International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2014 Report
TaBle of Contents Page 3: Overview information about Int’l Anti-Street Harassment Week Page 11: A sampling of the actions that took place outside of the USA Page 75: The Stop Telling Women to Smile Global Wheat Pasting Night Page 82: A sampling of the actions that occurred in the USA Page 137: Examples of the week’s online activism
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Overview Information: What’s the Problem? Catcalls, sexist comments, gender-policing, leering, flashing, groping, stalking, and sexual assault: gender-based street harassment makes public places unfriendly and even scary for many girls, women, and LGBQT folks. It limits their access to public spaces. What is the Week? Meet Us On the Street: International Anti-Street Harassment Week is an opportunity to collectively raise awareness that street harassment happens and that it’s not okay. It began in 2011 as International AntiStreet Harassment Day and it expanded to a week in 2012. It is a program of Stop Street Harassment. Why a Week? Activists and individuals around the world work hard year-round to make public places safer but once a year we can help amplify each other’s voices and make the global mainstream media pay attention by collectively speaking out together. Why Hold it in April? April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the USA and street harassment falls within the spectrum of gender-based violence. April is also springtime in the Northern Hemisphere While street harassment occurs year-round, spring is a time when there is an increase in the harassment because of the increased daylight hours and warmer weather that brings people outside.
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What Happened? From March 30 – April 5, 2014, more than 150 co-sponsoring groups, organizations, and campuses from more than 24 countries and on six continents, plus thousands of people, spoke out against street harassment!
Who made it possible? International Anti-Street Harassment Week is a community mobilization program of Stop Street Harassment and it was was spearheaded by SSH founder Holly Kearl. She was helped by: – –
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The leaders of more than 150 groups, organizations and campuses that took some form of action during the week. Laura Palumbo at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) who oversees Sexual Assault Awareness Month and helped advertise the week to the NSVRC networks. SSH social media volunteers, board members, our spring intern, and SSH correspondents who helped advertise the week and participate in tweet chats and offline events. Translation volunteers, media relations volunteer Katie Broendel, graphic designer Kira Hug & Nuala Cabral who created a digital video people could share.
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Highlights This was an incredible week of awareness. – – – – –
We had our largest number of co-sponsors and from the most countries yet — 25! We more than 40 major news hits, including The New York Times & CNN. There were rallies, events, sidewalk chalking, flyering, street theater, wheat pasting, and lots of online engagement. We raised awareness from Australia to Nepal, from Germany to Peru, from San Francisco to Boston. We held seven tweet chats and prominent organizations like the United Nations and the Half the Sky Movement tweeted about the week
Since launching Stop Street Harassment six years ago, there has been a significant shift in the number of people who acknowledge street harassment as a legitimate problem and are willing to do something about it. Awareness campaigns like International Anti Street Harassment Week contribute to that evolving shift. If you participated, know that your voice matters, you’re making a difference.
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Media • • • • • • • • •
New York Times BuzzFeed | 2 | 3 CNN Daily Beast NewsWorks (WHYY) Alternet The Nation Autostraddle Ms. Magazine
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Bitch Media | 2
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Lanacion BG News PolicyMic Il Referendum Think Progress The Philadelphia Tribune Republica (Nepal) The Himalayan (Nepal) Daily Mirror | 2 (Sri Lanka) The Himalayan Times | 2 (Nepal) Tribune News Network | 2 (Bahamas) The Record (SUNY Buffalo State) Taos News (New Mexico) Paddy Mac show on 101.9 KTaos Solar Radio (New Mexico) Chicago Public Media DNA Info
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Vitamin W Liberation (France) The Athens News Ms Magazine (Winter/Spring 2014 issue) NYU Local Barry Morgan show with Anne Lagace Dowson. (Montreal) NYC Lens AMP Radio 103.3 (Boston) CKNW Radio (Vancouver, Canada) The Mara Dolan Show @ WCAP (Massachusetts) CALCASA | Podcast College Candy The WIP The Women’s News The Brooklyn Ink
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International Efforts!
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Australia The Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA) raised awareness about street harassment on social media.
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MelBourne, Australia Hollaback! Melbourne hosted “Heckleback!� An Evening of Comedy Against Street Harassment at Hares and Hyenas on April 3. Performers included Lisa-Skye WRONGTOWN- population you! Clementine Bastow, Benjamin McKenzie, Beau Heartbreaker, Adrienne Truscott, Bron Batten, Isabel Rachel, and MC Karen Pickering They were also on SynFm talking about Heckleback, Snickers and Anti Street Harassment Week.
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Nassau, The Bahamas Hollaback! Bahamas covered 3km with sidewalk chalk messages like “Respect Women” and “Street Harassment is NOT a Compliment” on March 30. They said, “A long the way, we met a few people who inquired about what we were doing. We were event confronted by a street harasser who thought we were writing the message specifically to him. We explained what we were doing to him and told him what he did WAS in fact street harassment. He, of course, did not believe us, and we had to break it down for him. He ended up understanding what we were saying, so we hope we have a converted man in Nassau!”
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They received coverage in their local paper two days that week.
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Dhaka, Bangladesh The Participatory Development Action Program (PDAP) organized a street harassment rally and discussion with women leaders the weekend of March 29/30. Nearly 500 people saw the march. Because sexual abuse is not openly discussed, their march generated a lot of interest and curiosity.
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Brussels, Belgium Hollaback! Brussels organize a creative chalk walk on April 5 with the concept:
“This is a Safe Space.�
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GENT, Belgium Hollaback! Gent kicked off the week by hanging three huge banners about harassment near Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat in Belgium. The English translation for the banner below is: “If mean words stream, you can come in between.”
Jolien Voorspoels, a co-director of Hollaback! Gent, said, “The umbrella [in the banner] symbolizes the little gesture from a bystanders, literally keeping off the demeaning words. We want possible bystanders to know that little can impact greatly!” The group hoped to prompt people walking by to consider the issue and “rethink how they behave in the streets and know that they are not alone in experiencing harassment,” said Voorspoels.
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Hollaback! Gent also held a chalk walk on April 5.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina Hollaback! Bosnia and Herzegovina started presenting a set of workshops about street harassment and violence with the students of secondary schools. They’re planning to visit every secondary school in the city of Sarajevo. “Osjećale smo se stvarno super! To je onaj uzvišeni osjećaj kad znate da to što radite dopire do zajednice i da to oni cijene i vrednuju , pogotovo ovi mladi ljudi koji su danas bili ovjde. Oni su predivni!” “We felt really great! It is a sublime feeling when you know what you're doing, and reaching out to the community that they appreciate and evaluate, especially these young people who were here today. They are wonderful! "
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Halifax, CANADA Hollaback! Halifax distributed anti-street harassment materials at a comic book shop’s Ladies’ Night on April 3, an event staffed by women, for women, that featured awesome local female comic book creators.
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Montreal, CANADA Women in Cities International brought an anti-street harassment campaign to student at the Gender Advocacy Center at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. Each member of the group was given posters to hang and flyers to hand out (200 total) where ever they felt needed the most attention in the city. They also held an improvisation's workshop with 30 girls (10-12 years old) at the Girls’ Action Foundation about street harassment. For one of the activities, the girls had to do improv for street harassment scenarios. .
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Montreal, CANADA Hollaback! MTL organised a “Lazy Saturday” event on April 5 at bar Notre Dame des Quilles.
They had a selection of games, arts and crafts to participate in, a DJ and a raffle with prizes. There were two bowling lanes complete with pins with labels saying 'The Patriarchy' and 'Rape Culture', so they could truly be smashed away! They said, “The event was incredibly enjoyable. There was a range of people who attended, both those aware of their anti-street harassment work and those that came to find out more. We had great discussions on the subject of street harassment in a relaxed and fun atmosphere!” They also talked about Anti-Street Harassment Week on the Barry Morgan show with Anne Lagace Dowson.
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Ottawa, CANADA Hollaback! Ottawa held the event “Our City, Our Space, Our Voice: International Anti-Street Harassment Week in Ottawa” on April 3. The purpose of their community-wide discussion about gender-based violence was to ensure that gender-based violence is a priority for the upcoming 2014 municipal election. “Thirty people attended and there was an amazingly vibrant discussion. People had tons of ideas and committed to creative an ad-hoc, non-partisan committee that would keep working on this issue until the October election.” – Julie S. Lalonde
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CHile Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero en Chile held an open meeting outdoors where people could write their own signs against street harassment, or attach small ribbons saying where and when their experiences had happened. They also had an open forum later in the day, were they discussed the results from their online survey. They had small art projects, including poster designs and stencils, self defense demonstrations, and they handed out information and pamphlets to the public.
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Bogota, Colombia Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero Colombia had several actions, including a film forum where they showed "Cairo 678," a self-defense class, and a symbolic clothes-line where people could read different stories. For the latter, they joined forces with a women's group called "Confluencia de mujeresBakat谩", a "Rayat贸n" and they let people add their own messages..
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They also held a march against street harassment in the center of the city with the help of two groups: a percussion group of women called "La tremenda revoltosa batucada feminista" and a performance group called "Tulpa danza." Their actions were well received by participants and members of the city.
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Bogota, Colombia Hollaback! Bogota put up signs and handed out flyers in a busy part of town. They also were invited by a major Colombian TV channel to talk about street harassment, the work of Hollaback!, and the mayor of Bogota’s recent decision to have women-only buses.
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Egypt A HarassMap volunteer team in the city of Damanhour conducted a neighborhood
mobilization activity on March 27. The team went out on the streets talking to people and convincing them to stand up to sexual harassment and assault by intervening when they see it happening. They also distributed HarassMap’s Mesh Sakta (“Don’t be silent”) campaign materials that provide ideas for how women can stand up to sexual harassment and support other women they witness getting harassed. The volunteer team was met by a lot of different reactions, varying from indifference, skepticism, and even aggression from some men, to compassion and positive support.
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The Kafr Elsheikh HarassMap team went out on a neighborhood mobilization day on April 3. They said: “People in the streets were 100% interactive. The team talked to 150 bystanders of the age group 7-50 years old. Everyone expressed their disapproval of, and zero tolerance towards, sexual harassment and assault. Several people offered help and donations to the team. Responses to Mesh Sakta campaign exceeded expectations. As part of the activity the volunteers asked people to share their stories of standing up to sexual harassment. They received 20 stories that they shared on social media.�
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Cairo, Egypt Imprint Movement cooperated with a chapter of AAPG (American Association of Petroleum Geologists) and Enactus and trained about 30 of their members total on how to fight and campaign against sexual harassment The training included definitions and brainstorming the causes and also: - An 'In their Shoes' activity where participants are divided into four groups representing the positions involved (police, harasser, society, women) and asking them to give a short presentation on their view concerning this crime. - Giving solutions through dividing the participants into 4 groups. Each group represents a realistic solution from the perspective of the side they are representing. - An explanation is given on how to campaign and how to talk to people. The participants are then asked to formulate messages to all four sides. Messages should be respectful and nonviolent.
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Egypt During the week, Imprint Movement also joined with AAPG in a campaign against sexual harassment, reaching 200 people. The actions included: • Mirroring – They wrote two messages on a mirror: “Why are you wearing this today?” (geared towards males) and “Who will get your rights back other than you?” (geared towards females). • Flyers and stickers including definition of sexual harassment, messages, whom to contact to file a report, and contacts for psychological help. (We are also working on gathering success stories to encourage people to file reports) • Theatre of the oppressed - a five min sketch was presented and then the audience was asked to help us give a happy ending to our sketch. • A board asking people to write their thoughts on the phrases “The girl will be safe when…” and “what to do in case of facing/seeing a harassment incident”.
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Fiji Islands Take Back the Streets, Fiji conducted an online survey all week. They will use the stories and data collected to advocate for safer public spaces.
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Paris, France The group Stop Harcelement de la Rue put up 50 posters, distributed 100 leaflets, and spoke to people in their community about street harassment. They also gave media interviews.
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dortmund, Germany ProChange distributed red cards against sexism and pink cards against homophobia at Signal Iduna Park Stadium just before the soccer match Borussia Dortmund vs VFL Wolfsburg and later that day at a music event. They had many conversations with people about street harassment. They also put flyers and other information on park benches and advertising columns.
ProChange also translated SSH materials into German and created new items. They shard it and galvanized other groups in Germany to take action.
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Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt Rising distributed whistles and flyers about street harassment.
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Hamburg, Germany Hamburg Rising held a small demonstration against street harassment. Groups in Darmstadt, Oldenburg, and Duesseldorf took action, too (not pictured).
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HeidelBerg, Germany AK Gender of JUSOS did sidewalk chalking, created signs and distributed antiharassment information in their town.
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Bangalore, India Jhatkaa.org went around the streets of Bangalore with a whiteboard and asked women to write down their experiences with street harassment. “Many women thanked us for doing it and told us they felt lighter after speaking about it and participating in fighting against it. On seeing photos of other women and their experiences- they also felt good knowing that they weren’t the only ones. We shared these photos on Facebook and Twitter and received positive comments for the work.”
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Bangalore, India Hollaback! Bangalore held a workshop at a local campus
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Delhi, India Jagori and Safetipin organized a series of events to create platforms for dialogue
on the right to safe public spaces for all. People across the globe were asked to download the Safetipin app and report the safe and unsafe areas in their neighborhoods.
On March 31, a street café called ‘Sadak Charcha’ was set up in the heart of Delhi city, Connaught Place, where passersby were shown picture-stories about street sexual harassment and quizzed on forms of street sexual harassment and helpline numbers for women. An attempt to break the myths around sexual harassment as an issue was also done through questions on gender stereotypes. The event turned out to be huge success with more than a thousand people pledging to end all forms of harassment in the city.
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On social media platforms - Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, they released videos of safety audits done by Safetipin and Jagori in some of areas in Delhi. The videos showed the condition of public spaces and its impact on women's accessibility to public spaces and suggested scope for improvement.
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Delhi, India SafeCity took a lot of online action during the week. They also held a bystander reaction campaign with 15 volunteers on March 30 at Connaught Place in New Delhi.
A volunteer wrote: “We kickstarted our campaign with the enthusiasm and hopes of all our friends who came to our support in this campaign. We were excited about our streetplay and were keenly awaiting on what reactions we would elicit from the public. We performed at different places in Connaught place, where a lot of people were present. The main motive of our streetplay was to garner reactions from the bystanders. We wanted to know whether people would come to the aid of a victim or would, without any guilt, follow the policy of "ignorance is bliss�. Our initial act portrayed a scene where three guys were teasing a girl who was quietly walking by. A lot of people were sitting directly in front of the group and were aware of the incident taking place. Yet nobody from the crowd came forward to intervene. At the end, the intervention came from our very own volunteers who questioned the morals of the people and asked them not to ignore.
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We did two more acts without anyone intervening in between. At one point of time, we were told by a well-read woman who advised us to ignore the incident and walk away quietly. This incident took place on a very busy road with a lot of road-side shops. One of the guy was also found quoting ," chalo , apna kaam karo ( let's mind our own business) ". This really shook us inside-out , because post- Nirbhaya case , there was a lot of talk among people , lot of enthusiasm for helping out girls in distress, but when it comes to applying their 'thoughts', they take a back seat. One of our acts took place at the infamous Hanuman mandir, where out of all the people, only one lady stood up and came to the girls defense. People are praying their hearts out to goddesses but they won't come to help a girl in distress. Bystanders were looking at our act with great interest and entertainment, but not one of them came to the rescue. Our final act took place at Janpath, one of the busiest markets in Delhi. At Janpath, our act garnered a lot of audience and thus a lot of reaction and instances of ignorance to study. Out of all the people, roughly 20-25, only one man came and intervened. Our day was marked with hopes and disappointments, of tirelessly long walks and it ended with shocking revelations. We must have catered to about three hundred and fifty people, and out of all these people, only two three people consider it their moral responsibility of helping out a person in distress. Nonetheless, this day has given us hope that hopefully the people who have listened to us might give our information a thought and might not try and believe in the policy of "ignorance is bliss."
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India Haiyya took lots of action across the entire week by having community activities like signing pledges against harassment, holding group discussions, organizing freeze mobs, conducting community interviews, and creating community and online awareness. They reached about 800 people.
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India Sayfty.com volunteer Abha Thapilya and her friends raised awareness throughout the week.
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Dublin, Ireland Hollaback! Dublin held an event called “Exploring Street Harassment through Film” on April 2. They watched and discussed: “Out on the Streets" "Walking Home" "Femme de la Rue" "Laverne Cox on Bullying and Being a Trans Woman of Colour“ They also did an interview with “Out on the Streets” director Niamh Gaskins: http://tinyurl.com/NiamhGaskins.
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Mombasa, Kenya Koru-Kenya held a dialogue on street harassment. They covered topics like what street harassment is, myths and facts, global issues, and what to do if they see or experience street harassment. “We had about 30 people in attendance, many of them street living children and youth (key beneficiaries of Koru-Kenya’s programming) and many of them male. Because of this, the definition of street harassment took on a much broader scope and generated unexpected debate. Although we had ladies in the audience talking about their experiences with more “traditional” forms of street harassment, being followed, whistled at, and otherwise hassled by men who are treating them like sex objects. The street boys talked about their own experiences with street harassment—how they are sometimes approached by men and women for sex, and about how they are chased away from public spaces and called names just for being homeless. Then, we even had a man (not from the street) share that another man had groped him in a matatu (bus). This led to the important point that street harassment is not just about men harassing women. It’s not even just about people sexualizing each other. It’s about a lack of respect.
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From this, one person made the claim that people probably shouldn’t talk with strangers in public at all. This generated heated debate, as the street children argued that they depend on hawking goods to strangers (and begging) for a living which requires some interaction. In response, we handed out fliers detailing what should and shouldn’t be said to people in public places. We also talked about how body language and intent transformed interaction into harassment. If someone wants to objectify you or otherwise verbally hurt or disrespect you, that is harassment. But, we also talked about how the victim defines harassment. If he or she is tired of being talked to in public, as so many women are, tired of being the center of attention, even well-meaning passer-bys can make that person feel harassed. The overwhelming message generated from these discussions was the idea that we have to be careful with each other. We need to respect each other and imagine what life is like on both sides of the coin. That street child shouting at you to buy something is a person. That young man greeting a woman on the street with a smile may not mean the smile to be a leer. But, women and men and children, everyone, has a right to for their presence and passage on the street to go unremarked upon, to be in public places without other people feeling free to comment on their person or their body or any other aspect of themselves. The discussion concluded with presentations from the Mombasa Child Protection Officer and a representative from Wema Centre (who spoke about the International Day of the Street Child, which was the day following our event). These presentations reinforced the value and rights of street children, but also their responsibility to contribute to more respectful streets, as their presence is such a fundamental part of this public place. Finally, we held a MotoMoto performance (a kind of fire dance) as a way of ending the event on a fun note, and two of our brightest students displayed their talents to a very appreciative crowd. We still haven’t completely answered the question of how should we interact with each other in public places. There is still debate and questioning that must happen. But at least, for a little while, we had a forum for that discussion, which is so very rare in Kenya.” – Morgan Richards
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Malaysia Pixel Project, based in Malaysia, hosted a recorded Google+ hangout discussion about street harassment and International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Volunteer Catalina Rembuyan from Pixel Project moderated and Hanna Kruger from ProChange in Germany and Holly Kearl from SSH in the USA participated.
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Kathmandu, Nepal Safe City Nepal – a coalition of organizations working to make Kathmandu safer – held a series of events across the week as well as online awarenss-raising efforts. The coalition includes Action Aid International Nepal (AAIN), Activista Nepal, Nepal Youth Resource Centre, Global Platform (a unit of AAIN to train youth), Home Net Nepal, Nepal Mahila Ekta Samaj and Mahila Adhikar Manch, and Prerana. They reached 800 people offline and thousands more online. On March 31, they held a Torch Rally from Bhadrakali to Sundhara, Newroad to demand the government of Nepal to repair and maintain the street lights around Kathmandu in order to make city safer for women and girls. Around 100 people walked in the street carrying torches (flashlights) to symbolize the lights which are currently lacking. Some people also blew whistles to draw the attention of the evening commuters. When they reached the New Road Gate, they climbed on an overhead bridge and lit traditional Nepali diyo (candles) on the bridge, for all the passerby’s to see and understand their demand. Community and traffic police stopped and listened to their request.
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On April 1, they held a short awareness event at Old Buspark, a chaotic place with local buses and passengers. They used a loud speaker to gather a crowd and passed out flyers about street harassment. Once there were 200 people gathered, Activista Nepal gave a short speech. Then, dance performers from Activista Bhaktapur performed three continuous dances one after another to spread awareness about ending all forms of harassment, specifically on the street. There were also many youth volunteers standing with colorful placards and masks demonstrating to stop street harassment. The event was closed with a thank you note to the public for showing their solidarity and being part of the event with curiosity and interest. Moti Lama, the coordinator of ACTIVISTA Nepal thanked all for watching the performance and listening to message with patience. He also gave an open invitation to everyone for the couple of events followed that week.
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On April 2, they went to Gwarko in front of Guna Cinema Hall, a common place for harassers to bother girls and women. The program included informative notices and messages about harassment through speeches of young activists, three dance performances and the distribution of flyers. It helped raise awareness of the public and also informed them about the issue and legal provisions around it. The crowd grew once they saw beautiful dance performed by the campaign team.
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On the last day of their campaign, they went to Chapagaun with a local band that performed Nepali songs with messages against harassment and violence against women and girls. There was a flash mob by the Global platform participants and Dance performance by the Activista Bhaktapur. Steps of self defense techniques were also demonstrated by community members of Chapagaun. Child group members and youth of Chapagaun supported in distributing flyers and showing the flash cards to the public. The last day of the IASHW was closed with the new hope of getting support from public on the issue and also bringing issue in forefront of local Governments and media’s attention
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Kathmandu, Nepal The organization Astitwa created a wall painting in the downtown using the theme “Stop Street Harassment�
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Lima, Peru In Lima, Observatorio Paremos el Acoso Sexual Callejero hosted numerous
events. On April 1, they held a screening of “War Zone” and discussion with professor Victoria Guerrero at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
On April 3, they held a self-defense workshop at the university.
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On April 4, they hosted the “I am not a piece of meat� monologue and also street theater on April 6. .
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They also coordinated online action using the Twitter hashtag #SinAcosoCallejero.
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Colombo, Sri Lanka Respect: Stop Street Harassment hosted an open forum on street harassment on March 30. Shan Wijethunga was the moderator of a panel with panelists Dr.Janaki Jayawardena, a senior lecturer from the University of Colombo, and Mrs.Prema Gamage, a veteran women’s rights activist. They discussed what street harassment is, why addressing this issue matters, and dispelled victimblaming myths. After the panel, a group of students from the University of Kelaniya performed a short skit. They received media coverage for their efforts.
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Birmingham, UK In Birmingham, the Women’s Networking Hub planned an action in New Street outside Tesco’s. Passing women were invited to share their own experience of unwanted interest and comments from men and write up their own anti street harassment slogans. They then had their picture taken holding up their slogan and the picture was uploaded onto the twitter feed. “Women of all ages stopped to voice their support and complain about the various ways that men harass them. Many of the women were young and complained of constant comments being made by young men. An older woman said, ‘I can’t believe that it’s 2014 and we still have to suffer this, I have two sons and I have brought them up to have respect for women and to understand that women don’t seek and certainly don’t need their approval.’ And it’s not just women who are saying that this practice should be consigned to the rubbish bin of history, some men also stopped to say that they thought it was out of order.” – Slaney Street, http://tinyurl.com/TescoStreetHarassment
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London, UK Rape Crisis - South London, End Violence Against Women Coalition and Hollaback! London organized a “London Landmarks� project where people took photos of prorespect or anti-harassment messages by London landmarks and shared them on social media with #LondonLoves
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London, UK Hollaback! University of London Union (ULU) launched the Hollaback! Campus Online application system on the Hollaback! ULU Website, designed to easily help unions to gain Good Night Out venue accreditation.
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London, UK The London Tae Kwon Do School talked about the week, and about street harassment, in their TaeKwonDo classes all week, reaching 100 students. The students showed great interest the topic. They also shared posts on Twitter and Facebook.
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Stop Telling Women to Smile! GLOBAL Wheat Pasting Night Tatyana Fazlalizadeh began her Stop Telling Women to Smile art project in 2012. “The project was inspired by my daily experiences with street harassment,” she said. She teamed up with SSH for a global night of wheat pasting on April 4. Anyone could request PDFs of her posters in several languages. Then on April, people around the world put up her posters in public spaces, boldly calling for an end to street harassment. “Instead of just having this work in Brooklyn and other domestic cities, women in other countries can also use this work for their experiences,” said Tatyana. Australia: Sydney, via KaJing Jay Ng
Germany: Berlin, via @nachmacher
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India: Nine members of Shadow Liberation went wheatepasting in Bangalore. They said, “Even during the evening of pasting many people on the streets stopped to look, or ask what it was all about. Other than our group, the only people we saw on the streets that night were men.�
The Netherlands: Feminist collective Les Filles Sophies took part in Rottendam.
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Sri Lanka: Pasting posters on public boards is a daily occurrence. Shanika Perera organized a group to paste in the early morning on the 5th to ensure their posters weren't pasted over by someone else's. They targeted bus stops and busy junctions. They were specific in choosing locations as they had posters in three national languages- English, Sinhala and Tamil. They believe 800 people saw the posters before other posters were pasted over them
United Kingdom: Activists in Birmingham put up posters near the university.
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USA: Community members in at least 12 American cities participated. @SavageAmanda, Los Angeles, CA
@PulsePositions, San Francisco, CA Alicia Sanchez and Danielle Norkin each pasted in Washington, D.C.
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Brave Hearts, Hawai’i:
Tanvi Singh, Bloomington, IL (no photos provided). Jennifer Rowe, Baltimore, MD
@Hallie_Dawn_, Santa Fe, NM
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@TaniaLaure, New York City, NY
Nuala Cabral, Philadelphia, PA
Hannah Rosenau, Portland, OR
@VillaLoboslucha, Austin, TX
@DanielleJosiee, Seattle, WA
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An American high school student posted this on Tumblr, saying she had hung flyers around her school during the week.
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Efforts in the U.S.A.
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Tucson, Arizona Hollaback! Tucson coordinated several events at the University of Arizona across the week. On March 31, they held a “Meet Us on the Mall� event with information
about street harassment, feminism, Transgender Day of Awareness, and goody bags and picture booths.
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On April 2, they joined with OASIS for a “Street Harassment 101: An Introduction” workshop. On April 3, they held a screening of “War Zone” and SSH founder Holly Kearl, who was in town, spoke about the week of awareness. On April 4, they held a chalk walk.
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Tucson, Arizona Edge High students and the Hey Baby Art Against Sexual Violence initiative held an assembly about street harassment and created posters and signs that they displayed on the school grounds. Some students also did sidewalk chalking.
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Edge High students and the Hey Baby Art Against Sexual Violence initiative displayed their art at Joel D. Valdez Main Library on April 5.
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Irvine, California The University of California, Irvine’s Campus Assault Resources and Education’s Take Back the Night educational fair included two self-defense booths and information on street harassment. 800 students attended.
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Washington, D.C. A group of community members, organized by FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture and Collective Action for Safe Spaces came together at the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Library in downtown Washington, D.C., on April 2, to have a conversation about the Monument Project: a call to create a national monument to survivors of rape and abuse in the United States. The group strategized about concrete next steps for the Monument Quilt, which will be both a precursor to and way of getting buy-in for the Monument Project itself. The Monument Quilt is a collections of stories from survivors of rape and abuse that creates public healing space. Attendees also discussed why they want a permanent monument, including the presence of permanent healing space for survivors, public education, and having a representation of the power we can have when we come together. Last, the group brainstormed ways in which the Monument Quilt can support current and future policy initiatives to improve response systems that support survivors as well as prevention efforts.
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Washington, D.C. SSH board member Layla Moughari and former SSH Blog Correspondent Lauren McEwen led sidewalk chalking in front of the Howard University bookstore on Georgia Ave on April 5. “Most pedestrians that passed by either took a flier, stopped and talked with them, or chalked. Many folks engaged them, and a couple of young men agreed that harassment is a significant problem. It was an affirming and positive experience.� - Layla
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Washington, D.C. Marty Langelan & Associates participated in the week in a number of ways: 1. Designed and distributed a new 2014 International Stop Street Harassment Week flyer -- one of the fastest, easiest ways to stop harassers is to just hand them the flyer on the street. 2. Conducted a workshop on "30 Ways to Stop Harassers" at Georgetown University Law School. 3. Taught 10 sessions for Metro transit employees on how to stop sexual harassers on the bus and subway system. 4. Provided an interview and a tool-kit of effective, nonviolent ways to stop harassers to The New York Times.
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West Palm Beach, FLORIDA Citizens Against Street Harassment (CASH) created signs supporting and educating passers by on street harassment and distributed handouts on Florida's laws and Stop Street Harassment stickers. They also left posters, stickers and handouts adjacent to the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University.
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Orlando, FLORIDA The University of Central Florida’s Victim Services & Safe House of Seminole set up a rape free zone on campus in front of their student union, using red caution tape with "rape free zone" written on it. They made and handed out sashes made of the tape. Participants wrote messages on a white board stating anything from why they stand against violence to "my name is not..."
There were cupcakes for consent and vagina-shaped chocolate lollipops. They collected donations to benefit a local non-profit assisting survivors of sex trafficking. 100 students participated!
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Atlanta, Georgia Tatyana Fazlalizadeh spoke about her art project “Stop Telling Women to Smile� at Georgia State University on April 2. On April 4, volunteers joined her in wheat pasting outside the Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery.
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HawaIi The BRAVE HEART Program youth not only participated in the International Wheat Pasting Night but also did sidewalk chalking in their community.
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Champaign, Illinois April 1, Zerlina Maxwell gave a talk at the
University of Illinois about rape culture, sexism and racism, and street harassment. On April 5, the campus did sidewalk chalking at the campus Quad. The Women’s Resource Center also posted information on social media.
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Des Moines, Iowa Hollaback! Des Moines hosted a Day of Action, including participating at a Take Back the Night march and organizing a Chalk Walk and a bar crawl. They also guest lectured for a Gender and Violence class at Drake University.
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Baltimore, Maryland Hollaback! Bmore held a workshop on do-it-yourself activism at the Bmore Proud LGBTQ Leadership Conference at John's Hopkins University with 15 people. They used their experience in fighting street harassment on the cheap to help inspire young, potential activists to take action on issues they care about. They weaved stories of their struggles and successes to make a great impact, empowering them to not only stand up against street harassment, but to tackle any social justice issue head on!
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Boston, Massachusetts Hollaback! Boston facilitated a workshop at A Revolutionary Moment: Women’s Liberation in the late 1960s and 1970s Conference at Boston University. They presented on the history of consciousness-raising and how the Hollaback! movement has adapted it for modern times with mobile technology. They held a HOLLAoffline event complete with coffeehouse chatter and movement building, along with a film screening of the documentary “War Zone” and the debut of their first zine. They were also on the Mara Dolan radio show with Holly Kearl to discuss street harassment and Meet Us on the Street. Last but not least, they hosted a Chalk Walk at Copley Square and a Take Back the Bar event with Lesley University’s Women’s Center!
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Detroit, Michigan Michelle took action near her house in Detroit, including by chalking at a bus stop – to reclaim a space where she was harassed -- and near Wayne State University. She wrote about it on her blog, excerpted on the next page.
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“Can I see your sign?” | “What does your sign say?” | “Let me see your sign.” That’s what I heard from curious people on my way to the bus stop, on the bus, and around Cass Avenue in Midtown Detroit. It was just me, my sign and a box of chalk walking around in a city where a few people sort of knew what street harassment was, but didn’t know there was a word for it. And it wasn’t surprising that the people I spoke to didn’t know there was a week to raise awareness about it around the world. I should know, I was that person last year. I pretty much gave them (and everyone else I spoke to) the gist of the event and what it stands for. The lady I spoke to was nice enough to take a photo of me holding the second sign I made this week. I chalked near a bus stop and took a few photos before the Dexter-Downtown picked me up. I sat on a window seat, looking out and seeing urban decay that’s way past due to be demolished, and a middle-aged woman sat next to me asked me about my sign. We were talking about street harassment and she told me that’s how it claimed her cousin due to his mental issues and was unaware of his surroundings. There was also an old man sitting behind me and he wanted to read my sign, too. He said, “I feel you on this issue because I’m a senior citizen, and I would be defenseless if something happened to me.” He was also aware that it affects all genders physically, mentally and verbally. I was glad to speak to a couple of people on the bus about SH before I stepped off. People are aware of what’s going on and they will speak up about it when given the opportunity. It happened to be my hot pink sign that sparked the conversation. That was also the case when I walked around Midtown Detroit, where Wayne State University is located. I stopped there because according to Hollaback! – an organization fighting street harassment around the world – 67% of college students experience street harassment. I spoke to visitors, a few students, a couple of business owners, people waiting on the same bus stop as I was, and a couple of Michigan United advocates. In fact, there was a MU rep who was a young black lady and she told me her street harassment experience. When she didn’t respond to the unwanted advances, she was called a “dyke” and different derogatory terms. “If I don’t want you to talk to me, then don’t talk to me,” said every woman ever. When I saw some chalkings around the campus, I decided to chalk down a few messages. I even chalked one of my reclaimed spaces. Most of the responses I received were positive. I got a lot of “That’s rights,” nods, thumbs ups, and other positive approvals. I heard a few people (young college women, in particular) with confused tones about my poster. “Street harassment?” But like the old man said on the bus: “You don’t know what it is until it happens to you.”…. Read more.
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Minneapolis, Minnesota Hollaback! Twin Cities held an Open Mic Night on April 2. They encouraged attendees to share their thoughts and stories about street harassment through poetry, spoken word, and music.
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New Mexico Community Against Violence in New Mexico was on the Paddy Mac show on 101.9 K-Taos Solar Radio Show and wrote an article about street harassment for the Taos News.
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Brooklyn, New York The Brooklyn Movement Center and the Brecht Forum held the event “PLANET BROOKLYN: Beyond Catcalls,� which explored street harassment incidents and organizing in the borough over the past 40 years. The intergenerational panel featured four Brooklynites contextualizing unhealthy masculinity, criminalization and gentrification within the broader anti-street harassment movement.
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Brooklyn, New York Sydnie Mosley Dances held a workshop at the Boerum Hill YWCA on April 3. They also performed the Window Sex Project at the April 5th NYC Rally.
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Brooklyn, New York Girls for Gender Equity organized a storytelling campaign as an opportunity to raise awareness about school push-out as experienced by students, teachers, and parents/guardians. The stories particularly lifted up the experiences of girls of color, LGBTQ, and gender nonconforming youth. “Let’s come together and tell our stories of injustice in school to transform the system. Join Girls for Gender Equity’s storytelling and leadership project today! Tell your story. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and use #schoolpushout”
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New York City, New York On April 5th, Hollaback! and 46 co-sponsoring organizations held an anti-street harassment rally in Washington Square Park. There were numerous speeches (including from local politicians, community leaders and students), spoken word, and dance performances. During the rally, Hollaback! unveiled Hiss!, the 12 foot tall inflatable #Catagainstcatcalls! The rally was followed by breakout workshops focused on topics like story-telling, responding to street harassers, self-defense, and being a male ally. The event concluded with a chalk walk.
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Harlem, New York On April 5th, the Woman Worldwide Initiative hosted an open mic event at Astor Row CafĂŠ in Harlem.
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north Carolina Western Carolina University hosted a Cats Against Catcalling Lawn Party on April 4. NC Women United raised awareness online.
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Athens, Ohio Hollaback! Appalachian Ohio created new street art during the week.
They conducted two self defense classes with the women at Southeast Ohio Regional Jail, completed a 4 lesson series with 24 eighth graders at Vinton Middle School, and spoke out through letters to the editor and attendance at a panel discussion about the local Take Back the Night organizers’ decision to allow men to march this year. They hosted an art show exhibiting works of art by Hollaback! leaders, women at the regional jail, their after school program called Girl Power, and community members. The pieces depict experiences of harassment and a vision of safer streets in the future. Hope Drive, Girl Power ďƒ
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Collage, Andrea Pierson “Obtrusive stare,” Kasey Winterbotham The 3rd and 4th pieces were created by the women incarcerated at SEORjail Art show reception with the band The Fury.
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Athens, Ohio Hollaback! Appalachian Ohio and University of Ohio student Erin McKelle hosted a Chalk Walk event later in April down the main “uptown� road on campus.
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Philadelphia, pennsylvania “It’s that time of year again! The sun is shining a little bit more, we’re all outside walking around and trying to enjoy the (slightly) warmer weather — and the harassers are back in full force. But they’re not the only ones who are back! HollabackPHILLY, a project of Feminist Public Works, launched a new, expanded transit ad campaign – with more ads in the interior subway cars, ads on the subway platforms, and even ads in bus shelters across the city….Always remember – we’ve got your back!” - HollabackPHILLLY
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On April 5, HollabackPHILLY hosted an activist dance party/benefit in Philadelphia. In addition to dancing, there was art, and temporary tattoos. Also, they could use slips of paper to write & display genuine compliments they had received, while they could write and shred the harassing comments.
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Philadelphia, pennsylvania FAAN Mail, HollabackPHILLY and other groups reclaimed public space at LOVE PARK through double dutch, mural/chalking, street theater, music, art-making and a soap box for story telling.
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"This year's action in Philadelphia was our most dynamic action yet. We offered several activities that enabled people to reclaim public space, share their stories about street harassment and address this problem in creative ways. Children were a part of the event. Male allies stood with us. It was a beautiful day. We are planning to do another action this summer." – SSH Board Member and FAAN Mail co-founder Nuala Cabral
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Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania On April 4, the Susquehanna University Women's Studies Program sponsored "Chalk the Walk 2014." The event took place on the main thoroughfare of the campus. Attendees and passersby were given the opportunity to write prorespect messages using sidewalk chalk. In addition, information about street harassment and ways to combat it were distributed. Prior to the event, the Women's Studies at Susquehanna University Facebook page featured stories and information about street harassment. Statistics about street harassment were distributed in restrooms. After the event, a Flicker page dedicated to "Chalk the Walk 2014" was made and distributed via Facebook.
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Scranton, Pennsylvania The Kopas Women's Center (JKWC) at the University of Scranton held many events across the week. On March 31, they hosted an informational table that included a tri-fold about street harassment along with a handout that defined street harassment and suggested bystander interventions.
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-The JKWC Director facilitated the “Violence Free Zone” workshop as a pilot for a PACT-revisited on April 1. -The JKWC hosted Dr. Mark Rodgers from Marywood University to speak on Human trafficking on April 2. -The JKWC screened the film “The Invisible War” (about military sexual assault) on April 3. -The JKWC and Public Safety had an open forum on Street Harassment with student, staff, and faculty participants on April 4. -The JKWC and the Off Campus Advisory Board had a informational table in a high foot traffic area for off campus students in which they were provided a handout that defined street harassment and suggested bystander intervention on April 9.
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Houston, Texas Hollaback! Houston showcased prints from Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s Stop Telling Women to Smile collection at local businesses in the community, starting with Myth & Symbol. They hosted a reception there on March 31.
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Hollaback! Houston partnered with Houston Community College Professors Jennifer Graves and Mikki Novak to table at an event for the College's staff and Directors to discuss their Diversity and Inclusion plans for training faculty, students and providing access and increased communication on diversity across all the campuses.
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Houston, Texas Houston Community College held a campus Chalk Walk on April 4.
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Arlington, Virginia Stop Street Harassment and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority handed out flyers about how to report harassment on the Metro and bracelets with the Transit Police phone number at the Rosslyn station on April 1.
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Winchester, Virginia Shenandoah University students, led by SSH spring intern Kendra Corbin, did sidewalk chalking on April 3. “While it was a small group of people, the participants were passionate about ending street harassment.� They also handed out materials at the campus Take Back the Night on April 4.
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Online Activism From tweet chats to posting images on social media to sharing stories on blogs and Tumblr, a lot of people raised awareness about street harassment online.
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Tweet Chats There were a record seven tweet chats across the week. In addition to these ones, Women’s Health hosted one on April 2. Storify links for five of the chats are found on the next few pages.
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March 31: Four feminist activists co-led a tweet chat about #streetharassment, especially the young age it starts, how it impacts us, and what we can do about it: @ZerlinaMaxwell @nualacabral @RaquelReichard @Besito86
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April 1: SSH hosted a tweet chat with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (@NSVRC) and @PreventConnect about street harassment and rape culture, on April 1, the first day of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
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April 2: @EvrydayFeminism and @Fem2Pt0 hosted a chat about the connections between street harassment and sexism, homophobia and transphobia.
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April 2: @EverydayHealth, @StopStHarassmnt, @ihollaback, @GGENYC @FAANMail and therapist Rachel Thomasian chatted about street harassment and health. It was organized by Everyday Health writer Ashley Welch after a bad harassment experience: “As I danced with a friend at a New York City nightclub one night this winter, I felt a pair of strong male hands grab my upper thighs. Within seconds, the unwelcome grasp made its way to my inner legs as a man’s body encircled me from behind…Days later, the incident weighed heavily on my mental health. I felt disappointed in myself for not reacting more quickly. I felt defeated that I had allowed a man to grope me against my will and did nothing about it. I kept bringing myself back to the feelings I felt when it happened – scared and relatively helpless – and became anxious that it would happen again. Then after a while, I got angry. I denied this man a dance so he felt the need to assert his dominance by grabbing me? What made him think he had a right to any part of my body!”
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April 4: This tweet chat focused on teens, street harassment, and male perspectives. The chat was co-hosted by @MenStopViolence & by @mandyvandeven. The questions came from @MSVInternCoord.
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A few groups organized their own independent tweet chats, too.
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Hounds Against Harassment There are cats against catcalls, but now dogs are having their day with #HoundsAgainstHarassment! “I’ve been harassed with my dogs and they don’t always notice it, but when they have, they haven’t liked it. They would like for us to be able to run together harassment-free.” – Holly, VA “My dog Sapphire is taking part in Hounds against Harassment. She is doing her part to protect me against Street Harassment each day. Just yesterday she protected me from two men that were street harassing me. It’s time to make Street Harassment illegal so that we can feel safe no matter where we go or what we do!!!” - Tanya, CA
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Queer In Public: Focusing on the Good SSH Guest Post by Court Baxter for International Anti-Street Harassment Week “I bet you love to go down on each other. Do you eat her out?” This was my welcome to New York. Walking down the street in Union Square holding hands with my girlfriend, two hours after I had landed in New York City to visit her, a stranger whispered this close behind us as we crossed E. 17th street before swiftly disappearing. The next night, another belligerent man yelled at us from across the square. A month later, a man asking for money stood closely behind us as I refilled my metro card and whispered homophobic expletives. That was my proverbial straw. Now, I’ve never been much of a wallflower, but we — women, the queer community, minority groups– are often taught that responding to the slew and sewage of street harassment isn’t always worth our time. It is not always safe. So despite my activist impulses, my inner rage, and the weight of deep sadness in which I felt I could do nothing to protect this person who I loved so wholeheartedly from that harassment (let alone protect myself), I stayed quiet. I always stayed quiet. I would cry later, after these incidents, and try to direct my anger in a way that felt healthy and cathartic. It was a survival mechanism – figurative and literal – because as we know, responding in the moment isn’t always an option and in this day and age (despite swift cultural change) fear of attack or death is alarmingly real. So we learn to deal. We internalize. We do what we have to do.
It was soon after the man in the subway station when I decided that I couldn’t accept that reality. Those moments with Phoebe replayed in my head every time I went to hold her hand in public. They resurfaced almost every time I saw a happy straight couple show affection in public. I was angry. The fact that these men and their vitriolic threats had tarnished what I saw as my very “normal” inclination to hold hands with the person I loved. But I didn’t want to harbor this frustration every time I saw happy couples.
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And I didn’t want to always feel like it was my responsibility to confront any other person who harassed us. Besides, there were already organizations working so diligently to address this issue from that angle. I decided I wanted to focus on the good. I wanted to find couples, who despite daily fear of very real harassment, make the decision to love their partners anyway. To kiss them goodbye on the corner of 86th and Lex. To hold their hands in Flatbush anyway. Queer in Public, or QUIP, is a crowd-sourced street photography initiative in which we take photographs of queer couples who show affection in public. It’s an effort to familiarize and normalize queer affection, and archive the reality that people all over the world are standing up to harassment — simply by their refusal to be conditioned to stay invisible. We are a movement to transform “queer love” into plain old: “love”. Or, as I like to sometimes describe it, a way of saying “fuck you” to the haters, “you can’t stop us.” For some, the threat of violence is too real, and the simple act of holding hands or kissing on a street corner would be unwise and unsafe. But for the rest of us, we have the capability to shift the tides by making ourselves visible. I’m part of this movement because despite what can feel like a never-ending, dismal tunnel- I see that light. I see couples day after day, in cities and towns all over the world, show love for the ones they love. There is incredible work to be done, and QUIP is part of that work, but we are absolutely chipping away and for those of us who feel safe enough to do so, being queer in public gives us power by making us real. Courtney Baxter is a professional rabble rouser. She is Chief of Staff at The OpEd Project, runs community initiatives at Feminsting, and is the Founder of Queer in Public. To be a part of the movement, join them here.
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Meet us on the street in 2015!
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