Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Hey handsy guy at the club, look out for Salwa!

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During my college days, I stopped going to clubs with my friends because of the inevitable harassers. Just because someone is dressed up and out with friends does not mean it’s okay to rub up against them, grab them, follow them, or make them feel uncomfortable! I know many other women face this unwanted attention/harassment/and even assault too.

That’s why I’m happy to see that my favorite Lebanese feminist collective Nasawiya produced a new video about their heroine Salwa and how she stopped a sexual harasser at the club. Then, when she goes to report the harasser to the police, she stops the police officer who harassed her! (Sad but true, some police are harassers).

How have you dealt with harassers at a club or bar?

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Rally against rape in Beirut

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Hundreds of people rallied in Beirut, Lebanon, today to protest rape and sexual harassment and the weak laws against such crimes.

The rally was organized by Nasawiya, a feminist collective that also runs The Adventures of Salwa campaign against street and sexual harassment. View images.

Via The Daily Star:

“Neither marital rape nor domestic violence is currently outlawed in Lebanon, and sexual harassment in the work place is also not criminalized.

Furthermore, according to Article 522 of the Lebanese Criminal Code, if a man rapes a woman, his sentence will be repealed if he marries his victim.

"We have nothing to lose but our chains!"

Farah Salka, of feminist collective Nasawiya, said the current Lebanese laws regarding sexual violence were “archaic” and that the time for change had come.

“We are also asking all police, municipalities, and Parliament to take rape and sexual harassment seriously,” she added. Activists will meet at noon outside the Interior Ministry, and march toward Parliament.”

I applaud them and send strong thoughts of solidarity.

It’s exciting to remember this is just one of several large-scale rallies organized women against sexual violence and harassment. In the past few weeks, thousands of women rallied in Egypt and as did hundreds in Israel.

As the poster above says, “We have nothing to lose but our chains” when people protest their own oppression. Let us all vow to raise our voices and protest oppression, be it our own or be it the oppression of others.

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Look out Lebanon, an anti-harassment truck is heading your way

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From today until December 9th, two trucks will roam the streets of Lebanon, playing a message about sexual harassment, “Catcalls are not acceptable words to say,” and “The word is sexual harassment, fight back.”

This creative idea comes from the feminist collective Nasawiya as part of their The  Adventures of Salwa Campaign. Salwa is a cartoon character who whacks street harassers and sexual harassers with her red purse.

You can read the Adventures of Salwa guide for fighting sexual harassment and watch all of the videos online.

I think it’s time for Salwa to get an American cousin who fights sexual harassment in the USA too…!!

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The Advenures of Salwa (I need a red purse!)

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Feminists from the collective Nasawiya in Beirut, Lebanon, are tackling sexual harassment—including street harassment—with a large dose of creativity in their empowering campaign “The Adventures of Salwa.”

Who is Salwa?

Cartoon character Salwa, the organizers say, is “an ordinary Lebanese girl that has been selected to be the spokeswoman for the campaign,” and through Salwa, they aim “to say to women who have been subjected to harassment, that the first step to combat it, is to break the taboo and start talking about it.”

The campaign is also meant to challenge the reasons behind the harassment. On the Salwa site, Farah Kobaissy, the coordinator of the campaign says that in Lebanon, “Harassment is used in order to remind women that …Hay! You are violating the barriers set by the patriarchal system by entering spaces that are considered ‘male space’ such as work, street, education, public spaces.”

Salwa challenges such notions and a red purse she always carries represents her empowerment and the empowerment of all women.

What does the campaign entail?

There are many components of the campaign, from PSAs and blogging to workshops and handbooks. You can learn about it all on their website.

My favorite part of the campaign revolves around Salwa herself. There are several short PSAs and companion comic strips in which Salwa stops sexual harassers by whacking them with her purse. (Yes, I know, the ideal is to stop harassers in a non-violent fashion, but I’m okay seeing a cartoon act out the emotion that I’m sure many of us feel upon occasion when dealing with harassers.) In this PSA, Salwa stops a taxi driver!

Throughout September and the first week of October, Cinema City, a well known cinema in Beirut, is airing one of the Salwa PSA before films! How amazing is that?

On September 30, the campaign organizers will launch a booklet called, “Salwa’s Guide to Fighting Sexual Harassment.” Salwa will be at the launch event to sign copies! Everyone who attends—and then people who attend later events—will receive a red purse like Salwa’s and the purse will contain the booklet, a whistle, a DVD of Salwa episodes, a brochure, and a poster and stickers. Fun!

There is a companion blog called “Qaweme Harassment” (“Resist Harassment”) that allows people to share their stories and strategies for fighting harassers. A map shows where all of the stories come from.

Last, the campaign organizers hold discussions and workshops in the community and in October they will start giving lectures at universities across Lebanon.

I know this topic is pretty heavy and can get depressing in a hurry, so I really appreciate that the campaign is able to tackle the issue in an empowering and humorous way while not downplaying the seriousness of it. Congratulations to them on such an engaging campaign, and one that offers people so many ways to be involved!

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