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New campaign to make Tahrir Square safe for women

June 7, 2012 By HKearl

Women protest in Egypt in 2006. Image from International Museum of Women

Stomach sinking. Outrage growing. Another recorded sexual assault committed by a group of men against one woman at Tahrir Square in Egypt.

Associated Press journalist Sarah El Deeb writes:

“Her screams were not drowned out by the clamor of the crazed mob of nearly 200 men around her. An endless number of hands reached toward the woman in the red shirt in an assault scene that lasted less than 15 minutes but felt more like an hour.

She was pushed by the sea of men for about a block into a side street from Tahrir Square. Many of the men were trying to break up the frenzy, but it was impossible to tell who was helping and who was assaulting. Pushed against the wall, the unknown woman’s head finally disappeared. Her screams grew fainter, then stopped. Her slender tall frame had clearly given way. She apparently had passed out.

The helping hands finally splashed the attackers with bottles of water to chase them away.

The assault late Tuesday was witnessed by an Associated Press reporter who was almost overwhelmed by the crowd herself and had to be pulled to safety by men who ferried her out of the melee in an open Jeep.

Reports of assaults on women in Tahrir, the epicenter of the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down last year, have been on the rise with a new round of mass protests to denounce a mixed verdict against the ousted leader and his sons in a trial last week.

The late Tuesday assault was the last straw for many. Protesters and activists met Wednesday to organize a campaign to prevent sexual harassment in the square. They recognize it is part of a bigger social problem that has largely gone unpunished in Egypt. But the phenomenon is trampling on their dream of creating in Tahrir a micro-model of a state that respects civil liberties and civic responsibility, which they had hoped would emerge after Mubarak’s ouster.

“Enough is enough,” said Abdel-Fatah Mahmoud, a 22-year-old engineering student, who met Wednesday with friends to organize patrols of the square in an effort to deter attacks against women. “It has gone overboard. No matter what is behind this, it is unacceptable. It shouldn’t be happening on our streets let alone Tahrir.”

Journalists Lara Logan, Mona Eltahawy, and Caroline Sinz; Egyptian actress Sherihan; the woman in the blue bra, and countless other women have lived through mass gropings and sexual assaults simply for being women protesting or reporting on the protests at Tahrir Square. Hundreds (thousands?) of women have lived through verbal sexual harassment in a place that is supposed to symbolize freedom, revolution, and safety.

Women have not been silent. They’ve gone public with their stories of assault, they’ve organized marches, and they’ve shared stories online. They’ve experienced backlash and harassment for speaking out and marching.

But still, the assaults and harassment continues.

Maybe with more men and women speaking out together to create a campaign to stop harassment specifically in the Square, complete with a patrol, things will be different…?

HarassMap, the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights, and other activist groups have been active on this issue for years (including by recently organizing nearly 100 people in a Human Chain), but clearly a targeted campaign is necessary. This is happening too often at Tahrir Square when one incident would be outrageous enough.

When will men allow women in Egypt be safe to protest, to participate in the political process, to be in public places? What will it take?

Update #1, via Mona Eltahawy: Tomorrow in Cairo there is a protest planned against sexual assault

Update #2: Follow @HarassMap to see their brainstorm for dealing with the harassers/assaulter, including by encouraging women to use spray cans to mark the perpetrators.

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Filed Under: Stories, street harassment Tagged With: Caroline Sinz, Egypt, freedom, Lara Logan, Mona Eltahawy, sexual assault, Tahrir Square, woman in the blue bra

It’s time for new advice

April 19, 2012 By HKearl

Reston Paths

I was really irritated to read an article on my hometown’s Patch website (Reston Patch) with the headline “It’s Trail Season – Be Careful Out There.”

Fairfax County, where I live, is one of the safest in the country, but it’s still not safe enough. The article tells us:

“A woman told police a man walked up behind her and grabbed her bottom in the 11400 block of Waterview Cluster on April 1 at 6:30 p.m. The man fled in the opposite direction and has not been found or charged.

Police said a woman reported she was grabbed by a man on a wooded trail near Danbury Forest Drive in Springfield on Saturday. The woman yelled and fled.

The man was described as Hispanic, between 5’6” -5’9” feet tall and around 150-170 pounds. He was professionally attired in a white, buttoned shirt and a dark vest, black slacks and black shoes.

Around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, a man whistled at a jogger in an area near Sully Park and Truitt Farm Drive. When she looked over, he was exposing himself and masturbating.

This incident may be another in a series of similar incidents in the Sully Police District in recent months. The woman yelled and saw him run down a paved path. She described him as olive-skinned with a protruding gut, green shirt and blue jeans. He was between 5’3” – 5’7” feet tall.”

Pretty disturbing stuff, right?

The article then lists advice from the police department:

* Try not to go out alone; if you do, make sure someone knows where you will be and when you expect to return.
* If possible, avoid using trails after dark.
* Do not use headphones at a high volume; make sure you can hear what’s going on around you.
*Always look ahead and see what or who is around you.

How is this helpful? All of the women were harassed and attacked during daylight hours, so the advice to not go out after dark is not applicable. There’s no indication that they were wearing headphones. It sounds like all of them were alert to what was going on around them and they were all able to get away from the creeps. The one thing they didn’t do was go out with a buddy.

Guess what, that ain’t happening. It’s impractical. It’s undesirable. It’s unequal.

Except in a war-torn area or high crime area, can you imagine telling grown men to not go places alone?  (And I know the advice was gender neutral, but really, after listing all those stories about women being harassed, it’s clear who the advice is for.) Why do we accept that it’s okay to tell this to women?

In the context of street harassment and sexual assault in public places, it’s pretty common to hear the words “stay safe” and “be careful” or admonitions to not go places alone or after dark. It’s funny since in general, women have been trained from a young age to be careful and we already limit our lives in ways we think, we hope, will keep us safe. We usually  already follow that advice when it’s practical. And we’re still harassed and assaulted. So isn’t it time for new advice?

While the police did share information on how to report harassers/assaulters, I would love to see information spread about other assertive responses people can have. I would love to see information listed about what bystanders can do. And maybe some kind of community outreach on this topic (..and as I write this, I recall how this is MY community so now I’m brainstorming what I can do offline to help with this issue…maybe I can collaborate with the division that manages the trails and we can post info every few miles about how to respond to harassers/assaulters and how to be good bystanders and post alerts about known perps.)

And of course, broadly, I’d love to see more focus placed on the potential perpetrators, not just on the potential victims/survivors, as a prevention tactic.

What are your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions?

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Filed Under: News stories Tagged With: reston patch, runners, sexual assault, street harassment, trails

Man stops sexual assault of 21-year-old woman by cab driver

April 16, 2012 By HKearl

Here’s a Monday morning story that illustrates some of the worst and the best characteristics of humans.

First, the worst: A 21-year-old woman was walking home from a bar early Sunday morning, listening to music with headphones, when 27-year-old cab driver Admon Shasho saw her and decided to attack her. He parked his cab and followed her into an alley in the 4500 block of North Oakley Avenue in Chicago, IL. He first tried to rob her of her purse and phone and then pulled her to the ground and sexually assaulted her. The cab driver told her he had a knife and that he would kill her if he screamed.

Then, the best: The cab driver and young woman were loud enough that a woman in nearby home heard them and woke up her husband, Ron Psenka. He told his wife to call 911 and then he grabbed a shovel and ran out the door, barefoot and in his pajamas.

Via ABC News:

“As a parent, certainly, the first thing that might cross your mind is, hey, that could be my own child under there,” said Psenka…

“Another human being doing that to another human being is not something anybody ever wants to see,” said Psenka. “This person was more than twice her weight and was easily manhandling her, and that’s not right.”

Barefoot and in his pajamas, Psenka chased the suspect away from the alley, the three blocks from his house to Wells Park on Western Avenue, which is where he was able to flag down a squad car. The police then pursued Shasho and apprehended him.

“I think I did what anybody else probably would do in this situation and that is try and stop him,” said Psenka. “I maybe went a little further, but at this point, to stop him and to make sure that she was OK.”

The cab driver is charged with attempted robbery and criminal sexual assault. He is being held at Cook County Jail on $700,000 bond.

The victim has already stopped by twice to thank Psenka. He said that Sunday morning that, she and her mom came by with flowers.”

Thanks to Ron and his wife for doing the right thing and helping out someone in need. I hope we can all do the same when we’re in similar situations.

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Filed Under: male perspective, News stories Tagged With: Admon Shasho, Ron Psenka, sexual assault, street harassment

SAAM 2012: “Violence against women is as American as apple pie”

April 2, 2012 By HKearl

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) recently gave an eloquent speech advocating for the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). In addition to sharing her own stories of sexual abuse she said, “Violence against women is as American as apple pie.”

And she’s right. A December 2011 study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that as many as many as 1 in 3 women have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. And as more and more men come forward with their sexual abuse stories, it’s clear that sexual abuse in general is an epidemic problem.

This is an outrage. Everyone should have the right to lives free from sexual violence. This should not be an American tradition. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and there are a lot of ways you can be involved in speaking out and creating change. Here are 10 ideas for 2012.

1. Believe/help survivors. Believe survivors when they confide in you. Visit the website of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network to find information to help you help the survivor. And to find information to help yourself.

2. Find help. If you are a survivor who isn’t sure where to turn to or how to get help, I highly recommend visiting the RAINN website. I volunteered with them for 2.5 years and applaud their work. You can find information about a phone or online hotline and information about recovery.

* Are you male? Visit the website 1 in 6 for resources specifically for you.

* Are you in the military? RAINN has a helpline called Safe Helpline specifically for survivors in the military.

3. No victim-blaming. Don’t engage in victim-blaming. For example, don’t ask about or comment on what a survivor was wearing or  ask if they were drunk or if they were out late at night. On April 3 (tomorrow), Slutwalk Toronto is hosting a day of action for the first-ever International Day Against Victim-Blaming. They say to participate, “start conversations, take a stand, and take up space on April 3rd to fight for our right to live free of violence and victim-blaming. Join us in our mission to spread the word that those who experience sexual violence are never the ones at fault.” Use the twitter hashtag #EndVictimBlaming.

4. Write your Senators. Send a quick e-mail or make a quick phone call to your Senators asking them to re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act.

5. #TweetAboutIt. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center provides a variety of resources each year for Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month, including free reports and manuals and campaign materials. This year, they’re hosting a Tweet About It Tuesday every Tuesday at 2 p.m. EST throughout the month. Various people will lead the tweet-chat on a different topic each week, using the hashtag #TweetAboutIt. Read more and join in.

6. Wear jeans. Make a social statement by wearing jeans on April 25 as part of Denim Day in LA & USA. The day is a visible way to protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault. Order their Denim Day Action Kit and raise awareness at your workplace, neighborhood, or community. Encourage each person who participates to donate one dollar to Denim Day to fund prevention programming. (I just ordered my kit.)

7. Work to prevent sexual abuse of Native Americans. Native American women face the highest rates of rape of any demographic: 1 in 3 will be raped in their lifetime.

* Learn more and read about the maze of injustice that keeps survivors from finding justice.

* Donate to Project Respect, an organization that works to combat sexual and gender based violence amongst South Dakota’s Native American youth. The funds will go toward creating a youth shelter/programming area and a summer mentoring program that pairs Native American teens with adolescents entering middle school.

8. Advocate against military sexual assault. Sexual assault in the military is a well documented problem, yet the military does very little to truly address or prevent it.

* Sign a petition addressed to the U.S. Senate asking them to support H.R. 3435, The STOP Act, and H.R. 1517, The Holley Lynn James Act, legislation that would require the military to do more.

* Watch the trailer for a Sundance Film Festival Award-Winning documentary called The Invisible War about military sexual assault. It will be released on June 15, 2012.

* Donate to AAUW, an organization where I work in my day job, which provides financial support to two sets of plaintiffs who are former service members who were raped or sexually assaulted by their co-workers and are bravely suing the Department of Defense.



9. Use the arts or march
.
Take part or organize arts-based initiatives or a march to raise awareness about sexual assault. Examples of initiatives include:

* The Clothesline Project, an initiative to bear witness to violence against women. Women affected by violence decorate a shirt and hang the shirt on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of men’s violence against women.

* V-Day event offers several performance and film screening options for groups to implement in their community in February, March, and April. The purpose of these events is to raise awareness about violence against women and girls as well as raise money for local beneficiaries that are working to end violence. There is no theater or producing experience necessary. Visit the V-Day website to learn how to organize a V-Day event.

* Story of a Rape Survivor (SOARS) is an award winning multimedia performance you can bring to your community that entertains as well as educates the audience about sexual assault prevention. Featuring the music of Nina Simone, Maxwell, and Sade, SOARS tells one woman’s story about how she reclaimed her body, sexuality, and self-esteem after being sexually assaulted in college. SOARS is a cutting-edge theatrical experience that stars a diverse cast of women, combining photographs, dance, spoken-word poetry and music as a way to educate about healing from sexual violence.

* By wearing a white ribbon, White Ribbon Campaign members make a personal pledge to “never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women and girls.” You can order materials to help challenge the community to speak out on the issue, learn about sexual violence, and raise public awareness.

* Organize or participate in a Take Back the Night March in your community or on campus and make a statement that women have the right to be in public and to go about their lives without the risk of sexual violence. Order a kit with resources for the event.

10. Support consent. One fun way to work to prevent sexual assault is to talk about and emphasize consent in all sexual activities. Here are two amazing initiatives you can bring to your campus or community to do that:

* The Consensual Project is an interactive, sex-positive, fun workshop during which participants can learn why consensual hooking up is hotter hooking up. College students are an ideal audience for this workshop.

* The Line is a film that explores the intersection of sexual identity, power, and violence. How do we negotiate our boundaries as sexually liberated women? How much are we desensitized to sexual violence? Through conversations with football players, educators, survivors of violence, prostitutes, and attorneys, this personal film explores the “grey area” and the elusive line of consent.

(And if you’re unsure about the connection between street harassment and sexual assault, listen to a CALCASA Prevention podcast where I talk about the connections. Briefly, some of the connections are that both behaviors fall on the same spectrum of gender violence; street harassment sometimes escalates into sexual violence; and street harassment can be re-triggering for survivors of sexual abuse.)

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Filed Under: Resources, street harassment Tagged With: a long walk home, april, CDC, clothesline project, denim day, gwen moore, native american youth, project respect, rape, sexual abuse of boys, sexual assault, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, slutwalk toronto, take back the night, the invisible war, V-Day

More sexual assaults at Tahrir Square in Egypt

January 26, 2012 By HKearl

Trigger Warning – descriptions of sexual assaults

When I hopped on twitter this morning and checked the thread #EndSH, I was appalled to read that more sexual assaults took place last night against women at Tahrir Square in Egypt as they marked the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 25 revolution of 2011.

When will the assaults on women protesting and covering stories at Tahrir end?!

I clicked on a link to read about what happened. Here is part of an article I read on Bikya Masr. I am outraged:

“CAIRO: Heather still doesn’t know how she made it home on Wednesday night after being in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. The Arab-American arrived back at her Cairo flat without pants, having had them torn off downtown. She and her two roommates were victims of a mob attack by people in the iconic square on Wednesday, as protesters demonstrated against the military junta.

According to Heather, an Arab-American living in the Egyptian capital, she and her Swedish and Spanish roommates took to Tahrir as thousands were converging there to mark one-year since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak.

“They started fighting over who was going to do what,” Heather told Bikyamasr.com in an exclusive interview. She came forward after seeing the report on a foreign woman who was stripped naked and assaulted only hours after her own incident.

“My roommates and I fell to the ground when they attacked us. The people pulled our pants off even as we yelled and tried to fight,” she continued.

The incident occurred around 7:30 PM local time, just as night was taking hold of the city. Heather said the attack happened “in the center of Tahrir.”

She said that after the men pulled their pants off, they continued to grab and grobe the women’s bodies. “It is disgusting. They put fingers up my ass,” she revealed.

Luckily, the women were somehow pulled from the violence by a man and a woman and taken to safety. She said she doesn’t recall exactly how she was saved from the violent attack.

“I was shaking and crying and the man and woman just grabbed us and pulled us out and took us out of the square.”

Later in the night, the issue of sexual violence toward women was sparked after an eyewitness reported on the micro-blogging site Twitter that a foreign woman was stripped, groped and assaulted by another mob of men in the square.

The woman, who’s identity has not been revealed, was taken away in an ambulance after being assaulted for 10 minutes. Her husband reportedly was unable to intervene and witnessed the incident.

“I saw the woman and then dozens of men surrounded her and started grabbing her, when she screamed for help some people came, but they were hit in the face,” wrote one witness.

What happened next was “appalling,” said the trusted witness, who asked for anonymity. “The men just started tearing at her clothes and grabbing her body all over. When she fought back, they pushed her. It was chaos.”

There were unconfirmed reports that the men “violated” her with their hands.

The nationality of the woman is unknown at the current time.

Throughout the day, sexual harassment towards women has been increasing and more and more reports of women being grabbed and groped began being reported.

Activists called the attacks on women completely “unacceptable” and must be exposed no matter what. They demanded an end to all violence toward women.

“What happened in Tahrir today has no justification and must be fully exposed even if it taints Tahrir!” wrote EgyptSecularist on Twitter.

Heather said that she came forward to talk about what happened to her “because people need to know what goes on. It is the only way to start making it a problem that will have to be dealt with.”

However, many people told her to not reveal what happened to her because she was told, “it would hurt the image of the revolution.” But Heather said after seeing the reports of others and their assaults, “I felt it was right to say something.”

The incident brings memories of reporter Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted the night former President Hosni Mubarak gave up power.

A mob of men ripped the 40-year-old correspondent away from her crew and bodyguard, tearing at her clothes and beating her in broad daylight….

Instances of sexual assaults on female journalists covering the events in Tahrir Square have continued in the year since Mubarak’s ouster.

According to studies conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Right (ECWR) in 2008, 98 percent of foreign women and 83 percent of Egyptian women surveyed had experienced sexual harassment in Egypt.

Meanwhile, 62 percent of Egyptian men confessed to harassing women and 53 percent of Egyptian men faulted women for “bringing it on.”

What can we do? Help support HarassMap, one of the groups in Egypt working to combat the culture of harassment and assault on women in public places.

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Filed Under: News stories Tagged With: Egypt, EndSH, Jan25, sexual assault, Tahrir

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