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“I felt so helpless and ashamed”

August 19, 2018 By Contributor

I’m 14 years old.  Today was horrible! I’d just finished shopping and I was walking past a cafe when I noticed a guy was staring at me.

He noticed that I was looking at him and winked. I was disgusted and you could tell, he carried on winking.

I felt like I couldn’t say anything as I was with my family.

The thing is winking may not seem like a big deal but it happens so much to me and in that moment I felt so helpless and ashamed!

I’ve seen it online but it’s an app that connects to the shop or restaurant or whatever. You can then say who you are and why you are feeling uncomfortable. A member of staff will approach you to ask who is harassing you. The person is then kicked out.

Also, we need more education in schools about addressing street harassment.

— S.C.

Location:

London: Westfield

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for idea
s.

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Filed Under: Stories, street harassment Tagged With: 14-year-old, community action, education, London, stop street harassment, street harassment app, winking

“It angers me that I’ve experienced all this [harassment]”

August 8, 2018 By Contributor

It was as simple as walking past my local supermarket.

Some teenage boys began shouting random things at me as I walked past them. It’s amazing how many clever retorts I’ve planned to this in my head.

But when the moment comes and I am being harassed, I’m speechless.

I’m usually a surprisingly quick witted young girl, but instead I shouted ‘piss off’ which I felt was not my finest hour. But the reply just came to me.  I shouldn’t have to think of some snappy reply.

It shouldn’t happen. I shouldn’t be blaming myself for not handling the situation well enough when the situation should never have occurred in the first place.

I’m 15 years old, so still a child. I’ve been leered at by older men and I’ve been catcalled multiple times.

It angers me that I’ve experienced all this and I’m not even an adult yet.

We must educate young boys on how to respect women of all ages so that they do understand what is and what isn’t acceptable.

– Amelia

Location: London, England

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for idea
s.

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Filed Under: Stories, street harassment Tagged With: 15-year-old, cat calling, education, London, younger boys

UK: UNmuted’s Vlog Part 1 – Talking Street Harassment at Young Feminists London

November 15, 2016 By Correspondent

londonNess Lyons for UNmuted Productions, UK, SSH Blog Correspondent

On Sunday 6th November, myself and new UNmuted Productions member Nicola Bland had the pleasure of performing poetry and leading an audience discussion at a fab event hosted by Young Feminists London. There were several wonderful other poets and speakers taking part and it was a real joy to talk feminism – and womanism – with such a great group of women and men.

After Nicola performed the full-length version of my spoken word poem “I Smile Politely“, (including sections that are not in UNmuted’s short film of the same name), we asked for volunteers from the audience to answer some questions on camera about the themes raised in the piece. We made these interviews, together with a few snippets of Nicola performing ‘I Smile Politely’, into a two-part vlog for Stop Street Harassment.

This is Part One, with funny, thoughtful and smart answers to the questions:

• What’s the most ridiculous catcall or unwanted chat-up line you’ve had?
• What does street harassment mean to you?
• When (if!) you’re ‘smiling politely’ in response to unwanted sexual attention, what are you actually thinking?

Watch here and please share!

umutedyfl

Ness Lyons is a playwright, filmmaker and spoken word poet. She runs UNmuted Productions, is a member of Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab and is currently developing a script with an award-winning production company. Follow her work at: nesslyons.net and on Twitter: @lyonsness

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Filed Under: correspondents, street harassment Tagged With: feminist, London, video, young women

#WEcount: Reclaiming our Streets for Women

May 27, 2016 By HKearl

The Women’s Equality Party is a political party that was founded last year in the UK. One of their agendas is addressing violence against women, including street harassment. Last week I had the honor to Skype with one of their co-founders and their Head of Policy & Partnerships, Halla Gunnarsdóttir. We brainstormed possible policy solutions they could suggest or campaigns they could run.

Fortunately, the new mayor of London Sadiq Khan identified the issue in his campaign, specifically on public transit, saying: “Women face specific challenges on our transport network that are not currently being addressed.” He promised, “As mayor I will take these problems seriously.”

And the Women’s Equality Party has already taken measures to begin to address the issue. The have campaign called #WEcount: Reclaiming Our Streets for Women. Here’s info from their website, including how you can participate:

“WE are now extending #WEcount across the UK so that women right across the country can make their voices heard and say: this must stop,” said Sophie Walker, leader of the Women’s Equality Party.

“WE are asking our supporters to post photos of their hands on social media with the hashtag #WEcount, showing a postcode or place where they have experienced sexual harassment, assault or verbal abuse. Alternatively, they can email their photos to WEcount@womensequality.emailnb.com to be posted anonymously.”

The campaign also includes a film featuring Pavan Amara, who built the “My Body Back” project after being attacked and has helped hundreds of women who have been assaulted to reclaim their lives.

Women can mark their experiences on an interactive map of the UK (wemap.org) by dropping a Google-maps-style pin. In London, this map will be on display for the week on a dedicated billboard at Westfield shopping centre, Shepherd’s Bush.

And in a digital first, the campaign will be brought to life for Londoners with the use of a new visual browsing app, BlippAR.

WE have painted 10 physical markers – which show the Google maps pin transformed into an exclamation mark – at locations around the capital, from the Houses of Parliament to Parliament Hill. People who ‘Blipp’ the mark will receive a host of content and information about the campaign, as well as details of what support is available.

Walker added: “An estimated 400,000 sexual offences against women occur in the UK each year. Despite their frequency, the majority of these incidents are unreported, and women are left feeling unsafe and unable to walk without fear on their own streets. WE want to reclaim our streets.”

“WE are the only party who are making the sexual abuse and harassment of women a political priority. WE will show that women right across the UK are affected by this every day – and that every one of us counts.”

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Filed Under: Activist Interviews, Resources, street harassment Tagged With: campaign, england, London, mapping, women's equality party

New Play: Might Never Happen

April 4, 2016 By HKearl

Might Never Happen DL Flyer (2) (1)-page-002 copyFrom the streets to the theatre

The London-based, all woman theatre company Dollseye Theatre have been working with street harassment researcher Dr. Fiona Vera-Gray and masculinities researcher Dr. Maria Garner to translate key themes from their work for the stage. Might Never Happen, directed by Amy Ewbank, is a piece written by the company, to explore various aspects and perspectives of street harassment from the ridiculous to the terrifying.

The first performances will be in London, at the Kings Head Theatre in Angel in May 2016 as an extension of International Anti-Street Harassment Week. A post-performance Q&A will be held on the 2nd of May and the 9th of May, featuring speakers from the Women’s Equality Party, Hollaback London, Purple Drum, Rape Crisis and more.

For Dates and to book tickets please see The King’s Head Website here.

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Filed Under: anti-street harassment week, Events, street harassment Tagged With: London, play, research, theatre

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