SAFER Archives | Stop Street Harassment

SAFER’s Sexual Assault ACTIVISM Month Initiative

March 30, 2011 By HKearl

For 10 years, advocates across the country have spoken out against rape during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Today, Stop Street Harassment’s ally Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) is challenging campus communities to recognize this SAAM as Sexual Assault ACTIVISM Month and pledge to change how their campus prevents and responds to sexual violence.

From SAFER:

“During Sexual Assault Activism Month 2011, SAFER encourages students, alumni, parents, faculty, and administrators to transform their awareness into activism by pledging concrete action toward ending college sexual assault.

Participants will commit to at least one of the actions listed on our pledge page, which include: joining a national movement to hold schools accountable by participating in V-DAY and SAFER’s Campus Accountability Project; building that movement by submitting definitions of accountability via video or visual media to SAFER’s Tumblr; starting or strengthening a campus sexual assault policy reform campaign; telling SAFER about the movements that they were or currently are part of; and spreading the word to other student organizers, alums, and allies…

Young people have a right to a safe college campus that is free of sexual violence. Join SAFER in moving from awareness to action by holding colleges and universities across the country accountable during Sexual Assault Activism Month 2011!

Watch our video for campus organizers on recruitment and retention. (Made by one of our fabulous interns!)
Check out this new factsheet on sexual assault and housing rights on campus, a collaboration between SAFER and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project
We just updated our Faculty and Staff page with new ideas for supporting students
We’re currently adding a lot of new content to the Activist Resource Center, like updated case studies and interviews with staff and students who organize peer-run crisis services.
We’re still blogging on our home turf at Change Happens, but you can now also catch us and other student activists over at Feministing Campus.
If you haven’t already, take a look at our 2009 Policies Database Report“

Excellent.

I’ll write a more thorough post for Friday about sexual assault awareness/activism month, but in the meantime, you can check out ideas for what you can do – whether you’re on or off campus – about campus sexual assault through the AAUW-SAFER Program in a Box on the topic that I helped write last year.

Are you up for the Winter Break Challenge?

December 1, 2010 By HKearl

Have you heard of SAFER (Students Active for Ending Rape)? They are an amazing organization that works on campus sexual assault policy reform.

In my day job I work at AAUW and earlier this year I collaborated with SAFER to create a campus sexual assault program in a box. Last month I co-presented with SAFER at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference about how to make campuses safer without placing mobility restrictions on students. In short, I support and want to help promote SAFER’s work.

Today they are launching a Winter Break Challenge for college students. From SAFER:

Today marks the one year anniversary of the SAFER and V-Day Campus Accountability Project! CAP is a nation-wide effort to build a database of college/university sexual assault policies, and encourage students to push for change in sexual violence prevention and response on their campus. We currently have 130 policies published in our public, searchable database. Our goal is to reach 200 by Janurary 31, 2011, but we need your help. This winter break, we’re challenging college students across the country to take a look at their school’s policy, and let us know what awesome work your school is doing and what needs serious improvement.

If you’ve been reading the SAFER’s blog, you know a little about why policy is such an integral part of the anti-violence movement. But for a recap, let this video (with subtitles, made by one of our fabulous interns) break it down for you:

We hope you register on our site and check out the database, and if your school isn’t there, take some time this winter to use our step-by-step policy analysis form to submit your school. If your school is there already, or if you’re no longer a student, please tell your friends at other schools to check out their policies, and spread the word about the project via your own blogs/facebook/twitter. All students should know exactly what resources their schools offer (or don’t offer) and that they have the power to hold their schools accountable for making their campus SAFER. You’ll also be helping us gather a completely unique and super important set of data about best and worst practices at schools across the country. We will eventually be able to use your info to advocate for large-scale change!

You can find go here to find the full press release about CAP and the Winter Break Challenge. Ann was actually kind enough to introduce the project here when it debuted last year, and you can visit her post, or SAFER and V-Day’s websites, to read a little more about campus sexual assault and how this all got started. Hope to see your school represented soon!

Weekly Round Up April 4, 2010

April 4, 2010 By HKearl

Stories:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

On this blog, a woman in Kentucky told how a man tried to walk with her and her friends, a man in Bavaria, Germany, calls a woman a “fat cow,” a woman in London shares three street harassment recollections, and a woman in Virginia tells how a man harassed her while she was running.
On HollaBack NYC a woman shares how a man masturbated at her on the R subway train and she reported him to the police and a male ally spotted a man harassing women walking by while wearing his work uniform so the male ally is going to report him to his company.
On HollaBack DC! a man harasses a woman while she waits for the light to change, another man progresses from catcalling a woman on the street to stalking her in a store, and another woman got an apology from a harasser when she told him she didn’t like what he was saying.
On HollaBack Toronto, a woman tells how a man followed her after work.

In the News:

Rape reports on the Washington, DC, metro system got “lost in the shuffle”
“The nightmare of sexual harassment in Egypt“
“In Mideast countries, women feel safer in ‘pink taxis’“
AAUW’s blog Dialog has a guest post from HollaBack DC! about the history of street harassment activism in Washington, DC

Announcements:

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Here are 10 activism ideas for how you can raise awareness about this widespread problem and/or help raise funds for preventative programs and resources for survivors.
Take two street harassment surveys and help researchers studying this problem.
The submission deadline for an anthology on Queering Sexual Violence is extended until May 1, 2010.
The Safe Delhi Campaign is looking for volunteers and interns.
Blank Noise in India is looking for new logo submissions
If you’re interested in becoming a RightRides driving team volunteer, email volunteer@rightrides.org – orientations will be occuring throughout April.
HollaBack NYC is looking for volunteers with various skill sets to help them take their work to the next level.
Share why you “Holla Back” for the HollaBack NYC website.

Events:

If you’re in the Washington, DC, area, HollaBack DC! is hosting or participating in several events across the next few weeks, check out the info on their site.
Sign up for Washington, DC, based Defend Yourself’s annual class on dealing with street harassers, being held on May 22.

Resource of the Week:

SAFER (Students Active for Ending Rape) for the amazing work they are doing to make campuses safe for everyone. They have resources for: college students, alumni, parents of college students, and faculty/staff. Check out their very informative blog, Change Happens.

Flashing in Film Festival's Ad: Funny or Not?

April 27, 2009 By HKearl

I found this post on SAFER’s blog by Sarah M. in response to the Tribeca Film Festival’s ad campaign.

Excerpt from Sarah M.’s post: “…This ad for the festival, which I saw for the first time yesterday when it ran before the festival screening I was attending, plays to the tagline: “Think You’ve Seen It All In New York? Think Again.” Two women are walking through a park when a naked man in a trenchcoat suddenly exposes himself to them. While one woman is disgusted, the other is enticed by his naked body, asking him to lift up his coat and turn around, and even asks the flasher for a date. Now, I understand that this is supposed to be funny precisely because it’s not funny. The conceit is that flashing is disgusting and the audience is supposed to laugh at the absurdity of a woman actually getting her flasher’s number for a date, especially considering that he’s not exactly a “hunk.” OK, I get it. But still, still I am really angered by this ad…I am angry that whoever made the ad doesn’t really understand that in order for the ad to be ironic, people have to understand how completely disgusting street harassment is, and I’m sorry but I don’t think that people, in general, do.

I’m angry because the night before I saw this ad, this happened to me: walking from the subway to a friend’s house on an empty, but what I would consider to be a safe street, an older teenager on a bike was riding ahead of me. As I learned long ago to do when walking alone, I kept my eyes pointed straight ahead, glancing at the kid from the corner of my eye now and then just to keep tabs on his movements and proximity. At some point I could swear that I saw him take his penis out of his pants and start touching himself while operating his bike with one hand, but I thought I must be crazy and ignored it. Then he pulled up his bike a few feet in front of me, off to the side of the sidewalk so he wasn’t exactly blocking my path, and just stayed there silently as I passed. Trying to move fast and not make eye contact I again was pretty positive that this guy was sitting on his bike masturbating but I didn’t really want to look hard enough to confirm this. At this point I was almost at my friend’s house and he slowly followed me down the street on his bike, keeping his distance but definitely following. Finally he stopped across the street from my destination and waited there, definitely jerking off, still silent, until I got into the house.

I don’t think I need to explain how scary and disgusting this situation was. I was still somewhat upset by it by the time I arrived at the movie the next day only to see that festival ad. Just writing this makes me flush with anxiety again. What happened to me wasn’t funny, and even less funny is the fact that this stuff happens a lot more than people think. Perhaps men in trenchcoats aren’t walking around flashing all the time, but what about the guy on the subway who openly masturbates while a young woman sits across from him? What about this guy on the bike? These aren’t isolated events. Forgive me if I can’t find the humor there.”

What do you think? Do you agree with her that the ad was in poor taste or do you think it is funny, ironic, or edgy?

Flashing in Film Festival’s Ad: Funny or Not?

April 27, 2009 By HKearl

I found this post on SAFER’s blog by Sarah M. in response to the Tribeca Film Festival’s ad campaign.

What do you think? Do you agree with her that the ad was in poor taste or do you think it is funny, ironic, or edgy?