safe ride home Archives | Stop Street Harassment

Weekly Round Up – July 26

July 26, 2009 By HKearl

Stories:

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

On this blog, contributors submitted stories about getting harassed at a swimming pool in Dubai, being harassed by a man in an SUV in Ohio, and weekly harassment experiences in Portland, OR.
Holla Back Toronto has a new story about a woman getting sexually assaulted on her walk from a bus stop and a contributor discusses getting harassed by male customers at her job.
On Holla Back NYC a woman tells about getting harassed by a several men in one day. Her post includes a photo of some of them.
On Holla Back DC! a woman was groped by a man passing by on his bike, another was harassed by a “serial harasser,” and a third witnessed a man masturbating at a DC metro station.

In the News:

There is a new, thriving women-run taxi business in Beirut, Lebanon, which helps women get around safely and free from male harassment.
A “wolf whistling” contest was held in Ireland this week to see which man can whistle at women the best…disgusting!
In Philadelphia, PA, a man threatened and groped a woman at knife point on the subway. She was holding her baby at the time.

Upcoming Events:

The Young Women’s Action Team is holding a free “Anti-Street Harassment Summer Camp” on August 1, in Chicago, IL. It looks like it will be a great event, so check it out if you’re in the Chicago area.

Announcements:

I’ve been offered a book contract for my proposed book on street harassment! Submit your stories for inclusion.
Enter a photography contest for photographers who capture or depict street harassment, particularly in the DC area. Selected winners will have the chance to show/sell their work at a reception the evening before the Holla Back DC: Make DC Harassment Free Summit.
RightRides in NYC recently has expanded their services of a free ride home from Saturday nights to include Friday nights too! They offer this service from 11:59 p.m. – 3 a.m. in 45 neighborhoods across four boroughs. To call for a ride, the dispatch number is (718) 964-7781 OR (888)215-SAFE (7233).

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

A video by a Penn State student showing the volume of harassment women experience on campus.

Weekly Round Up – July 19

July 19, 2009 By HKearl

Stories:

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

On this blog, an American woman living in Tunisia talks about the harassment she faces, a woman shares a harassment experience she had in Denver, CO, and another woman talks about a creepy neighbor who keeps her and her daughters afraid to leave their house in TX.
On Holla Back NYC a woman took a photo of a man masturbating on the beach while staring at an unsuspecting woman
On Holla Back DC! a woman talks about being told to smile, another shares a story about harassment she received at a grocery store, a third discussed being grabbed on the sidewalk by a man, and lastly a fourth shares how she was called cutie by men on the street.

In the News:

The Chicago Sun Times had a front page (online) story about how women activists in Chicago prompted changes to the sexual harassment policies of the Chicago Transit Authority!
A group of women in Sudan were arrested and several were flogged for the crime of wearing pants in public.
An article in the Miami Herald about changing attitudes in policies in Saudi Arabia highlights the attitude that if women were allowed to drive, they would experience more sexual harassment in public, so it’s better not to let them drive.

Announcements:

In partnership with local activist, including the facilitators of Holla Back DC!, I am helping to organize a free, one-day summit on street harassment, to be held in October 2009 in Washington, DC. We are holding a photography contest right now for photographers who capture or depict street harassment, particularly in the DC area. Selected winners will have the chance to show/sell their work at a reception the evening before the summit.
RightRides in NYC recently has expanded their services of a free ride home from Saturday nights to include Friday nights too! They offer this service from 11:59 p.m. – 3 a.m. in 45 neighborhoods across four boroughs. To call for a ride, the dispatch number is (718) 964-7781 OR (888)215-SAFE (7233).

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

Gardner, Carol Brooks. Passing By: Gender and Public Harassment (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995).

Need a free, safe ride home in NYC?

September 18, 2008 By HKearl

Then call up RightRides!

“In our RightRides program, we offer women, transpeople and gender queer individuals a free, late-night ride home to ensure their safe commute to or through high-risk areas.”

RightRides serve 35 neighborhoods (to expand in October) on Saturday nights from 11:59 p.m – 3 a.m . RightRides is volunteer run, so the more volunteers they have, the more neighborhoods they can serve and the more hours they can be available. (So if you’re in NYC and want to volunteer somewhere…!) In the city that never sleeps, many people work night shifts or are out enjoying the nightlife, but then might feel unsafe coming home so late alone, so RightRides helps them carry on with their life in safety.

RightRides was founded in 2004 by two women upset over the assault of several women in their neighborhood within a short time frame. Instead of letting depression or fear take hold of them, they took action and started making a difference in their communtiy. Using their own car and cell phone, they put up fliers in their neighborhood offering women a safe, free ride home, and drove callers home themselves. Four years later, RightRides is a nonprofit with access to 5 Zip Cars for volunteers to use on Saturday nights, with about 150 active volunteers. This past weekend, I got to meet with two volunteers and “ride-along” and it was great to see first-hand how the program works and to meet amazing individuals who care enough about people’s safety that they give up their Saturday night once or twice a month and battle crazy New York City traffic until 3 or 4 a.m.!!

Here’s a short video by a volunteer with RightRides:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyTmsvMdxLE]

I’ve had a link to RideRides in the resource section of this blog and my website, but I wanted to highlight it here too so people in NYC know about it and can use the service and/or volunteer and so maybe people in other cities will be inspired to start a similar program!

The website has a ton of info, so visit it if you want to learn more.