rape Archives | Stop Street Harassment

USA: Compassion over Compliance on the College Campus

February 23, 2018 By Correspondent

Connie DiSanto, USA SSH Blog Correspondent

Street harassment, or sexual harassment in public spaces, involves an unwanted and unwarranted interaction with a stranger in a public place. Sexual harassment on a college campus also involves an unwanted and unwarranted interaction but it’s happening between peers (and in some cases, it involves faculty or staff) and the place could be an academic hallway, a quad, in a classroom or on the street in town that the college resides in. And when efforts are made by a harassed person to avoid a repeat interaction, it may be tough because of the community setting and the fact that often both the survivor and the harasser live on or near campus.

Although this type of behavior has been prevalent for decades across on campuses, it is not taken seriously enough, and in many cases, it is still seen as the normal culture of the college experience despite federal legislation prohibiting it.

*Students, staff and faculty at the 2017 UNH Anti-Violence Rally & Walk.*

Long gone are the days when you heard someone reference Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and it only brought to mind equal access to sports for girls and women in public education. Today Title IX acts as a federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination and addresses sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination and sexual violence. Yet the original intent of this protection with survivor-based policies is now under siege.

The current administration has begun to dismantle Obama Administration-era guidance and protections claiming that it denies due process to accused students. But in reality, it provided more protections, to both the accused and the victim, then any other law on the books. Under the leadership of current Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, the Department of Education went as far as claiming that false accusations occur at the same rate as rapes, which is gross misrepresentation of the actual 2-6% of false accusations compared to the 1 in 5 women sexually assaulted, according to many studies. The Department of Education is supposed to be issuing new regulations to colleges for guidance sometime next month, and the general public will have an opportunity to give input via a “notice and comment” process, but until we see the actual proposed rules, we are left to wait and see and then act.

And despite demands for more funding to the Office on Violence Against Women, budget cuts to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which investigates charges against schools for mishandling sexual assault claims and Title IX violations, are still among those cuts that will be made under the current administration.

If federal guidance becomes less strict on accountability and funding diminishes, then compliance becomes yet another barrier to a survivor’s protection under the law.

Just as the #MeToo movement recently spurred all 50 state attorney generals to demand from Congress an end to the practice of forcing sexual harassment cases into mandatory arbitration, changes need to be made on college campuses to help to put a stop to the culture of silence that protects perpetrators at the cost of their victims. One such promising recent action is the Alert Act which was introduced by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators. It would ensure that the “I didn’t know” excuse can never again be used by university presidents for not protecting students from abusers, in particular, employees of universities. This bill would require an annual certification for federally-funded college and university presidents ensuring that they have reviewed all cases of sexual misconduct reported to their campus Title IX coordinator, and that they have not interfered with investigations of those cases.

Compassion for student survivors was the focus of the Obama-Biden campus sexual assault advocacy era, due to, in part, the “Dear Colleague Letter” that was announced here at the University of New Hampshire in 2011. We need that focus again.

Connie is the Marketing Communications Specialist for the Sexual Harassment & Rape Prevention Program (SHARPP) at the University of New Hampshire.

South Africa: SA’s Dirty Laundry

November 11, 2016 By Correspondent

Nyasha Joyce Mukuwane, Johannesburg, South Africa, SSH Blog Correspondent

With the onset of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence on Nov. 25, some activists are using visual creativity to bring home the facts of rape culture in South Africa.

Rape is a widespread problem. According to a 2013 Medical Research Council (MRC) survey, up to 3,600 people could be raped in the country every day. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) claims that only one in 13 rape cases are reported to police. Fewer than 30 cases go through for prosecution and trial of which only 10 result in a conviction.

Jenny Nijenhuis and Nondumiso Lwazi Msimanga are collaborating in a creative installation of artivism in order to create awareness around rape in South Africa. They are collecting 3,600 pieces of underwear to hang a washing line approximately 1.2 kilometres long displaying the underwear during the 16 Days of Activism.

The preferred route for hanging the installation is from Arts On Main on Berea Road, right into Fox Street and left into Albrecht Street to SoMa´s entrance. This route from Arts On Main to SoMa covers 400m in distance. The goal is to run the washing line down both sides of each of the streets involved, thereby covering a distance of 800m. The balance of the line and installation will continue to the gallery entrance and up into the upstairs gallery area.

Speaking about the installation, Nijenhuis says,

“We wish to curate/choreograph an activation/disruption of the space in and around the gallery for 10 of the 16 Days of Activism whilst the installation is up. The space will thus be used as a point of reflection through works dealing in this subject matter. Nondumiso Msimanga will be working on a performance art piece titled ‘On the Line.’ The performance will display a female at the different developmental stages and rites of passage of becoming a woman, in a cyclical narrative of rituals. We have also posted an open call inviting contributions towards the project from the broadest spectrum of disciplines including (but not limited to) the visual arts, performances (maximum length 15 minutes), interventions, music, dance, talks, poetry, video (maximum length 15 minutes) and theatre.

The point being for artists to show how art, when used for the purpose of socio-political activism, has the power and ability to shift the status quo. Activism aims to promote, impede, or direct social, political, economic, or environmental change – to make societal improvements and to correct social injustice. Through this call, we’re inviting artists to truly observe, reflect and comment on what the rape crisis in SA looks like. We hope to bring this message to people on the street, and not just to the audiences that frequent galleries.”

Installation Dates: 25 November to 4 December 2016
Location: SoMa Art + Space – Streets of the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg

In order to successfully produce the installation the artists need to collect 3600 panties. Since the project is not for profit, a donations Facebook page has been set up. The panties drive asks anyone prepared to support the project to donate their old and unwanted panties or underpants. These are being collected at various collection points across the country. Donate. | More information on this project.

Nyasha is the public awareness coordinator at the Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the main goal is counselling and sheltering survivors of domestic abuse. She has edited two books by survivors that are available to download for free from the website www.nisaa.org.za.

USA: Harmful Oklahoma Court Ruling

April 29, 2016 By Correspondent

Rupande Mehta, New Jersey, USA SSH Blog Correspondent

It was a good and bad week for victims of sexual assault and rape. While former House Speaker Hastert was being sentenced to 15 months (yup, only 15 months after the judge declared him a “serial child molester”) for molesting young boys when he coached as a wrestler, the Oklahoma court shocked everyone with the declaration that state law does not criminalize oral sex with a victim who is completely unconscious.

Right, why didn’t we think of that? An unconscious person is completely capable of giving consent so why prosecute someone who took advantage of the VERY fact that the victim was unconscious and orally sodomized her?

I have to be brutally honest here: some days the fight to make folks understand what constitutes violation of a person’s body seems so hopeless. On days like these, I feel I am transported to the hell holes of Pakistan, India and other countries where rape and other forms of violence against women is a daily fact of life. My mind cannot accept the fact that a verdict of that magnitude was issued by a court in the United States. It seems like the work of moron village elders and other local leaders, who need five witnesses to prove a rape, not that of a judicial body in the United States.

I can’t even comprehend the idiocy of this court. And I don’t even know where to begin.

This is not the court’s fault…not ONLY their fault. This is a system-wide issue that takes pride in victim-blaming. Every day we hear about assault, rape and other forms of violence like street harassment, but the question that takes center stage is “what was she doing” instead of “why did he abuse”?

We as a society have culturally evolved to the point where violence is acceptable if we can shift the onus on the victim. We look for loopholes in her story – why was she there? Who did she go with? What was she wearing? Or as John Kasich famously said, don’t drink at parties so you don’t get raped. I can’t wait for his 16 –year-old twin girls to get to college and avoid parties because their father warned them they could get raped.

We live in a society that victim blames and no one is a better example of this than our judicial system. We let lawyers question victims about abuse in a manner that befits no living being in this world. We sit back and enjoy every tiny detail re-lived by the victim over and over again and then turn around and tell her that her story has holes in it because she cannot remember every single ghastliness that happened to her. We sit back and let lawyers badger victims, not considering their emotional abuse and high levels of trauma that prevent them from being consistent in their narration. We live in a society where it is acceptable to yell and scream at people who have been abused but not okay for someone to falter in their responses. We have made our society into a mockery of human values devoid of empathy, understanding and respect of one’s experiences; instead delving into painful details where even accurate chronicles result into justice failing them at the end of the day.

Our focus is on the victim and what they did or didn’t do right. Did you say no? Did you scream? Why not? If not, how can we believe you were being raped? Or in this Oklahoma case, you were passed out so you could not have said no. But what about her not saying yes either?

This level of victim blaming is nauseating. Besides a severe gap between ideas of rape and consent and appropriate laws, there is a lack of basic understanding of what consent is. And asinine rulings such as the Oklahoma case further propagate a society where such behavior becomes the norm.

We are all responsible for this hideous culture – a social order where women are constantly assessed on how well they defended themselves against harm, how deftly they handled a street harassment situation or whether they made a big deal of the assault at the time it was happening. As far as the abuser is concerned, we are waiting to give them a free pass or sympathize and excuse him the moment a woman cannot fill all holes in her story.

Consent is simple: Yes means yes and No means no. If a person is too drunk, they CANNOT give consent. Consequently, if they are passed out; the question of consent does not even arise. This is a very simple concept but many of us, including the learned individuals on the Oklahoma court, cannot grasp it. Whichever way we look at it, it is time to change the way the rules are written; ones which do not look to place the blame on the victim but on the one who committed the crime. It is time the law takes into account emotional abuse, trauma and, of course, the unequivocal definition of consent.

Rupande grew up in Mumbai, India, and now resides in the U.S. She has an MBA and is currently working towards her MPA, looking to specialize in Non Profit Management. You can find her writing on her blog at Rupande-mehta.tumblr.com or follow her on Twitter @rupandemehta.

A Woman is Murdered in Trinidad, the Mayor Blames Her

February 13, 2016 By HKearl

Trigger Warning – Rape and Murder

Asami Nagakiya, a 30-year-old Japanese professional musician. Image via Change.org

Tragically this week, Asami Nagakiya, a Japanese women who attended the Trinidad Carnival celebration as a professional musician, was murdered — and likely raped. Now there’s a petition you can sign calling for the local mayor’s resignation after he blamed HER for it.

Via the Washington Post:

“‘She had a laceration on her elbow and black and blue marks on her waist,’ Adams told reporters. ‘It look like a rape/murder to me.’

Authorities released an autopsy report Thursday stating that Nagakiya had been strangled, according to television station CNC. They have not commented on the suspicion that Nagakiya was sexually assaulted.”

To make matters worse, the local mayor blamed HER for her own death.

Also via WaPo:

“‘You know before Carnival I did make a comment about vulgarity and lewdness,’ Raymond Tim Kee said during a Wednesday press conference, according to local media station Loop. ‘The woman has the responsibility to ensure that [she is] not abused.’

Kee’s cringe-worthy comments kept getting worse, as he tried to link the Japanese musician’s killing to Carnival culture.

‘And my argument was you could enjoy Carnival without going through that routine … of prancing and partying,’ he asked. ‘Then why you can’t continue with that and maintain some kind of dignity?’

‘You have to let your imagination roll a bit and figure out was there any evidence of resistance or did alcohol control?’ he told reporters. ‘Therefore involuntary actions were engaged in, and so on ….

‘It’s a matter of, if she was still in her costume – I think that’s what I heard – let your imagination roll,’ he added, before casting the killing less as an outrageous crime than as an ’embarrassment’ for the city.”

Fortunately, there has been huge outcry over his comments.

“Within hours, a woman had launched an online petition calling for Kee’s resignation. By early Friday morning, it had gathered nearly 7,000 signatures. (That equates to roughly 10 percent of the population of Port of Spain.)

‘Victim shaming is an irresponsible thing for anyone to do, far less a leader in a society,’ wrote Rhoda Bharath, a St Augustine resident who signed the petition. ‘[The] Mayor has shown himself to be both insensitive, preemptive and ignorant. He must go.’

‘Tim Kee is an example of everything wrong with leadership in this country,’ added Ryan Ramoutar, a signatory from Point Fortin. ‘His thinking is archaic and his opinion essentially exonerates the perpetrators of any responsibility. He has, effectively, endorsed murder.'”

Our thoughts go out to her family and friends and hope there will be justice for her death. And we applaud everyone who is calling out the outrageous victim-blaming!

Germany: In Cologne, Women’s Bodies Should Not Be Used to Promote Racism

January 12, 2016 By Correspondent

Editor’s Note: Our new Blog Correspondents ProChange in Germany wrote a piece for both Ms. Magazine’s blog and SSH… so this is cross-posted from Ms, with permission.

Following planned attacks on women on New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Germany, more than 500 reports have been made, 40 percent involving sexual assault. In other German cities such as Hamburg, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, similar cases were also filed.

In Cologne, the police have arrested 21 suspects so far, most of whom have been identified as men from northern African or Arab regions.

Shockingly, in the beginning, there seemed to be no public outcry over the attacks. It was only on January 2, after the local media started covering the incidents and quoted eyewitnesses stating that the perpetrators looked northern Africa or Arab, that suddenly there was outrage.

But instead of turning the incident into an opportunity to stand up for women’s right to be safe in public spaces, many who are against the influx of refugees used the assaults to spread racist hate speech targeting asylum seekers, migrants and foreigners.

While there may have been asylum seekers among the perpetrators, as the newspaper die Welt reported, this racist response is unacceptable. The rhetoric is unjust to both the persons affected and to the many asylum seekers coming to Germany searching for a better life.

Certainly the perpetrators should be punished, no matter where they are from. The German state must use the rule of law to send a strong message that violence against women will not be tolerated. But it is disturbing to see that the body of the “German woman” is being used to promote racist hate speech, and it’s something that has been prevalent throughout the German debate on refugees.

For example, the philology association from Saxony achieved questionable fame for warning young girls against sexual adventures with Muslim men. Under the guise of protecting the young girls, racist stereotypes were promoted and combined with sexist ideas. While Muslim men were portrayed as a potential danger, young girls’ abilities to decide their own sexuality were denied.

The wildest stories have circulated on social media. For instance, it was claimed that refugees were urinating on vegetables in supermarkets, and stealing goods worth several thousand Euros without punishment. When investigated, it turned out that those wild stories were lies.

You might assume from scrolling through Facebook that crime has increased with the influx of refugees. But the image of the “criminal refugee” is not backed by crime statistics. In fact, refugees commit crimes at the same rate as the native German population, and the number of sex crimes committed by refugees is actually below 1 percent.

Right-wing political parties, such as the AfD (Alternative for Germany), warn against refugees as potential rapists of German women. Politician Björn Höecke, for instance, spoke about the special risk for blonde (!) German women.

It seems like the right-wing movements have finally discovered an interest in women’s rights. But while the potential rape of “our women” has stirred up hate for the “uncivilized other,” the fact that sexual violence is already prevalent within German society, or that it can affect non-German women as well, seems not to be of interest to them.

In addition to racist backlash, there has also been a great deal of victim-blaming in the wake of these attacks. This was blatantly clear in the recommendation made by Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, during a press conference following the New Year’s Eve attacks where she spoke about preventive measures for the upcoming carnival celebrations. When asked how women could protect themselves, she answered that it is always possible to maintain a certain distance of more than an arm length from men. Women turned to social media to mock her advice, using the hashtag #einearmlaenge (one arm length). She has since apologized, but the damage has already been done.

Following the attacks, this should be—and still can be—an opportunity to name street harassment and other forms of sexual violence as everyday sexism. It is also the right time to call for a revision of the German penal code to better address these types of offenses.

Every woman should have the right to safely be in public spaces, among men of all races, and in as close proximity as a crowded place dictates. The priority should be to ensure that that is the reality, not to punish the refugees, migrants and asylum seekers who are just as likely to be peaceful, law-abiding residents of Germany as those who are native-born, nor should it be the time to engage in needless victim-blaming.

ProChange is a group of people between 20 and 64 years of age who have been active for several years or decades now. ProChange consists of a small group of core members (pictured left) in a network of other activists. Our main focus is on street harassment, sexism and sexualized violence. We are opposed to all forms of exploitation as we believe that they are all connected.