Chalk Back: Challenging Street Harassment

To end street harassment, communities need to raise awareness and take action. Two current initiatives include:

CHALKBACK
An approach to raise awareness about street harassment: women around the world are chalking a catcall on the street where the catcall happened.




CASS (Collective Action for Safe Space), the city of Washington D.C.has developed a STOP campaign, identifying what witnesses of harassment can do.

Sidetrack--detract the perpetrator

Tell--text to report the incident

Observe--take notes and report

Postpone--after the incident, offer support

We All Have the Right to Be Safe

Ruth George

Donald Thurman raped and murdered University of Illinois Chicago student Ruth George. The headlines for Fox News, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, USA Today, CNN, CBS, and NBC all shrieked that he killed her because she ignored his catcalls.

Street harassment is unwanted and unacceptable. Persisting when the person you are harassing communicates no interest in you amplifies the violence.  It is horrific what happened to Ruth George and also horrific that media headlines implicitly blame her for the violence she experienced. Imagine if she had not ignored him, then the headlines likely would have screamed: Student raped and murdered because she didn’t ignore his catcalls!

Street harassment is a major social problem. According to the 2019 Stop Street Harassment Survey, 81% of women and girls and 43% of men have experienced harassment. Over half of people identifying as transgender have experienced harassment. The experiences of people who identify as non-binary are under-researched so we don’t have those statistics. Holly Kearl, Stop Street Harassment founder, says: “we need to focus on ending the systems, attitudes, and culture that allow harassment and violence to occur in the first place. We need communities involved. We need to listen to the voices of those most affected, including girls and teenagers.”

YES, we must end the systems, attitudes, and culture that allow harassment and violence to occur AND we need to support individual choices about how to navigate the harassment and violence they encounter as we work to change the culture. There is no one-size fits all individual solution to dealing with street harassment and there are no guarantees for any solution. For instance, in “How to Handle Catcallers,” Plan International recommends “ignore it” as often the best response.  Kearl says: “…research suggests that a calm, short, assertive response may be the best strategy.” Whatever choices an individual makes when encountering street harassment is not the cause or reason for why they experience that harassment or subsequent violence. Ruth George ignoring Donald Thurman's verbal harassment in no way holds her responsible for his violent behavior.

IMPACT Chicago, like other empowerment self-defense organizations, holds people who  harass others responsible for that behavior AND we are also dedicated to providing opportunities for people to expand their options when faced with verbal and physical violence. While we support changing the culture at a macro level, we are also working to change the culture by providing people with tools to increase theirs and others’ safety and to prevent, interrupt, and stop violence. 

Our deepest sympathies to family and friends of Ruth George. We will continue to fight for the right of all to be safe.

Martha Thompson
IMPACT Chicago
Lead Instructor
Admin Team Co-Leader

Catcalling Citation Card

A group of creative people in Brooklyn came up with the idea of "Catcalling Citation Cards." Tired of dealing with street harassment, they designed a card to distribute when you want without having to give too much of your time to the people doing the catcalling.

To read more about the group and the ideas behind it and to download catcalling citation cards go here.

Stopping Street Harassment

A man grabbed and picked up supermodel Gig Hadid outside a Milan fashion show and she struck him in the face with her elbow. Initial reaction from reporters was critical, implying that a supermodel should put up with harassment and sexual assault.

In "Gigi Hadid Will Not Accept Street Harassment, and Neither Should You,," Lena Dunham reports that Hadid said:"Honestly, I felt I was in danger, and I had  every right to react the way I did." 

For more on street harassment:

National Street Harassment Hotline

Free, 24/7 support and information in English and Spanish. Toll-free: 855-897-5910.

Stop Street Harassment

Offers on-line resources, direct services, safe public spaces mentoring program, documents street harassment in the U.S., and lots of resources for addressing street harassment.

The Little Mermaid Explains 7 Types of Catcalls

With the Little Mermaid as a guide, Meghan Sara explains “The Seven Types of Catcalls.”  

• Stating the obvious (you got tattoos, an ass, breasts, etc.)
• The "compliment" (sender expects a smile and a thank you)
• "Fat" calling (saying something mean)
• Where are you going? (why would I tell a stranger this?)
• The grab and go (touching someone without their permission)
• The drive-by
• Smile (no)

Although these might be all too familiar, having the Little Mermaid explain them underscores how inappropriate they are. For the details, click here.

First-Ever National Street Harassment Hotline Will Launch in July

RESTON, VA -- Stop Street Harassment (SSH) and Defend Yourself are partnering with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) to launch a gender-based street harassment national hotline in July 2016.

RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, which provides confidential support those affected by sexual violence in both Spanish and English. The hotline is available via online chat and by phone 24-7. SSH and Defend Yourself will train RAINN staff who will be answering the National Street Harassment Hotline, to be equipped to help those calling about street harassment.

“We are thrilled about this new partnership and the ability to provide a safe space for those impacted by street harassment to receive help and appropriate resources,” said RAINN’s vice president for victim services, Jennifer Marsh.

Gender-based street harassment affects at least 65% of women and 25% of men in the USA, and it starts at a young age. It can range from catcalls and unwanted sexualized and homophobic comments to illegal acts like following, flashing, groping and sexual assault.

“Until now, there has not been a go-to place for people facing gender-based street harassment to find help. They want to know things like how to respond if they’re harassed, what their rights are under the law, or to generally receive emotional support,” said Holly Kearl, founder of SSH. “SSH is so pleased to be partnering with these two organizations to create that system of support.”

A growing body of research shows that street harassment negatively impacts women emotionally. It can be traumatic for them, especially for survivors of sexual abuse. “Mild” street harassment can escalate into physical harassment without warning and many women and some men have an underlying fear that verbal harassment will become physical. In January 2016, there were two cases – in Texas and Pennsylvania -- of street harassment escalating into murder. In late March 2016, a mother in California was shot in the stomach by street harassers whom she confronted for harassing her teenage daughter.

“Harassment is so pervasive, and it does so much damage to the lives of women and LGBTQ people,” says Lauren R. Taylor, founder and director of Defend Yourself. “Support can mean so much. We hope to empower people by sharing skills -- and increasing options -- for dealing with harassment in public spaces.”

Defend Yourself teaches skills for stopping harassment, abuse, and assault. It works to empower people -- especially women and LGBTQ people – to end violence and create a world where they can be fully themselves

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, and carries out programs to educate the public about sexual violence and improve the criminal justice system.

Stop Street Harassment is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting and ending gender-based street harassment worldwide through public education and community mobilization.