social change Archives | Stop Street Harassment

Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of online petitions and social media!

Thanks to YOU, in just over 24 hours, around 1500 people asked that an offensive pro-harassment sign be removed from a construction area at MarketFair Mall in New Jersey.

I contacted the mall and was given the email address for Robyn Marano, the VP of Marketing for the mall and sent her information about the petition. She called me a few minutes ago and let me know that the mall would remove the sign tonight, after all of the customers were gone from the mall.

Victory!!

When I launched the petition yesterday (my first) on Change.org with the support of the amazing activist Shelby Knox who works there, I had the lofty goal of 250 signatures. Because so many people shared the link, tweeted it, posted it on Facebook, and wrote about it (like on Feminist Philosophers & Jezebel), it surpassed that goal very quickly.

Thank you for your help and congratulations on helping make MarketFair Mall a more welcoming environment for shoppers by pressuring them to take down the offensive pro-harassment sign.

This is what online activism looks like.

(And, as stated a few other places, I apologize for wrongly associating E A Reeves construction with this sign. They were not responsible for it.)

On Saturday, EB in New York City posted a story on the blog about how an employee of a truck company harassed her. Both the harasser and the owner of the company, whom she called and spoke to on the phone, didn’t understand how the actions constituted harassment. In her blog post she included the company’s phone number.

Today, when blog reader Beckie saw the phone number, she called. She talked to the owner and he finally agreed that the behavior was inappropriate and said he’d talk to his employees. After I posted all this Facebook, four more people wrote comments saying they called and left messages urging the company to do something about harassment.

Also, a few weeks ago, a couple of emails and phone calls got a Togo’s sandwich television ad pulled because it made light of men flashing women on the street. The exchange also ended with a very nice email from someone at Togo’s.

If you were harassed while at store/movie theater/club/bar, or if you were harassed by a person in a public place who is clearly harassing you during work hours (e.g. s/he has on a work uniform), or if you see an ad that makes light of street harassment/sexual harassment, you can do something! As a customer and consumer, you have a right to contact the business and make a report. Offer suggestions for improvement. Be polite but firm. Then post the story here and include the contact information so some of the blog readers can contact them, too.

Why take the time to do this? Because it can create change. No business wants bad press or a Google trail of blog posts complaining about them. Collectively, we have a lot of power and a strong voice.

If you haven’t faced harassment this way but you want to help, read the recent stories from women in Chicago, London, Brighton, and New York City and use the contact information they provide to reiterate their message: street harassment, sexual harassment is not okay, nor are attitudes or ads that promote or condone such behavior.

We have the right to walk down the street, go into stores, and ride the subway without facing unwanted sexualized attention.