As 2012 comes to a close, I am proud of everything that Stop Street Harassment (SSH) achieved this year, especially because, as many SSH blog readers may know, I have a full-time job and do my street harassment activism during my lunch breaks, in the evenings, on the weekends, and over my vacation days.
Not only am I proud, I am also extremely grateful. I am grateful for the support of my partner, my parents, my day job co-workers, my friends and family, all of my activist allies, everyone who organized action for Meet Us on the Street 2012, my new social media volunteers, and my new board members who each helped make the following 10 achievements possible. So, a big THANK YOU to them, and a special thank you to the organization Collective Action for Safe Spaces, my co-collaborator for several projects.
1. New Metro Campaign: After unsuccessfully trying to meet with the transit authority in Washington, DC, to discuss sexual harassment on their system, I joined a small group of people and testified about the problem before the Washington, DC City Council in February (we were organized by Collective Action for Safe Spaces). Then I wrote articles and gave media interviews about harassment on the Metro. The result? Helping successfully pressure the DC transportation authority to address sexual harassment in several ways, including by changing how they track and respond to harassment complaints, creating an online reporting form, and launching a poster campaign over the summer.
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2. Anti-Street Harassment Week: Organized more than 100 groups in over 20 countries and tens of thousands of people to speak out during Meet Us on the Street: International Anti-Street Harassment Week in March. The United Nations recognized the week on their calendar! Read the wrap-up report.
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3. Petition Victory: Created and led the Change.org petition campaign that forced a New Jersey Mall to take down an offensive, pro-harassment construction sign. It also resulted in tons of media coverage, especially after the Associated Press ran a story about the victory, bringing more public attention to the issue.
4. Organized Local Events: Organized three events about street harassment internationally and locally, including an art exhibit in March that included art from countries like Trinidad and Tobago and Yemen (co-organized with the Deaf Abused Women’s Network) as well as cities in the USA; another March event about harassment in Egypt, Iran, and the USA (co-organized with the YWCA-NCA); and an event in June about street harassment in Afghanistan and the USA (co-organized with Collective Action for Safe Spaces).
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5. Egypt: Used vacation days from work and traveled to Cairo, Egypt, and attended the weekly meeting of the anti-harassment group HarassMap, perused an art exhibit about street harassment, and attended/spoke at an open mic event about sexual violence, including street harassment. I wrote about the art exhibit/open mic event for the Women’s Media Center.
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6. South Dakota: Used vacation days again and traveled to Pine Ridge Reservation and Rapid City in South Dakota to conduct the first-ever focus groups about street harassment with Native Americans. The findings garnered media attention, including an Associated Press article and a South Dakota Public Broadcasting segment. I also wrote about the focus groups for the Women’s Media Center.
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7. Talks: Gave 21 talks and presentations about street harassment on campuses, in high schools and to community groups (campuses included Stanford, UC Berkeley, Dickinson College, Jefferson Community College, George Mason University, Shenandoah University, and Portland State University), and spoke about street harassment at national conferences, including the National Organization for Women and the National Sexual Assault Conference.
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8. Rallies: Spoke at or tabled at women’s rights rallies and events, including the We Are Woman Rally and Slutwalk DC. Also was part of a team organized by Collective Action for Safe Spaces that performed a skit about sexual harassment on the Washington, DC Metro one Sunday afternoon in August.
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9. Interviews: Gave nearly 50 media interviews, including for CNN.com, USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Jerusalem Post, ABC News, Cosmo Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Jezebel, and also gave interviews for more than a dozen college students who wrote papers and dissertations on street harassment.
10. Nonprofit, Paperback, & Volunteers: Gained 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, formed a board of directors, and recruited social media volunteers. Also, bought the paperback rights to my book Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women and published it in paperback in April for the affordable price of $15! (Compared with $45 in hardcover.)
Everything SSH did in 2012 happened without donations or grants (and was nearly all financed by my paycheck from my day job or by my speaking honorariums), but you can help SSH achieve even more in 2013 by donating today. Donations are tax deductible and an anonymous donor will match all donations made in December. See my 2013 plans for SSH if I raise enough money.
A final note: There are four more days in 2012, come back each day to read success stories and learn about the major accomplishments and milestones that occurred worldwide to stop street harassment this year.
