A man threw a glass bottle toward my student’s head last week after she ignored his catcalls near Lehigh and Broad [in Philadelphia]. As a result, her father has discouraged her from attending our after-school program because she has to walk to and from the train alone.
Nuala Cabral, one of the co-organizers of International Anti-Street Harassment Week (March 18–24), posted this quote on Facebook recently. This upsetting story illustrates the negative outcome that gender-based street harassment has on the people who experience it.
From catcalls to sexually explicit comments, public masturbation, stalking, and even assault, pervasive, worldwide street harassment limits victims’— especially young women’s — access to public spaces.
Instead of being seen as the human rights issue that it is, street harassment is normalized, twisted into being seen as a compliment, or blamed on the people who are harassed because of where they were or what they were wearing. That’s why a week of awareness is necessary — to break down the stereotypes, cut through the normalization of the problem, and allow people worldwide to join forces and speak out.
From March 18 to 24, more than 100 groups from 17 countries and thousands of people worldwide will speak out together. From organizing rallies and street theater to hosting documentary screenings and discussions to online activism, our voices will be heard.
1. Talk about street harassment with your friends, family, co-workers, classmates, and neighbors. Share your stories with them.
2. Raise awareness online.
- Change your Facebook profile picture to the Anti-Street Harassment Week logo (see example on the right, or visit the tools page of our website to access logos in 13 languages).
- Write and post a street harassment story on your blog, Tumblr, Twitter, or Facebook.
- Tweet about street harassment using the hashtag #EndSHWeek. Participate in the #SheParty chat about street harassment that the Women’s Media Center is hosting on March 21 at 3 p.m. EDT.
- Write an article, op-ed, or blog post about street harassment. Check out our idea guide, which includes instructions and a special offer from the Op-Ed Project, for inspiration.
3. See if there is offline action planned in your area, and if there is, join in. If there’s not, consider hosting your own. Add your event to the map so that others in your area can find out about it.
- Engage your community. Hold an awareness-raising event or rally, hand out fliers on the street, or do sidewalk chalk messaging. Show a relevant documentary or hold a speak-out at the event to generate awareness and discussion. See our idea guide for more inspiration.
- Evaluate your community. Conduct a survey or a community safety audit, or create a mapping project to document where street harassment occurs. Check out our idea guide for other opportunities.
- Educate your community. If you’re a teacher, coach, mentor, or leader, talk to your students about street harassment. See our idea guide for other ways you can get involved.
In Washington, D.C., there are eight events planned. One will be held at AAUW on Thursday, March 22, at 5:30 p.m. AAUW Community Action Grantee Collective Action for Safe Spaces (formerly known as Holla Back DC!) will host a discussion about sexual harassment on the Metro, the subway system here in D.C. Staff members from the transit authority plan to attend.
No action is too small to make a difference. Let’s make all public spaces safe for everyone.
AAUW Dialog 
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