Guest Blog Post for International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2015

In December 2014, I was sitting in front of my computer scanning for resources for research I was conducting on street harassment in Amsterdam. What I found was a few scattered blog posts about individuals’ experiences being catcalled or groped throughout the city and their frustrations with the lack of attention and action around the issue.

I kept searching and came across a current campaign by a local group called Straat Intimidatie (Street Intimidation). Their goal is to demand legislation against street harassment from Dutch politicians. This seemed very promising. I reached out to the founder of the group, Gaya Branderhorst and as we spoke, it became clear: Amsterdam has a big problem. A problem that many of its residents, including women, people of color and LGBTQI people, don’t feel safe or comfortable in public spaces.

I put out a feeler through local activist circles and social media networks. Within just a few months, the Hollaback! Amsterdam was team was formed. There are five of us of four different nationalities, including Dutch, German, Honduran and American.  Some of us identify as LGBTQI, some as feminists, and all have at least a handful (if not several handfuls) of stories of experiencing street harassment. These experiences are what inspired us to join the movement in Amsterdam and are what motivate us to fight street harassment in our city.

Because we are an all-volunteer group, launching a brand new site and preparing for a major launch event this week (April 14) has been incredibly rewarding, but also not without challenges.  We have met some amazing and dedicated people through this process who are working on issues of street harassment, domestic violence, gender equality, humanitarian response and human rights. We have had a lot of interest in what we are doing expressed through our Facebook page and Twitter feed. However, every one of us, besides launching Hollaback! Amsterdam, is also working full-time, a full-time student or both working and studying.

Despite each of us juggling Hollaback! with our busy lives, it has been truly inspiring to work with a group of people so committed to such an important cause. As we approach our launch event in April, we are motivated by all of the support, engagement and inspiration we’ve received from residents of Amsterdam, communities within the Netherlands and supporters worldwide.

Eve Aronson is the Co-director of Hollaback! Amsterdam