sexual assault Archives | Page 8 of 26

Harassers escalate to sexual assault in Leeds – police seeking info

June 15, 2011 By HKearl

— Trigger Warning —

A British Stop Street Harassment reader shared a link to the following story on the Facebook page. I’m reposting in case there are any readers who may be able to help. This is via 96.3 Radioaire:

“West Yorkshire Police are appealing for witnesses and information following a serious sexual assault in Leeds city centre in the early hours of Monday morning.

A 22-year-old woman was walking along Vicar Lane at around 1.45am when she turned into Fish Street, which is a popular cut-through to King Edward Street and Kirkgate.

At this point she was grabbed by a group of males and dragged into a nearby doorway and seriously sexually assaulted by at least one male. The males then left the alleyway in the direction of Briggate.

The woman had been at the Hi-Fi club on Central Road earlier in the evening, and on leaving the club she was approached by a group of around four males who made sexually suggestive comments towards her.

The woman ignored their advances and continued walking towards Vicar Lane to get a taxi home.

Following enquiries it is believed that the same group of males, who are all described as being dark-skinned, may have made other similar approaches to other women in the city centre around midnight and possibly earlier in the evening….

The senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Paul Taylor, said: “This is an extremely serious incident involving a group of males who have attacked a lone woman before at least one of them has subjected her to a serious sexual assault.

“I am appealing to any other lone women who may have been approached by this group of possibly four males to contact police as soon as they can. Information they have could be vital to tracing these males.

“It is also possible that other members of the public may have seen the group in and around the Fish Street or Vicar Lane areas, and I would also ask for anyone who thinks they have information to contact us….

“There were a number of males involved in this incident, some of which we believe will have been involved to a lesser extent than others. I would also encourage those males who may have been involved in the initial incident but not the serious sexual assault to come forward and speak to us immediately.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team via 0845 6060606. Alternatively you can send text messages to 07786200805, starting your message with the word ‘LEEDS’.”

The junction of King Edward Street and Fish Street, where the attack took place.

Not only is this “shocking” and upsetting, but also it sounds like a gender HATE CRIME if these men were strolling the town looking for lone women to harass and then attack. Women should have the right to walk home in the early hours of the morning safely and when even a few men attack women, it makes all women in the area feel less safe.

If you have information please contact the police and if you live in the area, please spread the word.

“He just couldn’t believe he hadn’t gotten away with it”

June 9, 2011 By HKearl

This is cross-posted from Kate Spencer’s Tumblr. She’s a Sr. Editor at VH1 where she writes for TheFabLife.com and VH1.com.

“I’m writing this on the R train as it rattles slowly along toward Brooklyn. I’m headed to pick up my 6-month-old daughter. I’m writing because I’m still reeling from what occurred on the Times Square subway platform a few moments ago. I was walking to the end of the station as I always do. I saw a man, a stout, balding, nondescript looking troll, staring at me as I walked toward him. I watched as he slowly extended his arm and fingers, in particular his pinky finger, so it would make contact with me as I walked by. I’m wearing a skirt. It all happened quickly, in seconds, as these things always do, and sure enough as I passed him his hand jutted out and stroked my thigh. Without thinking I turned around and hit him as hard as I possibly could. I didn’t even stop walking, nor did I say anything. I did turn around to look at him as I hit him, and his face was one of shock but not of surprise. He knew why I had hit him; he just couldn’t believe he hadn’t gotten away with it.

Ive been sexually harassed so many times since my adolescence that I’ve lost count, but I’ve never reacted like that before. Normally I think, process, choose my words. There was no brain power that went into the decision to smack this asshole; it was pure instinct. As I headed away from him I immediately regretted not verbalizing my anger and yelling at him too, but I imagine that choice was instinctive as well. Besides, I think he got the message.

I am not someone who condones violence. But I’m so tired of my safety and personal space being invaded over and over again. I am a 32-year-old woman. I am a mother. I am not someone you can fondle without my consent because you feel like it, nor is any other girl or woman. Not my friends. Not my daughter.

When I’ve explained sexual harassment to men in the past I’ve been struck at their confusion over why it is a big deal. How is someone whistling at you threatening, they ask? Here is what they don’t understand. Those moments, which may seem insignificant and small, create an unsafe environment in which women are forced to live. Last month, after I yelled at some men in a car who made kissing noises at me, I was terrified to then walk down a quiet downtown street out of fear that they’d circle around in their car and hurt me. These moments force us to operate in a state of fear. They define who is in control and who can have their control taken away. And I’m so fucking tired of it that I’m starting to snap. I’m now hitting people. Because as much as I want to believe my daughter will not have to live with this same fear 10, 20, 30 years from now, I know that she will. And nothing makes me more sick to my stomach.”

Here is her follow-up post:

“I have no idea how this happened, but the post I wrote about hitting the man who sexually harassed me on the subway tonight has somehow ended up with 2500+ notes on Tumblr. I’m completely floored by the emails, messages and comments of support you people are sending. Thank you. And to all of you who are responding with your own stories, I thank you for sharing. It is clear we are not alone. Don’t be afraid to fight back.

I’ve gotten some questions about what happened and I will do my best to respond, but one I did want to answer was if this kind of thing happens a lot in New York. This kind of thing happens a lot EVERYWHERE. This is not a New York problem, it is a human problem, a societal problem. Most of my interactions with the people of this city have been nothing short of amazing in the ten years that I’ve lived here.”

(Thanks to my sister, a New Yorker, for the heads up.)

Woman is believed, her sexual assaulter is sentenced to prison

May 29, 2011 By HKearl

Luis Enrique Sossa Maltese, a 39-year-old carpenter, was recently sentenced to four years and six months in prison for groping a 25-year-old woman near Central Park and the Plaza of Social Guarantees in San Jose, Costa Rica. First he groped her butt and crotch and then he came back around and made an upskirt grab!

The survivor of this sexual assault came forward, she said, to seek justice and the ability to to walk through the streets without fearing he will assault her again. Fortunately, the judge said he believed her, and the man will be in jail for a while. Hopefully his arrest will deter would-be gropers and sexual assaulters from harming other women.

Why isn’t street harassment seen as antisocial behavior?

May 21, 2011 By HKearl

The Irish Times has a good article about sexual harassment and sexual violence, leading with the story about Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, who was arrested and charged with the attempted rape of a hotel employee.

“All sexual violence is an abuse of power. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the head of an internationally renowned body or the most popular guy at your local bar,” says Cliona Saidlear of Rape Crisis Network Ireland. Saidlear is responding to a story that made international headlines this week when Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had been staying at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan last week as the head of the International Monetary Fund, was arrested and charged with the attempted rape of a hotel employee who had gone to clean his room. That Strauss-Kahn, who resigned from the IMF on Wednesday, was such a powerful and influential man has meant the fallout from the alleged attack is being analysed all over the world.”

The article includes several stories that women submitted to the blog Harassment Monologues and there was even one about street harassment:

“She describes being yelled at by construction workers who went on to launch a sexually explicit verbal attack. “I was very shocked, and I reacted by striking an aggressive stance, locking eye contact and shouting, ‘You f***ing sick monster!’ I then told my mother about the incident, and she couldn’t understand why I was so angry. I was angry because I was shocked and felt violated. In any other context, roaring at someone in the street and giving them a shock is called harassment or antisocial behaviour. But for some reason, when it’s in the context of male sexual behaviour towards a female, it’s totally okay. It makes me sick.”

How true. And really, how true of all gender-based sexual harassment/sexual assault. Treating women like shit is okay all over the world and that’s got to end. We’ve got to keep speaking out to counter that attitudes and belief.

The explosion of news stories and dialogue that’s occurred this week around the Strauss-Kahn alleged attempted rape and the way it is shedding light on sexual abuse by powerful people only happened because his alleged victim spoke out and reported it. While we may not each get that kind of worldwide response when we speak out, unless our harassers/abuser is similarly very powerful, we can still make a difference and help create incremental change by telling our stories, reporting illegal abuse, and believing others who speak out.

Street harassment resistance in Afghanistan

May 5, 2011 By HKearl

In chapter 4 of my book, I look at how street harassment can vary by country and region depending on factors like, laws, culture, and peace vs wartime.

I briefly mention Afghanistan and how street harassment is exacerbated by the fact that across most of the country, women are not supposed to be in public unaccompanied by men and or unveiled. I also cite a few instances of men throwing acid at girls going to school; a horrific and unique form of street harassment that occurs in a few countries.

There is a lot more going on in Afghanistan when it comes to street harassment, though, and an article at Global Room for Women elaborates on the topic.

I’m on a quest to find information about how women resist and respond to street harassment, so I was particularly interested in this excerpt from the article:

“While studying this social issue, one has to gather information on how women struggle against street-harassment because women are not merely victims. Despite the fact that no formal, strategized and orderly action is taken by the government, namely the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the media or women’s organizations to recognize the phenomena as a social issue that needs to be addressed seriously, individual women have developed their own methods to fight street-harassment.

To deny the satisfaction of accomplishment to the violators, many women have a silent attitude towards the harassment they face. The silent treatment is a common way chosen by women to protect themselves and discourage the person who verbally abuses them.

Another way of dealing with this problem has been initiation of the harassment by the women when they say something condescending to men just to prevent their harassment and to prove that they are not afraid of their presence. Some women have word fights, or mini-fist fights that usually end at the interference of an outsider.

The different methods that women find to deal with the issue must be addressed and the advantages and disadvantages of each must be weighed to reach a conclusion on which is most successful in ensuring the safety and continuous participation of women in their societies.”

[If you want to read an inspiring book about Afghan women’s resistance generally, I recommend Veiled Courage by Cheryl Benard]

The opening words echo true for most of us — our governments, media, and NGOs don’t do enough (and sometimes don’t do anything) to make public places safe and welcoming for us, so we are left to our own devices for figuring out how to be safe and empowered.

Many women have discovered assertive responses that work, and a growing number of people are taking collective grassroots action to end street harassment.

There are plenty of tactics we can test to figure out what makes us feel empowered, safe, and full of resistance!

My primary resistance tactic is writing about street harassment.

What is yours?

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