebook.

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Filed Under: correspondents, News stories, street harassment Tagged With: law, ordinance, philippines, quezon city

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

Spain: Including Harassment and Sexual Abuse in Laws

October 24, 2016 By Correspondent

Alice C.R., Barcelona, Spain SSH Blog Correspondent

7n-manifestacionRecently, the Nottingham police in the UK decided to treat misogyny, ranging from street harassment to physical attack, as a hate crime. This marks a step forward in the fight against violence against women and stopping street harassment. Some initiatives had already been launched to tackle violence and harassment in public transportation in London in 2013. In Paris, street harassment is sadly common and considered as a “séduction à la française,” and a 2015 study shows that 100% of the women interviewed said they suffered at least one case of harassment. This “French lover” culture is so ingrained, accepted, valorized and glamorized that the decision to institute a plan of action has been virulently criticized and even rejected. Many voices, mainly male voices, raised against this plan arguing it was anti-male and even anti-social. In their arguments, the difference between harassment and even physical assault and an attempt to pick up is shockingly blurred and ignored.

This is especially alarming given how such harassment can escalate to violent crimes like physical assault and rape and even death. In December 2014, a woman was killed with a screwdriver for rejecting sexual advances in a Parisian street close to Bastille. There was also the case of a young woman being harassed, threaten and groped by a man in the Lille metro which has been widely commented on the media. The man admitted he hit on the woman. Cases like this are not unique at all and such frightening stories have been shared by women everywhere in France. Just have a look at Project Crocodiles for example.

Actually, I have to admit that my decision to leave France has been, among others reasons, motivated by the harassment I had to face on a daily basis from the age of 10. Harassment occurred by day, in crowded spaces and while I wrote large trousers and large shirts. Of course I am not saying that harassment is acceptable if we wear skirt or short or a bralette, I just want to emphasize that what we wear does not help to prevent harassment. I always carried a whistle, had my mobile phone ready for calling the police, and held my keys strongly between my fingers. At some point, it was so bad that I asked my boyfriend to come to pick me up at work. That was just unbelievable and such a restriction of movement which I never faced in others countries where I lived. I still feel very unsafe, uncomfortable and, somehow, scared when I have to travel there.

In Barcelona, I found a friendlier environment. I remember being positively surprised to see posters at the entrance of supermarkets indicating what to do in case of domestic violence, to walk down the street and discover new poster from a new public campaign, to get leaflets in the metro explaining how to recognize gendered violence and what to do. I never suffered the same level of harassment here as in France, even when alone at night and wearing a skirt.

I was not yet in Spain in 2004 when the organic law which integrated measures to prevent and fight violence against women was adopted, but I heard a lot about it as a model to follow. This law demonstrates a recognition and an awareness of the issue. But (unfortunately, there is always a “but”) it does not mean that everything is perfect here. It is not.

For too many people, gendered violence means physical domestic violence, but in reality, gendered violence is not limited only to this kind of violence, yet it seems that others violence are a bit excluded. As a matter of fact, if almost everyone agrees that it is not okay to hit someone, it seems that psychological violence, verbal harassment and sexual abuses do not provoke the same reaction. I say “almost” because some people still think it is okay to hit, especially women. This year so far, there have been 35 women killed by their intimate partner and there are 83 if we add women killed by non-intimate partner. And that is the point. A woman who is attacked by her partner is considered to be a victim of gendered violence. A woman who is attacked by a stranger is not and she won’t be allowed to benefit from some measure of protection.

Sexual violence and abuse neither. In fact, they are not included in the organic law of 2004 and associations and organizations like 7N, Stop Violencia Sexual and l’Aadas ask for its inclusion right now. The recent event of San Firmin rape case re-opened the debate.

This law is a good tool to fight violence against women but it needs to include all kind of form of violence. As long as something is not recognized, it is a bit like if it does not really exist or is not very serious. But we all know the impact of such kind of violence. And it is very serious.

Alice likes researching, analyzing and writing about Women’s Rights, gender bias, and intersectionalism with a special focus on sexual violence, rape, rape culture, the impact of street harassment and how the media deals with these issues. She is currently working on a new project focused on how some media participate in the revictimization of victims. Follow her and her projects on her Facebook page and via Twitter @Alyselily.

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Filed Under: correspondents, News stories, Street Respect Tagged With: france, law, spain, UK

Morocco Proposes Law that Addresses Street Harassment

March 30, 2016 By HKearl

Earlier this month, Bassima Hakkaoui, Moroccan Minister of Solidarity Women, Family, and Social Development, announced a new second draft for an anti-sexual harassment law.

Via Morocco World News:

“During the presentation of the draft, Hakkaoui acknowledged that the previous version of the bill contained “limited measures” to protect women from the “worrying phenomenon” of sexual harassment “sweeping” the public spaces in the kingdom.

According to the text of the bill, day after day more women are becoming victims of sexual harassment in Morocco.

The new bill legally redefines the spaces in which women can claim they have been sexually harassed [including public spaces]. Sexual harassment includes unsolicited acts, statements, or signals of a sexual nature, which are delivered in person, online, or via telephone, the bill says.

The draft includes tougher punishments for perpetrators as well. A person convicted of committing sexual assault could face a combination of jail time, ranging anywhere from one month to six months, and fines, between MAD 2,000 and MAD 10,000.

Perpetrators of sexual violence could be charged with both punishments if they are found to be a coworker of the victim or are part of the country’s security forces, according to the text of the bill.”

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Filed Under: News stories Tagged With: law, morocco

Amsterdam Considers an Anti-Street Harassment Law

February 22, 2016 By HKearl

A member of Straatintimidatie speaking at an event with the Amsterdam mayor. Image via their Facebook page.
A member of Straatintimidatie speaking at an event with the Amsterdam mayor. Image via their Facebook page.

Our friends at Burgerinitiatief Boete op Straatintimidatie in the Netherlands (read an interview with founder Gaya Branderhorst) told me that they recently had a discussion on street harassment and swayed the mayor of Amsterdam to address it, including by crafting legislation.

Via Dutch News, here is more info:

“One in three women reports being hassled, spat at or insulted while out in the Dutch capital but this is not currently an offence. Now the local branch of the right-wing VVD wants to change this by amending local laws to cover street intimidation.

The city’s mayor, Eberhard van der Laan, told councillors on Thursday: ‘This sort of behaviour goes against the key values of our society.’

‘And it happens a lot,’ the mayor said. ‘However, there are practical implications because it is difficult to prove and there are often no witnesses.’ Nevertheless, the mayor said he would ask the police and pubic prosecution department to look into the options.

The issue was first raised in Amsterdam by VVD councillor Dilan Yesilgoz at the end of last year. Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch is already working on draft legislation to make verbal harassment of women a criminal offence.”

Portugal just passed a law against street harassment.

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Filed Under: News stories, street harassment Tagged With: Amsterdam, law, mayor, netherlands, street harassment

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