• About Us
    • What Is Street Harassment?
    • Why Stopping Street Harassment Matters
    • Meet the Team
      • Board of Directors
      • Past Board Members
    • In The Media
  • Our Work
    • National Street Harassment Hotline
    • International Anti-Street Harassment Week
    • Blog Correspondents
      • Past SSH Correspondents
    • Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Program
    • Publications
    • National Studies
    • Campaigns against Companies
    • Washington, D.C. Activism
  • Our Books
  • Donate
  • Store

Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Blog
    • Harassment Stories
    • Blog Correspondents
    • Street Respect Stories
  • Help & Advice
    • National Street Harassment Hotline
    • Dealing With Harassers
      • Assertive Responses
      • Reporting Harassers
      • Bystander Responses
      • Creative Responses
    • What to Do Before or After Harassment
    • Street Harassment and the Law
  • Resources
    • Definitions
    • Statistics
    • Articles & Books
    • Anti-Harassment Groups & Campaigns
    • Male Allies
      • Educating Boys & Men
      • How to Talk to Women
      • Bystander Tips
    • Video Clips
    • Images & Flyers
  • Take Community Action
  • Contact

Tackling Street Harassment in Bristol

April 5, 2017 By Contributor

Cross-posted from Zero Tolerance Bristol for International Anti-Street Harassment Week. By China Fish in Bristol, UK.

Report on Conference: ‘Safer for women’ – Tackling Misogyny and Street Harassment in Nottingham, September 2016.

Background to the conference

My name is China Fish and like many women, I have experienced frequent and unwanted sexual harassment as I walk our city streets. In 2010 I created a satirical performance about this very subject called ‘Lucky Saddle’, two words shouted at me by a man as I cycled in Bedminster when I was around 21 years old. It is an issue close to my heart, as, like most humans, I desire to be able to move freely and safely through the world I inhabit.

The response to the show was powerful; many women were relieved to find allies in their vocal sisters, and a lot of men were astonished to learn that this is something that happens to women. It is for many men, an invisible occurrence, as men who harass tend to refrain from such activity when other men are present. Such invisibility does little to protect women from these daily threats, as the severity of what is happening goes under the radar with almost no avenues for reporting or state protection. Currently, men who harass women are free to do so without any repercussions.

So where do we turn?

In January 2016, I met with Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens to discuss the potential of criminalising street harassment. After this meeting, Charlotte Gage of Bristol Zero Tolerance and I met regularly to discuss potential ways of tackling street harassment from more of a legal standing. In March 2016, Charlotte heard that Nottingham Women’s Centre had created a new hate crime category with the Nottinghamshire police recognising ‘misogyny’ as a hate crime.

The definition of a hate crime is: “a crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically one involving violence”.

Currently, there exist the following categories for recognised hate crimes in Bristol:

  • Disability
  • Race, skin colour, ethnic origin, nationality
  • Religion or belief
  • Sexual orientation
  • Gender identity.

The definition of ‘gender identity’ as a hate crime on the Avon and Somerset Police website seems to use the terms ‘transgender’ and ‘gender’ interchangeably. Grouping these two categories causes some confusion and does not serve to clearly identify the need for a category for women to report street harassment as a gender-based hate crime. According to Nottingham Women’s Centre, transgender hate crime is recognised in law and gender-based hate isn’t. For these reasons, Nottingham decided to create a new category for ‘misogyny’ to clearly recognise and define the way that women’s experiences differ to men’s. As an, ‘other’ category already existed in the list of hate crimes which enables men to report instances of misandry, it was possible for them to create ‘misogyny’ as a new category.

Nottinghamshire Police defines misogyny hate crime as: “incidents against women that are motivated by an attitude of a man towards a woman and includes behaviour targetted towards a woman by men simply because they are a woman.” (Conference brochure)

To test the impact of this initiative, a pilot programme was launched in April 2016. The Nottinghamshire Police received thorough training – funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) – from hollaback, a grassroots organisation that combats street harassment, in partnership with Nottingham Women’s Centre.  Nottinghamshire Police hope that through recording incidents in this way they will be able to:

  • “Raise awareness of the seriousness of these incidents and encourage women to report”
  • Gather better intelligence to disrupt activities/perpetrators
  • Better manage risk and support women affected.

Since the pilot, women who live in Nottingham have said they feel safer walking the streets and have increased confidence in the police force. They now know they will be taken seriously and that steps are in place to prevent and protect them from such violence. Nottingham Women’s Centre have said that there have been 70 reports made under the new ‘misogyny’ category between April 2016 and January 2017. The long-term aim of Nottinghamshire Police is to “nudge people towards a culture shift and to reframe these behaviours as socially unacceptable.”

Highlights and outcomes of the conference

The ‘Safer for women’ – Tackling misogyny and street harassment conference was organised by Nottingham Women’s Centre and Nottinghamshire Police. The event was chaired by Chief Constable Sue Fish who has been pioneering this work alongside Melanie Jeffs from Nottingham Women’s Centre, both warm and admirable women with great humour, wit and impact. Police, academics, women’s groups and grassroots organisations attended to learn about the work, its benefits, and how it may be implemented in other areas throughout the UK.

Amongst the panel were key names in this field, including Laura Bates from The Everyday Sexism Project; Sam Smethers from the Fawcett Society; Zahra Butt, community activist; Dr Irene Zempi, Director of the Nottingham Centre for Bias, Prejudice and Hate Crime; and Mark Simmonds from Nottingham Trent University.

It was a powerful event with evidence and testimonies from a cross section of women living in Nottingham. Amongst these was an account from a Year 8 student who has encountered regular street harassment from older men, including being followed by men in cars on several occasions. To hear such experiences from women themselves was a compelling reminder of the reason this work is being done, and was instrumental in helping other constabularies throughout the UK to see the urgent need for action.

Amongst the inspirational sessions I attended was a Q&A for voluntary sector staff and activists. Here I forged more connections with Nottingham Women’s Centre and gained a deeper understanding of how we might implement this in Bristol.

Since the event, a small group of us have been meeting to navigate potential ways of implementing something similar here. We will be collating a body of evidence, both written and spoken testimonies, from the women of Bristol to present to Avon and Somerset Police. (Please find information below of how to get involved). We are in communication with our PCC, Sue Mountstevens, and will continue, with support from Nottingham, to pursue this change locally.

Three police forces in the UK have agreed to begin recording misogyny as a hate crime and a number of other forces are looking into it. We are hoping that Bristol will work with us to forge the way to achieving a safer community and have a significant impact on the lives of women and girls in Bristol.  Nottinghamshire Police are also trying to roll this initiative out nationally, a steady process that perhaps one day will manifest.

Sam Smethers from the Fawcett Society said at the conference; “if we can tackle the small things, maybe it will tackle the more severe”.  We must begin to recognise the links between a wolf whistle, a shouted verbal assault, a grope, a threat of rape, physical attacks, rape and murder. Smethers added, “every time a woman is wolf whistled at, it is a reminder of her position in society.”

Let us shift this now!

Take action in Bristol!

Tell us your stories:

You can support the local campaign by helping us to gather evidence of street harassment around Bristol. Tell us about your experiences or those of others to develop a picture of the problem.

See www.facebook.com/BristolStreetHarassmentProject for more information.

Map the issue:

Take part in our community safety audit of Bristol to record any incidents and create a picture of street harassment across the city. Alternatively use our online survey to add information https://goo.gl/forms/bj05R5IGdoizYbmw2

Take part in Anti-Street Harassment Week 2nd-8th April 2017:

Take part in our Call Out Card day of action on Thursday 6th April – distribute and use the cards to start a conversation and let us know what happened.

To order the cards e-mail maisy@bristolwomensvoice.org.uk

Share

Filed Under: anti-street harassment week, Resources, street harassment Tagged With: Bristol, Nottingham, police, Somerset, UK, united kingdom, Zero Tolerance, Zero Tolerance Bristol

Today’s Events – April 13

April 13, 2015 By BPurdy

Here are the main events happening for day two of International Anti-Street Harassment Week!

Virtual Events:

April 13 | 2 p.m. EDT: @StopStHarassmnt, @NoStHarassWeek and @Noacosocalles will chat about practical solutions to street harassment.

April 13, 6-7pm – Me=You Street Harassment Awareness will be hosting a Google Hangout with Erin McKelle from Stop Street Harassment (SSH), who will be speaking about this cause and answering questions on sexual harassment. INFO. 

Stop Harcelement de Rue (Paris) will be hosting a Twitter chat about sexism and harassment on public transportation (@stophdr #terminusrelou) [3 pm]

 

International Events:

Colombia: Hosted by OCAC Colombia:

5PM to 8PM: TALK “COMPLIMENT OR HARASSMENT, LET’S TALK ABOUT STREET HARASSMENT.” Street harassment is an issue that must be discussed, so we will be waiting for you at the Camilo Torres Auditorium of the Sociology’s building at the National University.

CHARLA “GALANTERÍA O ACOSO, HABLEMOS DE ACOSO CALLEJERO.” El acoso callejero es un tema del que hay que hablar, así que les esperamos en el Auditorio Camilo Torres del edificio de Sociología de la Universidad Nacional.

United Kingdom: London transit will be releasing their marketing video for the anti-harassment campaign Project Guardian called Report It to Stop It.

France: Stop Harcelement de Rue (LILLE) New poster campaign launch [8 pm.]

 

USA Events:

Georgia: Hollaback! Atlanta will be hosting  Let Me HOLLA at You – A Panel Discussion. Presented by Holla!ATL’s Tayler Mathews and Clark Atlanta University’s Women’s Initiative Program [6pm – 7:30pm at Clark Atlanta University, McPheeters Dennis, RM 201, 223 James P Brawley Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30314

Illinois: Volunteers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne campus are hosting #GamerGate Hot Topics Dialogues, a discussion about online harassment [7pm, Women’s Resources Center]

Nebraska: The sociology, queer alliance and radical notion clubs at Hastings College are hosting a “Cats against Catcalling” sticker giveaway [April 13]

Utah: Fearless Self Defense is hosting “Take Back The Streets With Chalk!” [3-7pm at Liberty Park, Salt Lake City]

Washington D.C.: American University’s Take Back The Night event will in part address street harassment  [7-10pm]

Washington D.C.: GW Feminist Student Union has been creating a photo campaign in which GW students holding a sign with an example of street harassment that has happened to them. On April 13, they will be debuting the photos, adding new ones, and handing out empowering compliments to those who want them! [Kogan Plaza at George Washington University]

Share

Filed Under: anti-street harassment week Tagged With: #GamerGate, American University, atlanta, Cats Against Catcalling, Clark Atlanta University, colombia, Erin McKelle, Fearless Self Defense, france, George Washington University, georgia, GW Feminist Student Union, Hastings College, Holla! ATL, illinois, London, Me=You: Sexual Harassment Awareness, Nebraska, nosacosocalles, OCAC, paris, Project Guardian, Report It to Stop it, salt lake city, Stop Harcelement de Rue, take back the night, united kingdom, University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, utah, Washington DC

Today’s Events – April 12

April 12, 2015 By BPurdy

It’s the first day of Meet Us On the Street: International Anti-Street Harassment Week, and we already have so much going on!

Virtual Events:

  • April 12 | 4 p.m. Indian Standard Time: @PintheCreep will focus their Tweet chat on encouraging people to report harassers.
  • Tonight: 7pm EDT  End Street Harassment: A Multicultural Perspective: Google Hangout

Please join Young Feminists and Allies, the National Organization for Women’s First Virtual Chapter, and Stop Street Harassment for a Google Hangout about Street Harassment from a multicultural perspective.

Holly Kearl, founder of International Anti-Street-Harassment Week, will moderate three brave women with diverse backgrounds as they discuss the similarities and differences in the ways they experience street harassment.

* Kasumi Hirokawa: TCK and trilingual feminist from Shanghai who currently lives in Japan

* MorningStar Angeline: Native American and Latina actress who lived in both the Southwest and West Coast of America

* Muneera Hassan: Bangladeshi-American, Muslim, college student from Boston currently living in Northern VA who wears hijab

There will be a Q&A section, so please send us your questions in advance or during the event at youngfeminists at gmail dot com or Tweet at at @nowyoungfems and please use the #EndSH hashtag.

International Events:

Cameroon: Young Women for a Change, Cameroon is holding a dialogue in Beau with youth and adolescents to address the different forms of Street harassment facing women and girls and how to intervene. [April 12]

Canada (Vancouver): Hollaback! Vancouver will be debuting their interactive campaign and art show “What’s Your Number?” It will enable people to record the frequency and emotions involved with street harassment for 24 hours. Clickers (or counters) will be distributed to initial participants along with a blank notebook. For 24 hours, they will click twice for direct street harassment, and once for an indirect impact. At the end of the 24 hours, the clickee is encouraged to creatively express the experience in the notebook provided through mediums like poetry, illustration or essaying before they’re passed on to the next one. At the end of the week, the notebooks will be collected by the Hollaback Vancouver team for compilation. In order to showcase the process behind What’s Your Number?, the art show will be a free event extended to the community at-large. Part education, part creative and part party, this night will get everyone together in a comfortable space to talk about the effects of street harassment and – most importantly – what can be done. [Campaign kicks of all over the city on April 12th, with the Artshow / wrap up party taking place April 30th 436 Columbia St Vancouver BC 7-11 pm]

Colombia: OCAC Colombia  is hosting SUNDAY, APRIL 12 – 9:00 a.m.: STOP THE STREET HARASSMENT: We will be in the Sunday’s Bikeway and we will will cross cycling the 7th Avenue from Plaza Bolivar to the National Park | DOMINGO 12 DE ABRIL – 9 AM. ALTO AL ACOSO. Estaremos en la Ciclovía y haremos un recorrido por la carrera séptima desde la Plaza de Bolívar hasta el Parque Nacional

Nepal: Hollaback! Kathmandu will be hosting a Stand Up Against Street Harassment event, displaying charts and boards that say street harassment is not okay. They will also be interacting with the local people about what the campaign is and what they can do to respond to street harassment and stop it. [April 12, 3-5pm at Basantapur]

USA Events:

Iowa: Hollaback! Des Moines is hosting their 3rd Annual Chalk Walk to End Street Harassment. [April 12, 1 pm at the Pappajohn Education Center]. Can’t be there in person? Sometime during the week of April 12-18, go back to a street where you experienced harassment. Reclaim that space by writing an empowering message; then take a picture and send it to them at dsm@ihollaback.org! They will post all the photos to their blog after the event.

Pennsylvania: FAAN Mail will be kicking off EndSHWeek with their 5th annual rally and community engagement event. [April 12, 2-5pm at Love Park, Philadelphia]

Virginia: Hollaback! RVA is hosting a Bystander Workshop discussing and presenting on how bystander intervention and street harassment intersect. They will provide “swag bags” and snacks to participants! [Richmond, April 12, time and place TBA]

Plus, some of our groups got an early start on things and hosted these fabulous events on Saturday, April 11th:

Bahamas: Hollaback! Bahamas hosted a meditation and stress relief workshop with the World Peace Initiative.

United Kingdom: Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre hosted street action focused on victim-blaming and rape culture (#ThisDoesn’tMeanYes) at Braithwait Tunnel, Braithwaite Street, London.

South Korea: Rok Gi Yeon Promotions hosted “Ladies Night Vol. 2,” a benefit concert to support the charity Disruptive Voices, in Seoul. Find the Facebook event here.

Pakistan: No to Harassment hosted a fabulous panel and discussion about how a woman is #notanobject.

New York: Hollaback! hosted the annual NYC Anti-Street Harassment Rally! The event featured local activists and speakers and include da series of workshops for folks to learn more and take action against street harassment. It also featured Hollaback!’s famous 12 foot inflatable #catagainstcatcalling cat.

Pennsylvania: University of Scranton is hosted a SHARE (Street Harassment Awareness Response and Education) Fair.

Share

Filed Under: anti-street harassment week Tagged With: #Endshnyc, #EndSHWeek, #thisdoesn'tmeanyes, Bahamas, cameroon, Chalk Walk, colombia, Des Moines, Disruptive Voices, FAAN Mail, hollaback, Iowa, Kathmandu, Nepal, New York City, No to Harassment, NOW Young Feminists and Allies, OCAC, Pakistan, pennsylvania, Rok Gi Yeon Promotions, RVA, Sayfty, South Korea, united kingdom, University of Scranton, Vancouver, virginia

Will Street Harassment be Outlawed in the UK?

March 8, 2012 By HKearl

Executive Director of UN Women Michelle Bachelet at the Convention opening signing in 2011. Image via UN

Today the United Kingdom becomes the 19th country and Turkey the 20th country to sign the “Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence,” which was written in April 2011. (See which countries have already signed it.)

The Convention states that gender-based violence is a “violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and shall mean all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

Countries that sign the Convention agree to pass legislation or criminalize or impose sanctions against different types of gender violence, including domestic violence, honor killings, stalking, and sexual harassment. Here’s the exact language about sexual harassment, which presumably includes street harassment since it does not say the sexual harassment must occur in workplaces or schools:

“Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, is subject to criminal or other legal sanction.”

Given this language of this article in the Convention, anti-street harassment activists in the UK are lobbying for new legislation against street harassment. Way to go!

But of course, they’re getting pushback.Via the Guardian:

“Former attorney general Baroness Scotland, who worked on the convention for four years under the Labour government, said the clause on sexual harassment was not intended to cover less serious incidents such as wolf-whistling and public teasing. However, campaigners on the issue said the convention was “what we’ve been trying to get for years”.

Julia Gray, founder of the London branch of US movement Hollaback, dedicated to getting rid of street harassment, said: “The way we see it is if you want to tackle it you tackle all of it – you say no to all forms of unwanted sexual harassment; that includes wolf-whistling, comments, everything.”

A Downing Street spokesman said it was too early to discuss possible sanctions for sexual harassment.”

With all due respect to Baroness Scotland, why isn’t the Convention supposed to include “less serious incidents”? Those are the incidents that are the most common. They are the incidents which annoy, degrade and anger us, and which allow harassers to become emboldened to escalate to more serious crimes. I agree with Julia Gray, it’s only a half-hearted attempt to address this form of gender discrimination unless it includes all forms of sexual harassment!!

Even though this is a Convention for European Countries, countries like  Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. could sign it too as they are “Non-Member States of the Council of Europe.” But considering how the U.S. still has not signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, I doubt the U.S. will sign this Convention either.

Clearly, we still have a lot of work to do to change attitudes about sexual harassment, especially “less serious forms.” So let’s keep speaking — share your street harassment stories and talk about the ways in which street harassment impacts your life.

UPDATE: Read an op-ed by Hollaback London founders Bryony Beynon and Julia Gray in the Guardian

Share

Filed Under: News stories Tagged With: Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, hollaback london, sexual harassment, street harassment, turkey, united kingdom

Male entitlement

January 11, 2010 By Contributor

I was walking back to my apartment in Manchester (UK), having done some grocery shopping. It was winter time and very cold, so the only flesh showing was my face. I’m usually listening to music as I’m walking about, so I had earphones in, but I suddenly noticed there was a man behind me and that he was trying to talk to me.

I turned round as I caught the end of the sentence: “… I just had to tell you, you look beautiful.”

I said, “Okay, thank you” and carried on walking.

He continued to follow me saying, “I know it’s an inconvenient time and you’re in a rush but I just had to say that.”

I replied, “Yes it is really, but thanks anyway.”

The man seemed shocked and said, “Oh” as if I was going to entertain the idea of a conversation with him.

Of all the situations of harassment I’ve had I probably dealt with this one the best, but it still made me angry and frustrated. I couldn’t understand why he had picked me out from the crowds that were around or why he thought I would be flattered by that.

– HC

Location: Manchester, UK

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.

Share

Filed Under: Stories, street harassment Tagged With: manchester, Stories, street harassment, united kingdom

Share Your Story

Share your street harassment story for the blog. Donate Now

From the Blog

  • #MeToo 2024 Study Released Today
  • Join International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2022
  • Giving Tuesday – Fund the Hotline
  • Thank You – International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2021
  • Share Your Story – Safecity and Catcalls Collaboration

Buy the Book

  • Contact
  • Events
  • Join Us
  • Donate
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 Stop Street Harassment · Website Design by Sarah Marie Lacy