Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Harassment on buses in Pakistan

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Via Islamabad Metblogs

Sadly, many girls and women in Islamabad, Pakistan, report feeling unsafe when waiting at bus stops and when riding the bus. Bus drivers were commonly cited culprits in a Daily Times article, with girls and women saying they used their mirrors to ogle women and blasted sexually vulgar music. Women and girls who must sit in the front seat also can be groped or otherwise touched indecently by the driver.

Because taxis are expensive but they do not want to be harassed either, some women and girls try to wait until the buses aren’t so crowded to ride them, but then that can make them late and otherwise inconvenience them.

The article says the government has considered women-only transportation, a cop-out and band-aid fix many other countries have opted to have in their big cities. The downside of course is they do nothing to check harassing men’s behavior and still leave women who wait at bus stops or who do not live along women-only bus routes vulnerable.

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Weekly Round Up Jan. 31, 2010

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Stories:

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In the News:

Announcements:

Events:

  • Save the Date on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 for the Vagina Monologues in Washington, DC — it’s a fundraiser to bring RightRides to Washington, DC

Resource of the Week:

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Street Harassment Problem in Morocco

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Seriously, is there a region (besides maybe Scandinavia) where street harassment is not a problem? I just came across an article about how pervasive the problem is in Morocco.

“Many girls suffer molestation in the streets of Morocco which often turns into sexual harassment. And in most cases it becomes difficult for these girls to respond or even to report these violations to the authorities, because the relevant law in this aspect has not been ratified yet.”

Girls and women share their harassment experiences in the article and some men talk about why it happens, including blaming their targets by saying they dress provocatively (Puleaze. I’m beyond tired of that excuse.)

The article ends on a positive note though. It tells how Adib Abdel-Salam, a founding member of the Network against Sexual Harassment Cases in Morocco, advocates for the creation of a toll-free number to help women report their cases of harassment (workplace or street) and for an easier courts process to make it easier for harassment targets to use legal means to combat it. He also stresses the importance of education and promoting respect among people. In 2008, the Moroccan parliament discussed a draft law to criminalize sexual harassment but it hasn’t been ratified.

So it seems, like many other regions around the world, the Moroccan government is starting to recognize this problem and hopefully in time will  remedy it.

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Bangladesh Suicide Prompted by Harassment

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Ugh, so sad 🙁 The New Nation is reporting that a young woman in Khulna, Bangladesh, hanged herself due to her humiliation at being street harassed (or eve teased). The accused man has been arrested. I am so sorry this young women is dead. Horrible.

Of the problem in general, the author of the article writes, “The problem is very widespread. School and college girls and female garment workers top the list of victims. Eve teasing contributes to dropouts of girls from schools or early marriage.”

These are some of the issues I cover in my forthcoming street harassment book: how young women and poor women are the most vulnerable to street harassment — because they are in public alone more often and because street harassment is about power and they are generally less powerful than other women or men and thus easier “prey” — and that harassment can keep women from living free, authentic lives. There will be no gender equality anywhere in the world until this problem ends.

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Weekly Round Up Jan. 24, 2010

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Stories:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world.
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In the News:

Announcements:

  • Want an easy way to report harassers from your phone or want to receive a report showing all the places harassment has recently occurred? Then vote for HollaBack 2.0! This is a proposed project by HollaBack NYC and RightRides and they’re in the second round of a competition for funding to make this a reality.

Events:

Resource of the Week:

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