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South Africa: SA’s Dirty Laundry

November 11, 2016 By Correspondent

Nyasha Joyce Mukuwane, Johannesburg, South Africa, SSH Blog Correspondent

sadirtylaundryWith the onset of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence on Nov. 25, some activists are using visual creativity to bring home the facts of rape culture in South Africa.

Rape is a widespread problem. According to a 2013 Medical Research Council (MRC) survey, up to 3,600 people could be raped in the country every day. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) claims that only one in 13 rape cases are reported to police.  Fewer than 30 cases go through for prosecution and trial  of which only 10 result in a conviction.

Jenny Nijenhuis and Nondumiso Lwazi Msimanga are collaborating in a creative installation of artivism in order to create awareness around rape in South Africa. They are collecting 3,600 pieces of underwear to hang a washing line approximately 1.2 kilometres long displaying the underwear during the 16 Days of Activism.

The preferred route for hanging the installation is from Arts On Main on Berea Road, right into Fox Street and left into Albrecht Street to SoMa´s entrance. This route from Arts On Main to SoMa covers 400m in distance. The goal is to run the washing line down both sides of each of the streets involved, thereby covering a distance of 800m. The balance of the line and installation will continue to the gallery entrance and up into the upstairs gallery area.

Speaking about the installation, Nijenhuis says,

“We wish to curate/choreograph an activation/disruption of the space in and around the gallery for 10 of the 16 Days of Activism whilst the installation is up. The space will thus be used as a point of reflection through works dealing in this subject matter. Nondumiso Msimanga will be working on a performance art piece titled ‘On the Line.’ The performance will display a female at the different developmental stages and rites of passage of becoming a woman, in a cyclical narrative of rituals. We have also posted an open call inviting contributions towards the project from the broadest spectrum of disciplines including (but not limited to) the visual arts, performances (maximum length 15 minutes), interventions, music, dance, talks, poetry, video (maximum length 15 minutes) and theatre.

The point being for artists to show how art, when used for the purpose of socio-political activism, has the power and ability to shift the status quo. Activism aims to promote, impede, or direct social, political, economic, or environmental change – to make societal improvements and to correct social injustice. Through this call, we’re inviting artists to truly observe, reflect and comment on what the rape crisis in SA looks like. We hope to bring this message to people on the street, and not just to the audiences that frequent galleries.”

Installation Dates: 25 November to 4 December 2016
Location: SoMa Art + Space – Streets of the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg

In order to successfully produce the installation the artists need to collect 3600 panties. Since the project is not for profit, a donations Facebook page has been set up. The panties drive asks anyone prepared to support the project to donate their old and unwanted panties or underpants. These are being collected at various collection points across the country. Donate. | More information on this project.

Nyasha is the public awareness coordinator at the Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the main goal is counselling and sheltering survivors of domestic abuse. She has edited two books by survivors that are available to download for free from the website www.nisaa.org.za.

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Filed Under: 16 days, correspondents, street harassment Tagged With: 16 days of activism, art, rape, south africa, underwear

South Africa: How Johannesburg Infrastructure and Transport Systems Contribute to Street Harassment

September 20, 2016 By Correspondent

Nyasha Joyce Mukuwane, Johannesburg, South Africa, SSH Blog Correspondent

Johannesburg is marketed as a world-class African city. In many ways it is, with a burgeoning middle class population and tourist and cultural attractions. High rise buildings in Sandton have turned it into a millionaire’s playground and it has been named Africa’s richest square mile. Precincts such as Maboneng are where the hipsters and the creative go to play and the nightlife extends very late via restaurants, pubs and clubs all over Johannesburg.

However, what is not world-class is the treatment of women on the streets who are running, walking, and going about their daily lives. What the tourist bureaus don’t show is the vulnerability of women and children in poorer areas who have to travel a long distance to school, the clinic and to places of employment. The average under-privileged woman experiences constant street harassment and threats of potential violence against her.

Johannesburg has been identified as a disorderly city with the worst instance of urban sprawl in South Africa, therefore a car is a necessity. It is a necessity as a 90 minute commute is halved with a car. Simple daily tasks such as school runs, grocery shopping and attending classes are completed easily. Owning a car in Johannesburg helps you keep up with the fast pace of the city, allowing you to enjoy what the city has to offer and most importantly, a woman’s  exposure to harassment on the streets is reduced. Urban sprawl and the public transport system leave women vulnerable to street harassment.

Public transport system

Owning a car is simply out of reach for women who are lowly paid without steady streams of income. The majority of people who need to commute around Johannesburg make use of mini buses which are called taxis. These taxis transport people from farm holdings, informal settlements, townships and urban areas. They are convenient and relatively inexpensive. However many women have been harassed, humiliated, groped and assaulted by taxi drivers and other male passengers.

The train can also be another harrowing experience. The most horrifying tale I heard is a woman realizing that a stranger had ejaculated on her skirt in a packed train ride. Personal space does not exist aboard a Metrorail train. In stark contrast to the sleek, smooth running Gautrain, most disadvantaged women use the Metrorail to get around. The Gautrain has stops at 10 stations where only privileged people would find it convenient, like heading to financial hubs or the airport.

The typical work day of a woman in a township called Orange Farm would have her wake up before dawn to get a taxi. The majority of Orange Farm doesn’t have streetlights. The first taxi of the day that will drop her off at the Metrorail station as it is too far to walk. Besides that, there is long grass along the road. The train takes her to the CBD where she takes another taxi to get to her place of employment in Sandton. All modes of transportation will pose their own potential threats of harassment and sexual violence against her. It will take at least two hours for her to get to work in the morning if there are no incidents with the train schedule or  traffic. Then she has to travel another two hours again after work, in the dark, 6 days a week, every month – all the time.

Street harassment is not necessarily seen as an issue to be dealt with by authorities and often law enforcement is not proactive but rather reactionary to incidences of escalated street harassment, such as assault or rape. The Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development works in Orange Farm where community members identified a stretch of veld with dumped garbage and long grass where men are raping and mugging women and a woman’s dead body had been found previously. With Nisaa’s support, community members mobilized themselves and cleared the area of debris and long grass. City officials and the local councillor promised that a park w0uld be put in place to make the area safer. That was in 2013 and they are still waiting. The community members have since become demoralized.

nisaainstitute

Picture courtesy of Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development

Disadvantaged women face street harassment everyday because of the spaces they occupy and the modes of transport they use. Townships were deliberately placed in inconvenient areas to keep people of colour from spaces of privilege by the apartheid government. A privileged woman is not completely immune to street harassment but her material possessions such as a car and the exclusive spaces in which she moves around in create a buffer against street harassment — whether real or imagined. She has the luxury of letting her guard down once in a while. In a literal tale of two cities, I ask again: Is Johannesburg truly a world-class African city?

Nyasha is the public awareness coordinator at the Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the main goal is counselling and sheltering survivors of domestic abuse. She has edited two books by survivors that are available to download for free from the website www.nisaa.org.za.

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Filed Under: correspondents, street harassment Tagged With: public transit, south africa, taxi, train, walk

Day 5: International Anti-Street Harassment Week

April 14, 2016 By HKearl

Hello Day 5!

Here are photos from the week  | Here are the media hits

Watch the Google+ Hangout Panel with activists from Kenya, Romania and USA.

There was a #CASSchats twitter chat with Collective Action for Safe Spaces and Me=You: Sexual Violence Awareness (MYSVA).

CASS Chats_

Here are examples of the events that took place today:

  • Bahamas: Hollaback Bahamas held a “Chalk ‘n’ Chat”

4.14.16 Bahamas

  • Canada: Women in Cities International and Interviewer Noémie Bourbonnais  and Sound Recorder Lucie Pagès did on-the-street interviews about street harassment and sidewalk chalking in Montreal.
4.14.16 WICI Montreal -Interviewee (left), Interviewer Noémie Bourbonnais (centre left), Sound Recorder Lucie Pagès (centre right), and Camerawoman Kathleen Ellis (right)) 4.14.16 WICI Montreal - Interviewer Noémie Bourbonnais (right) discussing street harassment with an interviewee (left) 4.14.16 WICI Montreal - chalking 3
  • France: Chalking in Lyon, flyering in Toulouse
4.14.16 Stop HDR Lyon France 6 4.14.16 Stop HDR Lyon France 7 4.14.16 Stop HDR Lyon France

4.14.16 Toulouse, France

  • Nepal: Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN) – in partnership with various like-minded social organizations – organized an interaction on “Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces and legal issues” at National women commission hall, Bhdardrakali.
4.14.16 -2Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN) in partnership with others organized 'Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces and legal issues' 2 4.14.16 -3Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN) in partnership with others organized 'Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces and legal issues' 4.14.16 Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN) in partnership with others organized 'Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces and legal issues'
  • Yemen: To Be for Rights and Freedom will host an event in connection with an anti-street harassment campaign. At the event, NGOs will display relevant survey results, films, and share stories. [RESCHEDULED DUE TO FLOODING]
  • Iowa: End Street Harassment – Iowa City will host a support group for individuals who have experienced street harassment to share their experiences in a safe environment. Participants can create posters and other art projects for display to raise awareness and protest street harassment. Meet in Room E on the second floor of the downtown public library, 123 S. Linn Street. [6:30 – 8 p.m.]
4.14.16 Iowa City support group 4.14.16 Iowa City support group 9 4.14.16 Iowa City support group 11
  • New York: Brooklyn Movement Center will host an event at which participants will use improv and storytelling techniques to reimagine ways they would have responded to harassment, with time travel and community support on their side [6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Friends and Lovers, 641 Classon Ave, Brooklyn, NY]
  • Pennsylvania: Students at Temple University in Philadelphia put up posters around campus.

4.14.16 Temple University signs - Philadelphia, PA

Virtual Efforts:

Afghanistan:

4.14.16 Streetharassment prevents women and girls and their families from getting an educationStreet harassment prevents women and girls and their families from getting an education Afghanistan “Harassing women is not entertainment. It is a crime.”“Harassing women is not entertainment. It is a crime. 4.10.16 Afghanistan - i have the right to go shopping without being harassed

Belgium:

Free Tai-Ji Movement Pepingen Belgium
Free Tai-Ji Movement Pepingen Belgium

Ecuador:

4.14.16 Hollaback Cuenca - Ecuador 2 4.14.16 Hollaback Cuenca Ecuador 4.14.16 Hollaback Cuenca - Ecuador 8

South Africa:

4.14.16 ActionAidSouth Africa 4.14.16 ActionAid South Africa
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Filed Under: anti-street harassment week Tagged With: Afghanistan, Bahamas, belgium, canada, ecuador, france, south africa, Yemen

Mid-March 2016 News Roundup

March 17, 2016 By HKearl

Young men and women took to street art and painted slogans and images against domestic violence, street harassment, identity crisis, stereotypes and rape in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, North Nazimabad, Saddar, Tower, II Chundrigarh Road, Karachi Press Club and Numaish. PHOTOS: AYESHA MIR/EXPRESS
PHOTOS: AYESHA MIR/EXPRESS

Pakistan Tribune, “NSF seeks to empower women via ‘Draw for Feminism’ campaign”

“Around 20 young men and women took to street art and painted slogans and images against domestic violence, street harassment, identity crisis, stereotypes and rape. Employing stencils and paints, the group went about raising their voice through graffiti in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, North Nazimabad, Saddar, Tower, II Chundrigarh Road, Karachi Press Club and Numaish. Talking about what drove them to initiate the campaign, NSF Karachi organiser Muzammal Afzal said until women of our society are not freed, the society cannot exist as a free entity.”

SmileForJoe-March2016Mic, “Samantha Bee Starts #SmileForJoe Twitter Campaign Against MSNBC Host Joe Scarborough”

“While Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton had a successful Tuesday with the five states voting in the primaries, there was one issue with her victory speech, according to male pundits: She didn’t smile enough. MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough was the headlined instigator, directing in a tweet that the former Secretary of State “smile” after her “big night.”

Samantha Bee — host of the new TBS late night show Full Frontal — didn’t agree with Scarborough’s slight. In response, the comedian has started a ‪#‎SmileForJoe‬ campaign on Full Frontal’s Twitter, beginning with a photo of herself frowning, coupled with the caption: “Ladies, it’s very important that you #SmileForJoe.””

iSchool Guide, “California Becomes First State To Make Sexual Consent Lessons Mandatory In High Schools Beginning Next Year”

“California Governor Jerry Brown’s office announced Thursday that the state will require all high schools statewide to teach students about sexual consent. Brown’s approval of the measure made California the first U.S. state to take such move..

The new law mandates all school districts that have made health a graduation requirement to lecture students about sexual violence prevention and affirmative consent starting next year. It also urges state education officials to include those topics to their high school health curriculum.”

The Tico Times, “Costa Rica march demands end to street harassment”

“Over 100 people on Tuesday evening marched along San José’s Central Avenue to protest the persistent sexual harassment of women – and sometimes men – in public places, including streets, sidewalks, parks and the workplace.

Dubbed “Las calles también son nuestras” – “The streets are ours, too” – the demonstration was convened by the National Women’s Institute (INAMU) as part of International Women’s Day….

Members of several human rights and LGBT groups joined the protest.

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís, first lady Mercedes Peñas and the couple’s daughters joined demonstrators, along with Vice President Ana Helena Chacón and Women’s Issues Minister and INAMU President Alejandra Mora.

“I’m here to demand that women can walk and work peacefully in public spaces,” President Solís said. “We cannot tolerate more aggression. Violence is unacceptable.”

ticoTimesCostaRicaIWDmarch2016

MSN, “Bus No. 8 conductor sacked for alleged sexual harassment of female passenger”

“A conductor of the bus was fired yesterday after a female passenger accused him of sexually harassing her during a ride from MRT Ladprao on Saturday night.

The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) instructed the bus operator to fire the conductor, identified only as “Pai,” yesterday following a complaint by a woman who claimed Pai was being a total creep by touching her and then following her when she got off the bus.”

Women 24, “Does Zuma Approve Catcalling?”

“…Speaking to a group of female journalists on Saturday, [South African president Jacob Zuma] said that ‘when men compliment [women] innocently, you say it’s harassment. You will miss out on good men and marriage.'”

There are countless resources available on why street harassment is not flattering, and I encourage you to do some research. For now, let me explain in a nutshell why catcalls and wolf whistles from strangers are not compliments.

Commenting on a woman’s appearance immediately reduces her to an object. To you, she is nothing more than her looks. Saying ‘Hey cutie’ or ‘Looking good, baby!’ or ‘I’d like to bury my face in that ass’ — yeah, don’t do that.

It also implies that women exist for men’s viewing pleasure. She did not ask for your thoughts on her appearance; believing you have the right to give it — or that she should be grateful for your unsolicited opinion — is presumptuous…..”

SriLankaMappingSHMarch2016Ground View, “Mapping Street Harassment [in Sri Lanka] This Women’s Day”

“March 8 marks International Women’s Day, and this year Groundviews decided to highlight the widespread nature of street harassment, by mapping it. Each marker tells a story – a story of a woman trying to go home, to work, or just about her day – only to be made to feel uncomfortable, or even unsafe. View the map directly here.”

Mic, “A Reporter Was Slut Shamed After a Man Pulled Her Underwear Down on the Street”

“In the CCTV footage, Noel is seen walking down the street [in Mexico] while an unidentified man creeps up behind her. The man lifts her skirt up, pulls down her underwear and runs away, while Noel is left sprawled in the streets.

“If anyone recognizes this imbecile, please identify him,” Noel wrote in her tweet, in Spanish. “Women should be able to walk safely. ‪#‎FelizDiaDeLaMujer‬ [translation: Happy Women’s Day].”

For the most part, Noel’s tweet garnered an outpouring of support, as well as nearly 4,000 retweets in the span of only a few days. Yet a small number of literal demons felt it was appropriate to blame Noel for the assault, attributing it to, among other things, her blonde hair and the way she was dressed.”

Esquire, “12 Things About Being A Woman That Women Won’t Tell You”

“#6: Fear. We’re scared. We don’t want to mention it, because it’s kind of a bummer, chat-wise, and we’d really like to talk about stuff that makes us happy, like look at our daughters — and we can’t help but think, “Which one of us? And when?” We walk down the street at night with our keys clutched between our fingers, as a weapon. We move in packs — because it’s safer. We talk to each other for hours on the phone — to share knowledge. But we don’t want to go on about it to you, because that would be morbid. We just feel anxious. We’re scared. Given the figures, we can’t sometimes help but feel we’re just… waiting for the bad thing to come. Because that would be a realistic thing to think, and we like to be prepared. Awfully, horribly, fearfully prepared.”

Khaama Press, “Afghan Women to Use Technology to Stop Street Harassment”

“As part of ongoing celebrations of Women’s History Month, USAID’s Promote Women in the Economy (WIE) program recognized three women who developed the best concepts for a mobile device application to help women confront street harassment in Afghanistan.

The applications, developed as part of USAID WIE’s first Code Challenge competition, will allow women to report harassment in real time as it occurs and identify problem areas, or to send a message to friends, family members, or other nearby users to ask for assistance.”

National Post, “In a Canadian first, survivors of sexual violence will get free legal advice in Ontario pilot program”

“Anyone who has experienced a sexual assault in Toronto, Ottawa and Thunder Bay — the host cities for the pilot — will be offered access to four hours of free legal advice.

“It’s not representation in court but to help these women to make an informed decision: what are their options, what are the services offered to them,” Ontario Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur said. “At the end they will make their decision: do I go forward, what do I do?”

While some advocates have called for sexual assault complainants to get equal standing in criminal trials to defendants, that’s a federal matter and one that would challenge centuries of common law. This move is meant to empower and inform these individuals of their legal rights and options without upending the justice system.”

U.S. News & World Report, “Is Egypt Doing Enough to Counter Widespread Sexual Harassment?“
“An Egyptian TV talk show host who slammed a sexual assault survivor, blaming her for provoking the attack by “dressing immodestly,” has been sentenced to one year in prison. Reham Saeed’s conviction is a milestone ruling in a country where sexual harassment and assault is so commonplace that it has been described by rights groups as “endemic” and where, for decades, survivors have been stigmatized and blamed for provoking the assaults. Rights activists believe the recent court decision is the result of social media pressure after thousands of activists launched a relentless online campaign using Arabic hashtags that translate to #dieReham and #prosecuteRehamSaeed.”

Guardian Series, “‘We have a growing problem of sexual harassment in Walthamstow’ – MP speaks out as activists organise march”

“Stella Creasy MP [in the UK] has spoken out about the fear women have of sexual harassment on the streets of Walthamstow as she invites people to a day of action to celebrate International Women’s Day.

The Walthamstow Labour MP will take part in a march to tackle street harassment and she has also organised a “feminist bootcamp” to develop the leadership skills of women on Saturday (March 5).”

The Irish Times, “Street harassment: Feeling intimidated familiar for women”

“As women speak up more and call out harassment and violence as simply unacceptable, men need to get involved too. Men need to call out unacceptable behaviour by their friends. They need to stand up for women. They need to know that being drunk isn’t an excuse to act like a thug. They need to realise that women live in a world where the violence perpetrated against them is very often gendered, a violence and harassment that emerges from a culture of misogyny and a desire – however subconscious – to keep women in their place and to exert a sort of power over them that reminds them of who rules.

The threat that hangs in the air at night when a woman is walking past a group of men is not made up, it is not fantasy or an unfounded fear. The sense of threat is real because the outcome of that sense is often very real too. It’s not ok, it’s never ok, and we all have a duty to stand up against it and end it.”

al-Monitor, “How a new website is helping Lebanese women avoid sexual harassment”

“Nour confided how she had experienced shame after being touched by a stranger in a service when she was 19. She remembered, “I told no one what happened that day, not even my parents. I was feeling so shameful. Later on, I understood that the shame was not mine to feel, but his. It was not my fault.” Allowing women to express what happened to them anonymously is one of the purposes of HarassTracker as well as applying words to the act of harassment.

“It is empowering to say that happened and that was sexual harassment,” Mir, the website’s designer, told Al-Monitor. “Even if there is a doubt, nuances, you can at least make other people understand. At least we can change things a bit to make people start talking. People don’t go to our website only to denounce a harassment, they visit too. So it’s always positive, even though it’s not going to make the situation evolve right away,” said Mir.”

Raw Story, “SXSW panel: Sexual harassment and bullying in gaming cannot be dismissed just because it’s online”

“Online harassment and sexism is demeaning women and can no longer be brushed aside as an ugly side of social media and the gaming industry if they are to thrive, panelists on Saturday said at the South By Southwest (SXSW) tech meeting in Austin.

The gaming summit at one of the premier events on the global tech calendar had faced threats of violence, prompting organizers in October to initially suspend two panels on the subject. After facing a flood of criticism from online media firms, SXSW organizers reversed course and set up a full day of discussions on the subject.

Bustle, “I Confronted My Street Harassers, And Reclaimed My Power In The Process”

“The fear of experiencing violence at the hands of a man is all too real for women, but the alternative is living my life in fear of what may happen. I don’t know how I’m going to die, but I do know how I don’t want to live.

Street harassment is not inevitable. I have seen the impact responding to someone can have. If, in my mission to reclaim my personhood, I’ve deterred one man from harassing another woman on the street, then I’ve been more successful than I could ever imagine. Our bodies belong to us. We are not public property, and no one has the right to make us feel otherwise.”

The Michigan Daily, “Melissa Scholke: We must share our stories”

“I write this acknowledging that street harassment, or cat-calling, is a societal problem with no easy, immediate solution. My encounters with this issue began around the age of 18 and will most likely continue for many more years to come. For others from different races, religions and communities, their experiences may differ vastly in severity and frequency. Regardless, these experiences need to be recounted and retold as frequently as they occur.

Over break, I read essays by Rebecca Solnit, and one section of her essay, “Pandora’s Box and the Volunteer Police Force,” stood out to me. She writes, “Saying that everything is fine or that it will never get any better are ways of going nowhere or of making it impossible to go anywhere.”

When my friend first suggested I write about street harassment, I thought it was redundant and wouldn’t make anything better. However, it’s the insistent act of continually writing and making voices heard that leads to significant change.”

The Piolog, “Students of color face foreign ideas of race abroad”

“Race and identity play out differently around the world forcing students of color to face the ways in which their identity is interpreted in other cultures.

For Karissa Tom ’16, the shouts of “China,” “Japan,” and “Korea,” became the form of harassment she had to navigate on a daily basis while studying abroad in Morocco in the Spring of 2015…

For women participating in study abroad programs,  sexual harassment can often be a scary reality. The scariness of this reality can be intensified for female students of color because of the intersections between the sexualization and racialization of their bodies…

I also studied abroad in Morocco, but my blackness invited different forms of racialization.  Street harassment for me was always racialized due to stereotypes about black women and sexualitiy. “Black pussy,” “I like the black girls,” and other comments with the same sentiment were yelled at me and only me.”

Refinery 29, “Superman Actor Says Women Have A Double Standard On Catcalling”

“Do women do that, too? Yes, absolutely, and it’s equally gross and unacceptable. Women shouldn’t catcall, either — but not because they aren’t as threatening: because it’s wrong to volunteer an assessment of a stranger’s physicality without having been expressly asked for it. That is an intimate move. It disregards a right to privacy, and it doesn’t matter where you fall on the gender spectrum: It’s not cool to approach someone you don’t know with comments about his or her looks. “

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Filed Under: News stories Tagged With: art, Costa Rica, Egypt, ireland, lebanon, mexico, Pakistan, south africa, sri lanka, thailand, UK, usa, victim blaming

#16Days of Activism: Marching (Day 7)

December 1, 2015 By HKearl

Nov. 25 – Dec. 10 are the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. To commemorate the week, we are featuring 1 activism idea per day. This information is excerpted from my new book Stop Global Street Harassment: Growing Activism Around the World (Praeger 2015).

Since the mid-1970s, Take Back the Night and Reclaim the Night marches have occurred annually in many cities worldwide to challenge rape. Starting in 2011, SlutWalk marches spread globally, too, with participants criticizing rape culture and victim blaming. In recent years, there have also been marches in countries like Afghanistan, Colombia, Nepal, Romania, South Africa, and the United States.

Afghanistan. Image via Gender Across Borders

On a hot day in 2011, 50 women and men carrying banners and signs with messages like, “We will not tolerate harassment,” “Islam forbids men from insulting women,” and “I have the right to walk freely in my city” marched together from Kabul University to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Organized by Young Women for Change, marchers handed out fliers to raise awareness about the problem of street harassment in their country. Most of the people they passed on the street stood shocked, staring, since openly supporting women’s rights can be dangerous. Despite the presence of a police escort, some men heckled the marchers and called them names. But others were supportive and took fliers or joined the march. Organizer Noorjahan Akbar, then a 20-year-old college student, told me in an interview at the time: “It was so thrilling to see that none of us are alone in this fight and we are willing to stand up for each other.”

In 2012, between 3,000 and 5,000 women and men joined together to march through Johannesburg, South Africa, outraged by the sexual assault of two women wearing short skirts at a taxi rank and by the daily street harassment most women face. They carried signs with messages like “I will wear my mini-skirt anywhere!” and “Humiliating women is a sin before God.” Lulu Xingwana, the minister of women and children and people with disabilities marched too, and told the local news station: “Through this march, we are reclaiming our streets from those who abuse and terrorize women and children.” She also warned she would close down taxi ranks if harassment and assault against women continued there.

In Bogota, Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero Colombia held a march against street harassment in the center of the city in 2014. More than 100 people participated, carrying signs with messages like “Nuestros Cuerpos No Hacen Parte Del Espacio Publico!” (Our bodies are not public space!). The group joined forces with a female percussion group called La tremendarevoltosabatucadafeminista and a performance group called Tulpadanza, which both brought extra energy to the march.

Also in 2014, with the help of volunteers from the feminist organization Filia, Simona-Maria Chirciu organized a 100-person march through Bucharest, Romania. Women and men of all ages held signs that read, “Harassment is violence,” “We don’t need your validation,” and “It is NEVER ok to harass people! So stop doing it.” Numerous women’s rights groups participated. Chirciu wrote for the SSH blog: “People on the streets interacted with us, greeted us, and asked questions about our march: ‘Hey, do you think a march will solve the problem? Boys need to be educated or legally punished for doing this.’ Yes! Maybe a march doesn’t solve the street harassment issue, but it can raise awareness and is empowering for the march participants.”

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Filed Under: 16 days Tagged With: Afghanistan, colombia, marches, Romania, south africa

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