Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Metro doesn’t think sexual harassment in a problem in DC

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Last night WUSA Channel 9 produced a news story about sexual harassment on the Washington, DC transit system. In it you can see what Metro’s stance is….that it isn’t a problem and that “one person’s harassment is another person’s flirting.” The text below the video is not a transcript, so you can gain more info by reading it after watching the video.

From around 1 – 3 p.m. EST today you can watch the DC City Council’s Performance Oversight Hearing of the Metro system (select Room 500). I’m joining several people, being led by Collective Action for Safe Spaces, in testifying about the problem of sexual harassment on the metro system because we DO think it’s a problem. We will give our recommendations for change: more data collection, a PSA campaign on how to report harassment, and more sensitivity training for metro employees.

More later on how it went and what was said. Wish us luck!

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DC Metro does not track sexual harassment complaints

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Tomorrow a group of Washington, DC-area residents and activists will share their experiences of sexual harassment on the DC metros and buses during the DC City Council’s performance hearing of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Chai Shenoy, co-founder of Collective Action for Safe Spaces/Holla Back DC! will open the testimonies and I’ll conclude them.

If you’re a DC resident who has been harassed or seen harassment occur on WMATA, you can still sign up to testify tomorrow (it will take place approximately 1-3 p.m. at the John A. Wilson Building) or write up to a 2 page testimony to submit for the record. RSVP ASAP to shannon AT collectiveactiondc DOT org

Apparently WMATA does not even track sexual harassment on their system and there is no dedicated hotline for reporting it. Unsurprisingly then, they have no PSA campaign as do many other major commuting cities. Consequently, we have three main recommendations when we testify tomorrow, including requesting a dedicated line for reporting sexual harassment and a PSA campaign telling people not to harass and what to do if they are harassed.

On Sunday, the Washington Post covered our intended action – and the story was reprinted today in the commute paper The Express. I want to respond to the following excerpt from the article (and please read the response of Collective Action for Safe Spaces and the response of a writer for the Washington City Paper.):

“Metro Transit Police Deputy Chief Ron Pavlik said his department takes reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault incidents seriously. He says the transit police have have not seen an increase in reports of indecent exposure, rape or other types of sexual assaults.

According to Metro, 84 cases involving sexual offenses were reported to Transit Police last year. They included one rape and 40 cases of indecent exposure or other sexual acts. Of the 40, 12 involved arrests.

Officials said Metro does not track sexual harassment complaints. But Pavlik said passengers who think that they have been sexually harassed should report the incident to Transit Police. Officers receive sensitivity training in handling such complaints, he said.

He cautioned, however, that a variety of behaviors could be considered harassment.

“Someone telling another person: ‘You look good. Can I have your phone number?’ — you may not like it, but I can’t arrest the person,” Pavlik said.

Reports including sexual assault and indecent exposure are investigated, he said.”

My response:

1. Wow, only sexual assaults and indecent exposure is being tracked? That’s not good enough. Most harassment is what they’re not tracking: sexual comments, sexual noises, leers, and whistles. No wonder Metro doesn’t think this is a problem — they don’t allow the full range of experiences to be reported/tracked.

2. Most gropes/grabs, a form of sexual assault, is not reported as a sexual assault because many people don’t realize that’s what it is. 84 reports of sexual offenses is likely quite low compared to the reality, then, especially when rape itself is so under-reported.

3. Without sexual harassment being tracked/reported, I guess Deputy Chief Pavlik had to use his own imagination to explain what women face: being told they look good, followed up by a polite request for their phone number. Or at least I hope that’s why he gave the example he did and not because he purposely wanted to downplay or dismiss the seriousness of sexual harassment. Regardless of his reasons, this is the outcome:

a) He simplified and distorted what actually happens in cases of harassment. Instead of someone saying,”You look good. Can I have your phone number?” (which, yes, is legal) street harassers tend to include sexually explicit language that’s inappropriate to use with a stranger and/or they often will not leave the woman alone after getting a “no” or a blank stare. Instead, the person will leer, follow, grab or continue with verbal comments until the woman feels harassed.

b) He ignored the context. A woman who has been grabbed, followed, attacked, mastrubated at or on and verbally harassed before (and most women have) may be pretty suspicious of any guy who approaches her and says a line like that, whether he intends to harass her or not.

c) He bristled up at the thought of “hitting on someone” being considered harassment and he supported the sexist idea that it’s fine (or at least legal) in all contexts to approach a woman and evaluate her looks and ask for her phone number. I bet 95% of women who ride the bus or the metro are just trying to get from Point A to Point B, not trying to get asked out on a date or have a stranger comment on their appearance. And if they do want to get asked out, they may want to be asked a few things about themselves first or have some light chitchat. Real life is not a movie or a gum commercial.

Again, if you’re a DC resident who has been harassed or seen harassment occur on WMATA, you can still sign up to testify tomorrow (it will take place approximately 1-3 p.m. at the John A. Wilson Building) or write up to a 2 page testimony to submit for the record. Let’s show them that sexual harassment is a real, widespread problem and that it constitutes more than just “Can I have your number” comments and thus, deserves real attention from WMATA and the city council. RSVP ASAP to shannon AT collectiveactiondc DOT org

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Marching in South Africa, Art Exhibit in Afghanistan

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March protesters, via Africa Review

Here are exciting updates about activism that took place today in South Africa and Afghanistan.

South Africa: Six weeks ago, two teenagers wearing miniskirts were harassed and groped by a group of 50-60 men at a taxi rank. This was reminiscent of a sexual assault on a woman wearing a miniskirt in the same area in 2008. That attack led to a huge march. Well, the most recent bout of harassment has too.

Via BBC News:

“Hundreds of South Africans have marched in Johannesburg [today]…The organisers said they wanted to end “patriarchal views still entrenched in parts of South Africa’s society”.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest incidences of rape.

Some men, particularly from traditional and rural backgrounds, believe women should not wear revealing clothing, says the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.

Minister Lulu Xingwana is going all out fighting for women's rights. PHOTO: TEBOGO LETSIE

The ruling African National Congress Women’s League said it had called the march to emphasise that women had the right wear whatever they wanted without fear of victimisation.

Several cabinet ministers and the governor of Gauteng province were amongst those taking part.

During the march, Women’s Minister Lulu Xingwana warned that she would close down the taxi rank if such harassment continued.”

It’s encouraging to see so many government officials involved, condemning the harassment. Via Mail and Guardian:

“”The scourge of women abuse threatens to erode many of the hard-earned gains of the liberation struggle. It denies women their birth rights. It condemns them to a life of fear and prevents them from being productive members of society,” said Minister of Women Lulu Xingwana.

Afghanistan: Young Women for Change (YWC) is hosting an art exhibit and poster sale today and tomorrow (2-5 p.m. each day) to raise money to create a safe, harassment-free Internet cafe for women (donate online). Many of the pieces of art and posters address the issue of street harassment in Afghanistan.

They’re also airing a new documentary on street harassment called, “This is My City too,” produced by Anita Haidary, YWC Co-founder and a film student at Mt. Holyoke College in the USA.

Via YWC - members of the group select the posters to display in the exhibition
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College men share tips for stopping street harassers

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I love the work that Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR) does to challenge harmful definitions of masculinity and to empower men to be allies with women in ending gender violence. Their latest project is a new campus bystander campaign called Where Do You Stand? aimed at men.

This comprehensive campaign uses billboards, posters, T-shirts, bystander intervention trainings, and peer-education sessions to equip young men with the necessary skills and tools to intervene when they see a situation that doesn’t look right, including street harassment.

On January 31, they officially launched the campaign during an MCSR bystander training for about 30 young men at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. I attended and spoke at the beginning for a few minutes.

The main portion of the workshop was role playing and brainstorming responses to scenarios.

They also talked about barriers that prevent bystanders from intervening and brainstormed a list of methods for intervening, such as providing a distraction or addressing the harasser head on (see a photo of the list they created).

The first few scenarios they discussed focused on intervening in questionable situations at college parties. The last example on street harassment kept me furiously scribbling notes.

One of the facilitators described a group of men standing on a corner near a building, street harassing women going by. He asked the young men how many of them had seen that happen before and more than half of them raised their hand. Then he asked the for their ideas for dealing with this scenario. Here are some of them:

1. Say, “Yo, chill son,” to slightly call them out on the behavior.

2. Directly point out what they’re doing and say, “This is unacceptable.”

3. Use public ridicule to call them out or silence them…though a few young men pointed out that is okay if you know the harassers, but if you don’t and you call them out like that, you may “get whooped.”

4. If it’s your group of friends, tell them, “That’s not cool,” and if they keep it up, say you’re out and walk away. Chances are they’ll back down then. Another guy similarly suggested saying, “If this is how you’re going to spend your night, I’m leaving. This is not okay.”

5. Reverse catcalling the men can be effective. They don’t know how to respond or what to do.

6. If it’s a friend doing it, tell him that it’s not the right approach to take but to be the respectful gentlemen he is if he wants to meet someone.

Some other interesting things the young men said:

* Guys who catcall wouldn’t be my friends because that’s the rudest thing they can do and I’m not okay with that.

* Men catcall because there are other men around. It’s a way to demonstrate their masculinity while riding with your crew or walking down the street. So figure out why your friends feel they have to prove their masculinity to you and address that.

* If you establish yourself as a person who doesn’t laugh at catcalls, then it won’t happen around you because they won’t use that as a way to try to impress you.

* Intervening is hard, but once you do it, it will pay off. People will know you’re the guy who doesn’t like that behavior and others will call them out on it if they do it around you. Maybe they will still catcall when you aren’t around, but it’s a start. The benefits of intervening far outweigh the consequences.

I left the workshop pumped. I know there are plenty of men out there who want to help stop gender violence and harassment, but I’d never been in a room full of them before. It gives me hope! I hope you will share their bystander tips (and others from the Stop Street Harassment website) with friends and family. And if you’re on a college campus, consider bringing the Where Do You Stand? campaign to your school!

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Groping: The Sex Crime No One Talks About

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If you pick up the March 2012 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, which just hit newsstands today, and turn to page 180, you can find a four-page article about the problem of men groping women in public places. (And I know some men have been groped too, but the article focused on men groping women.)

I’m glad to see Cosmo take on this under-reported and under-acknowledged, but widespread problem. When I conducted a survey of 816 women for my book Stop Street Harassment, over half of the women, including me, had been groped by a stranger on the street at least once. Cosmo said that 77 percent of respondents in a survey they did reported being the target of this behavior.

I did an interview for the article author, Stephanie Booth, and shared my advice for how to respond if that happens to you. Given the article length and how long my responses were, only some of my advice made the cut. I’m including my longer responses below in case they’re useful to readers. Feel free to share your own advice in the comments.

1. Stephanie Booth (SB): What is the best way for a woman to respond to a groping incident?

Holly Kearl (HK): Every situation is different so there is no one perfect response that will work in all scenarios. A primary piece of advice is to assess the situation quickly and decide how safe you are before choosing a response. If you feel safe (e.g. there are people around, it’s daylight, you’re in a familiar area, and you’re with friends or family), telling the harasser to stop or to back off, shouting out to bystanders about what just happened, demanding some kind of apology or accountability from the harasser are all good options. If you are quick on your feet, using humor can also be effective. This is one of my favorite stories, included in my book, about how a woman handled her harasser after the slapped her backside:

Living in France, I often felt harassed and didn’t know how to deal with the harasser/language and culture barrier. One night while walking home, a group of young men who often whistled at me or called at me began their usual routine. I usually ignored them, but this time the ringleader slapped my butt as I walked by. I turned around and in French said to him, “Congratulations. Is that the first time you’ve touched a woman?” I turned around and walked away while his friends laughed at him. I felt that I had really turned their game against them, and they never bothered me again.

If you feel unsafe, leave the situation as quickly as possible and get someplace where you do feel safe.

Regardless of how you respond in the moment, if someone has groped, grabbed, or slapped you, that is assault and it can be reported to the police, and/to transportation authorities, and/or to business owners/managers (depending on where the harassment happened and what outcome you hope to see). A lot of harassers are repeat harassers so reporting them to ensure they face some kind of penalty for their behavior can hopefully help deter them from harassing someone else.

2. SB: Of course, police should take such a complaint seriously, but is it there a chance it will get blown off? Are there certain “buzz words” a woman should use when she calls police to get them to pay attention?

HK: Yes, based on feedback from women who have reported harassers, there is a chance that police will not take the report seriously. But many police officers do, so it’s worth trying (if people have the time/energy to do so).

I haven’t heard of any buzz words women should use, but looking up their city’s laws and then citing the specific law that was violated may help. For example, in Washington, DC, “misdemeanor sexual abuse” is defined as engaging “in a sexual act or sexual contact with another person . . .  without that other person’s permission,” where “sexual contact” is “the touching with any clothed or unclothed body part or any object, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person.”

So a person who is groped in Washington, DC, can call the police to report a case of “misdemeanor sexual abuse.” There’s no guarantee that describing it in those terms will make the police pay more attention than if the person called it “groping,” but it’s worth a try.

3. SB: Is it ever smart to verbally confront a man who is groping you? (Like a woman recently did in the NY subway?) What do you say?

HK: Yes, if you feel safe, it can be very impactful to verbally confront a groper or any type of harasser. People grope and harass because they think they can get away with it and if you’re silent after being groped or harassed (which is sometimes necessary for safety reasons) that often lets them continue to get away with it. Calling them out lets them know you won’t stand by and let them abuse you and calling them out can inspire others around you to help stop the harasser or groper and to stand up to their own harassers or gropers.

If gropers/harassers can no longer grope and harass and then carry on their merry way because suddenly they are being confronted by their target, they will hopefully be less inclined to harass or grope again.

Additionally, as the former Executive Director of the Washington, D.C. Rape Crisis Center, Martha Langelan, teaches in her sexual harassment seminars, there are a few men out there who use street harassment, including groping, as a rape test. They may attempt rape depending on how a woman responds to street harassment. If she is assertive and forceful, they will leave her alone, but if she cowers, freezes, or humors them, they may escalate the harassment to rape.

4.  SB: Should you ever snap his photo with your cell phone and post to a hollaback website?

HK: Yes, you can snap a photo, but if you do, it’s usually more productive to submit it with a police report than to post it on a website. Since harassers are strangers, snapping a photo can help police identify the harasser. Very few police check the Hollaback sites (although last year Holla Back DC! did have a case where a photo of an upskirter posted on their site led to his arrest because a police officer visited their site and saw the photo). Since probably no harassers go on the site either, it’s not a very effective way to deter them from harassing again. A better deterrent may be to print his photo on a flier and post it all around the place where the harassment occurred. He may often pass by that area and see it or someone he knows may walk by and see it.

But sharing one’s story on the Hollaback sites or my site Stop Street Harassment with or without a photo is important because it helps document the problem and it often makes women feel empowered to share what happened with a supportive audience.

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