sexual assault Archives | Page 23 of 26

A Message to Muni Passengers

June 9, 2009 By HKearl

Picture from M.J. Scanlon via railpictures.net

Via Silicon Valley’s Mercury News:

“Police in San Francisco on Friday asked for the public’s help locating Muni passengers that may have been victims of sexual harassment or assault while using the city’s transit system.

Police reported that on the morning of May 8, a man was witnessed rubbing his pelvis against a woman on the inbound N-Judah rail line. The same suspect was witnessed committing a similar assault on the outbound N-Judah line later that evening. The victim has not been located.

The witness who reported the incidents to police said the suspect exited the train at the Powell Street station.

Police believe the suspect has been committing similar sexual batteries that have not been reported, and are asking anyone who has been a victim of such a crime to contact the San Francisco Police Department as soon as possible at (415) 553-1651.”

Street Harassment Round Up – May 31

May 31, 2009 By HKearl

Stories:

On HollaBack Toronto, a contributor tells about being followed and accosted several times by a naked man at a nude and clothed beach.
Holla Back DC! has several new contributor posts this week, including two by a young woman who was the target of two bad instances of street harassment within a few days’ time: a naked masturbator and a crotch groper. She called 911 in both instances.

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem!

In the News:

A taxi driver in Malaysia sexually assaulted a female passenger.
The Telegraph in Calcutta, India, discusses street harassment and what women can do to combat it.
In Atlanta, GA, a man shot two women in the street after they ignored his advances. The women are in stable condition at the hospital.
In Savannah, GA, three men sexually assaulted a woman who was walking home; someone driving by intervened and the men ran away.

Upcoming Events:

June 8 (7-9 p.m.): New Yorkers for Safe Transit are holding a community forum about the rampancy of gender-based violence in the New York City public transit system. “Taking Back Public Transit: Confronting Violence on Board” will be held at Brecht Forum, 451 West St. (btwn. Bank & Bethune), New York.
June 18 (7:30 p.m): Holla Back DC! is hosting a dinner for WIN’s 20th Annual Women Opening Doors for Women Event. The goal of the dinner is to network, create an open dialogue on how to address harassers, and brainstorm policy changes to develop safe public spaces. The event takes place after the evening’s reception (5:30 p.m.) and keynote speaker (6 p.m.) at the AFL-CIO. Tickets for the night start at $40.
June 27 (2-4 p.m.): Girls and women ages 12-25 are invited to share their stories about sexual harassment on the Chicago buses and subways with the Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team. Berger Park Cultural Center, 6205 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL.

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

Brian Martin’s article “Men: Help stop public harassment“

In Malaysia, Taxi Trouble

May 28, 2009 By HKearl

Earlier in May in Malaysia, a taxi driver with tinted windows allegedly raped a 17-year-old passenger. He was recently arrested, but a “newspaper noted that women were [still] arming themselves with self-defense products and reluctant to board empty buses. Community leaders and non-governmental organisations yesterday demanded that the authorities do something to better protect passengers.” Seven women in another area were also allegedly raped by a man posing as a taxi driver who has since been arrested.

The taxi incidents are part of the larger problem of sexual harassment and assault on public transportation feared by many women in Malaysia.

“Selangor Community Awareness Association member and lawyer Honey Tan, said they wanted such attacks to stop and said one of the most common things to happen to women was sexual harassment on public transportation….

Subang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh said she felt the Home Ministry should allocate more resources to crime prevention as she claimed many women were afraid to go out these days.”

Many countries have taxi services where women are the drivers for women passengers precisely because of these types of terrible incidents. While such a measure is surely a relief to worried and fearful female passengers, I think it is merely a band aid and doesn’t fix the real problem. Your thoughts?

Bystander Intervention in Savannah Sexual Assault

May 26, 2009 By HKearl

Sunday night a woman was approached by three men while she was walking alone in the Savannah-Chatham (GA) metro area. They tried to talk to her and she ignored them (as most women do when they experience street harassment from unknown men, especially when they’re alone at night). Then two of the men pushed her to the ground while the third sexually assaulted her.

A wonderful bystander was driving by and yelled at the men, who then ran away. The driver helped the woman get home and she filed a police report. The police are currently investigating the incident.

Via Savannah’s local NBC station: “Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to contact Detectives at 912-651-6742 or Crime Stoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) and in the body type ‘CStop2020’ plus the tip. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash award.”

Safety is always a concern during street harassment incidents and one never knows when a harasser might escalate his actions into assault. The safest (but not necessarily the most empowering) course of action usually is to ignore a harasser, which she did and they still assaulted her. Men who harass and assault women must change their behavior! All women should have the right to be out in public – regardless of whether or not they are alone or if it’s dark out – and be safe.

Extreme Street Harassment in Vancouver, West Redding

May 13, 2009 By HKearl

Here are two recent news stories about extreme street harassment in Vancouver, Canada, and West Redding, UK.

In Vancouver, “a woman was walking home from a pub in the area of 98th Ave & the King George Highway just before 2 a.m. when she noticed she was being followed along 104th Avenue. Police say the man grabbed her, pushed her against a wall, pointed a gun at her and began to sexually assault her. The woman called for help and the man ran away towards the Surrey Central Bus Loop area, but using the woman’s description of the attacker, police later arrested a man on a bus.”

In West Redding: At 8:30 p.m. a 41-year old father Mark Fricker sat next to a group of young teenage girls on the upper level of a public bus. He flirted with them and said he had a son their age, and then his conversation became sexual. He began rubbing the thigh of one of the girls and kissed her on the cheek. The girls alerted the bus driver who contacted the police. In court, he admitted to sexual assault. The judge gave him a 36 month supervision order and has required that he sign the sex offenders’ register.

Thankfully the young women are all okay and the men are being or have been prosecuted.

The judgment in the first case has not been determined.

How do you feel about the ruling in the second case? From what I gather, a supervision order means the man will have to go through trainings or meetings to help him do what is necessary to stop offending in order to better keep the public safe. That seems productive. What about the registry as a sex offender? Is it too harsh for his actions? Not harsh enough? Do you think it could deter other potential sexual harassment offenders?

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