Boston Globe Article on Hollaback Boston
Scott Pherson
Stephanie Conduff's article on Street Harassment featured both of you
and the recent HollaBack meeting in July. Way to go! :-)
-Scott
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/06/hey_baby/
''Hey baby!''
A whistle, a yell, a leering (threatening?) face suddenly in yours -
street harassment is a crime, and local women and men are pushing back
By Stephanie Conduff, Globe Correspondent | August 6, 2006
Typically, the vehicle slows to a crawl, matching the speed of the girl
or woman walking a few feet away on the sidewalk. Then come the words:
``Get in my car, you look too good to walk."
``Hey, pssst, hey!"
``Smile for me. Show me your pretty face. Can I get your number?"
(Obscenities, vulgar suggestions.)
``Bring that back here. Mmm, mmm good."
``HEY BABY!"
Ask a man about ``street harassment" and he might mention the homeless
guy shaking a change cup near his workplace.
Ask a woman, and the response probably takes a different form, often
with tales of men yelling remarks like those above, all reported on
Boston streets. Or worse, you may hear stories of men who hiss, grunt,
whistle, grope, and stalk.
In this summer in which news from the street has been dominated by
deadly shootings, harassment is a crime below the radar. It doesn't
rate its own category when law enforcement stats are reported. You
don't hear about it much when politicians and clergymen step to the
microphone.
But while there is no body count for street harassment, the harsh
reality has left some women with fears about their personal safety. And
the prevalence of the problem has prompted action from three area
sources:
A local teen empowerment group has launched a stepped-up campaign to
raise awareness of the issue.
A local chapter of the nationwide Holla Back women's anti harassment
group has formed.
The Boston contingent of the National Organization of Men Against
Sexism has joined in the cause.
As early as 8 years old, girls start hearing men yell suggestive things
at them, say the teen organizers of the Hyde Square Task Force. Located
in a storefront on Centre Street in a corner of JP recently identified
by Boston police as a hot spot for shootings, the nonprofit group
focuses on community issues like harassment on the streets and in the
schools.
``Why are these men even looking at us?" says Gabi Leyton-Nolan , 14,
of Roslindale. ``They have daughters or granddaughters our age."
`Just a piece of meat'
Speaking recently at one of the regular meetings of the task force,
Leyton-Nolan joined with a dozen peers to talk about how fed up they
are with street harassment.
``If you don't like it and you don't want it, then it is harassment,"
she says .
When she waits for the bus or the T, Leyton-Nolan says she hears slurs
and propositions. When she ignores them, she says, the taunts quickly
turn to aggressive insults.
That's when the fear sets in, she says, as it's hard to know whether
physical actions might follow such verbal barrages.
``You don't know if it is a compliment -- or if it is wrong at first,"
says Kendra Larz , 16, of JP.
Beyond fear, that kind of uncertainty also fuels anger -- at the very
idea it may not be safe to walk down Centre Street or other parts of
the city without an accompanying male.
One of two males in the task force, Victor Martinez , 15, of JP, says
he sometimes tells guys to back off when they are saying ``too much."
Maanav Thakore , 26, the teens' task force organizer, feels that such
harassment and headline-grabbing incidents of street violence are
directly related.
Harassment, he says, ``isn't about sex. It is about power." Its
victims, he continues, ``feel like `I'm not safe alone' or `I always
have to watch my back' or `I can't wear what I want' or `I have to be
cold to people' and always have an iPod on."
There are side effects to incessant harassment, he says, when students
start putting the blame on themselves and can't focus on their
schoolwork.
``Walking down the street, they are just a piece of meat," he says.
Last August, the group held a street event with skits and began passing
out cards with pleas for respect from men.
This summer, the task force has begun producing large signs from the
cards. The message on the front of each, in English and Spanish:
``Please treat me with Respect." On the back: a definition of street
harassment. Local businesses have displayed the placards, Thakore says.
Also, the group has started working with officials to update sex
education curriculum in the schools, as well as change the way reports
of harassment are handled.
Fighting back on the Web
The group's efforts have not gone unnoticed. Two Boston women, inspired
in part by a news account of the task force, formed a Boston community
blog in June to share their stories of street harassment. Holla Back
Boston cofounders Michelle Riblett and Brittany Shoot advise women to
use their cellphone cameras to document harassers. The blog is modeled
after the Holla Back NYC blog project launched in October 2005, one of
a loosely linked, international network.
``With one cellphone picture, it magnifies and travels all over the
world," says Riblett, 24, of the Back Bay.
Asked about the possibility that some of the photos and stories that
make it online might level unjust accusations, she says, ``We are more
concerned about the thousands of women that get harassed every day."
Legally, accosting or annoying someone of the opposite sex could get
the offender up to six months of jail time or $200 in fines, according
to Chapter 272, section 53 of Massachusetts General Law.
But ``annoying persons" incidents often go under-reported in public
places such as the T, says Manuela DeSousa , a Transit Police
Department crime analyst.
``More people are apt to report something if they are touched," she
says. ``I can see a victim walking away if they are just annoyed."
Still, if an incident does occur while using public transportation, she
suggests riders use the police call boxes or report it to a MBTA
official or train conductor. And if it happens to you, ``report it as
soon as you can," she says.
Boston attorney Wendy Murphy is skeptical of legal remedies for street
harassment. ``Since there is no established definition of street
harassment, what is flirtation to one person could be harassment to
another, similar to sexual harassment cases in the workplace," says
Murphy, 45, who teaches a seminar on sexual violence at the New England
School of Law. ``Neither side has much hope of using the law to stop
the offensive behavior."
Women taking the message to the Internet, into the streets , and into
public forums are her first choices before pushing for more government
regulation.
Taking it to the streets
Women can seek legal protection in work and academic environments, but
harassment on the street or public transportation is a new frontier,
says Nan Stein , a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers
for Women at Wellesley College. She says she developed the first
curriculum on sexual harassment in schools in 1979 for the
Massachusetts Department of Education.
``I think if it is public transportation . . . then there is a
responsibility of both federal and city governments to make you safe,"
the Cambridge resident says. In Stein's opinion, just saying ``hey
baby" -- on the T or on the street -- shouldn't be against the law.
``I don't want speech like that criminalized," she says. ``You are
going to run into the First Amendment," which is part of a constant
tension in harassment cases .
That lack of clearly defined and established legal guidelines to make
the streets safe from harassment is part of what prompts groups ardent
about the issue to turn to like-minded souls for help.
When a number of Boston-area women met in Cambridge last month to
discuss their personal struggle with lewd shouts and other assaults on
their dignity, five members of the National Organization for Men
Against Sexism, Boston chapter, were there.
The pro feminist, gay-affirmative, and anti racist group joined the
women, forming a circle at the Democracy Center on Mt. Auburn Street to
trade ideas and stories and engage in role-playing.
They took their dialogue out to a corner of Harvard Square. There they
used construction cones to wrap the sort of yellow tape all too
familiar from crime scenes -- but covered with handwritten slogans.
``Don't ask me to smile," said one. ``Street harassment must end,"
proclaimed another, and then: ``Warning: street harassment will not be
tolerated -- violators will be photographed."
The square is symbolic of public places where harassment frequently
occurs, says Matt Meyer , a member of the men's group. A display like
theirs is one way to bring awareness to the problem, he says.
Scott Pherson , a cofounder of the group, says he left the event with a
sense of satisfaction that more people are sharing in his outrage about
harassment. He says he has confronted men on T platforms and asked them
to stop harassing women.
``I get annoyed and I get upset," he says, ``when I see it happening."
Stephanie Conduff can be reached at scon...@globe.com.
What do you think?
Have you had personal experiences with street harassment? Do you have
any ideas for stopping it? City Weekly wants to hear from you. Message
us at ciw...@globe.com. Please include your name, a daytime phone
number, and your neighborhood or community. Responses may be edited for
length and grammar.
Handling harassment
What should you do if you are harassed on the street? Keeping in mind
that your safety is the top priority, here are a few tips:
Use strong body language: Look the harasser in the eye, speak in a
strong, clear voice.
Name the behavior: For example, say, ``Don't comment on my body. That
is harassment."
Do not apologize or ask a question: Don't say, ``Excuse me. . .,"
``Would you. . .," ``I'm sorry, but. . .," or ``Please. . ."
Do not get into a dialogue with the harasser: Don't answer any of the
harasser's questions or respond to follow-up comments. Simply repeat
your statement or leave.
Do not swear or lose your temper: For many harassers, the goal is to
get a rise out of you. For them to see you getting angry or upset
encourages them.
Source: www.harassment101.com
Scott Pherson
and Michelle's letter to the editor response to the Globe's coverage of
street harassment and Holla Back Boston. Great job!
-Scott
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/13/harassment_is_a_serious_matter/
LETTERS
Harassment is a serious matter
August 13, 2006
While we greatly appreciate reporter Stephanie Conduff's article on
street harassment in Boston, (``Hey baby!," Aug. 6, City Weekly) we
were dismayed by the article's closing tone and implications. To end an
article with Nan Stein's claim that street harassment should not be
taken seriously by law enforcement because of an appeal to First
Amendment rights is inconsistent and alarming. Street harassment exists
on a wide spectrum of sexual violence crimes, and invalidating its
harmful effects on women who experience it every day furthers the
belief that perpetrators can denigrate women as they choose in public
without repercussions.
The recent advancement of laws in the 1990s against sexual harassment
in the workplace and in schools specifically invalidates this argument,
which Ms. Stein clearly knows since she pioneered this effort. Hate
crime legislation, after all, embodies a mission parallel to that of
Holla Back Boston: to empower and protect those who belong to
marginalized groups.
Furthermore, street harassment is absolutely being taken seriously by
law in other cities. Undercover women cops made 13 arrests in 36 hours
against perpetrators who harassed them on the New York City subway in
June. It should not be considered so radical that we strive for the
same equality, safety, and respect for women in public spaces in
Boston.
Additionally, we would like to note that the Cambridge meeting
described in the story, hosted by Holla Back Boston, was at the
invitation of the Boston chapter of NOMAS, the National Organization
for Men Against Sexism.
Michelle Riblett Brittany Shoot Co-founders, Holla Back Boston