Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“Well, that’s why you’re by yourself”

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Today, I was walking down Commercial Drive, heading home after having dinner with a friend. A group of men were hanging out outside of a sports bar. One of them ordered me to smile. Now, anyone who knows me well knows that ordering me to smile is a surefire way to annoy me. So I turned and looked at the man.

“Why?” I asked.

“Why not?” He replied.

“It’s my business what I choose to do with my face,” I said, in a calm but firm voice. Then I turned and kept walking.

“Well, that’s why you’re by yourself,” he yelled after me. I gave him the finger without turning around. I am amazed that some men feel so free to comment on a woman’s facial expression and apparent relationship status.

– Margaret

Location: Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

 

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objecDEFY harassment in Jordan & beyond

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There is a lot of anti-street harassment activism occurring in the Middle East region, from anti-harassment cartoon character Salwa in Lebanon to pending anti-harassment legislation in Egypt. Today I learned about objecDEFY, a grassroots anti-harassment group based in Jordan. From their website:

“objecDEFY Harassment is a tool that empowers women to object to and defy harassment. This Jordan-based proactive grass roots initiative, designed to trigger and perpetuate behavioural change, is made up of a series of public service announcements (PSA), a documentary film, and a series of regional workshops.

objecDEFY Harassment is an expression by and on behalf of women who are being harassed. By expressing their cultural concerns, objecDEFY Harassment itself becomes a cultural tool that unifies, empowers, and implements while continuously reinforcing a regional and global message: the power to curb harassment lives in the power of women.”

You can read two recent powerful articles about their work. Here is an excerpt from one of them:

“We were always taught to ignore street harassment:

‘If you tell him off, he will feel self-gratified since you acknowledged his existence. He doesn’t care if your reaction to his catcalls are positive or negative, as long as you make him feel he exists. Just ignore him. Stare straight ahead. Walk it off.’

I listened to my elders and followed the technique above until one day many years back I just couldn’t shut up anymore.

That day, in my coldest, calmest voice, I stopped dead in my tracks across from a group of sneering construction men and told them to have some self respect or I will call the cops.

They were shocked.

From the looks on their faces that day, I realized that they were used to their lewd remarks being unacknowledged. Ignored. Mtanasheen. If no one tells you its wrong, how would you know?

Immediately, they turned their backs and furiously went back to work, embarrassed.

I have never kept my mouth shut after that incident. And it works every time.”

Right on!

And check out their PSAs. Here is one of them (in English):

I am very heartened to learn about their work!

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Street Harassment Snapshot: December 5, 2010

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Read women’s stories, news articles, blog posts, and tweets about street harassment from the past week and find relevant announcements and upcoming street harassment events.

Story Submissions Recap:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

Image via TIME

In the News, On the Blogs:

Upcoming Events:

  • Dec. 11, 2010: Webinar about writing street harassment op-eds with journalist Elizabeth Mendez Berry, HollaBack ED Emily May, and me, noon – 1:30 p.m. EST. Contact Kira for info (kira DOT zmuda AT gmail.com)
  • Dec. 14, 2010: Stop Street Harassment book giveaway and chat about street harassment during AAUW’s Cocktails and Convos at Nage, Washington, DC, 5 – 7 p.m. EST

Announcements:

Ten Tweets from the Week:

  • rightingteacher Vigorous defense of street harassment from one boy, much concerned about his right to leer and whistle, less so girls’ right to feel safe.
  • CatCall Tried to forget the grossest #catcall ever last night: no words just 2 men grunting & moaning in the most explicit way as I walked by. Eww!
  • SurvJustice @StopStHarassmnt I love your cause, street harassment needs to stop and not be excused or ignored
  • driftmako @bridraffen it isn’t intended to “work,” like most street harassment it is about the man performing/exerting power over you
  • meredithmo A bit of good, old-fashioned street harassment, English-style, circa 1959: http://ow.ly/3jIzA
  • iHollaback Hollaback (verb): To respond in a badass way to street harassment, to tell your story (via @nytimes http://nyti.ms/eB6QlR )
  • snakkula Does it ever really work for dudes when they whistle and catcall at girls when driving by? This should be evolutionarily removed by now
  • Bleeohmy Oh my walking down the street and a police officer tells me ‘is my duty to please that booty’ I’m pretty sure that’s harassment.
  • SpookSquad Not just in Tulsa either! RT @hkearl @MRambrose I forgot that street harassment turns into cruising car harassment in Tulsa, OK
  • BillyWerner ladies: please wear a miniature camera & take photos of dudes that catcall u. i am assembling a group of people to beat them to death
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“You are delicious”

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I always, I mean always witnessed men saying, “You are delicious”, “I want to lick you pussy”, with me and my sister, and every female. A few times I was touched, so was my sister.

– KS

Location: City: Goiania, State: Goias, Country: Brazil

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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Unsafe in downtown Cleveland

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The other night, I went out for drinks with a couple of friends in downtown Cleveland. As we were walking back to our car, a man starts shouting out a car window that he likes one of our asses. He goes on and on and then finally yells as the they turn the corner, “I will not eat your pussy if you do not suck my cock.” I was worried they were going to drive the same way we were walking, but thankfully they turned the other way. I was worried they were going to stop.

– Anonymous

Location: Cleveland, OH

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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