Ah summer...
Finally time to cast of the shackles of wool, thermals and Gortex (and in my case an inordinate amount of fake fur), get the pasty pins out, and find the biggest sunnies you can find to hide the pub-garden hangover eyes. For a few weeks anyway, this is Britain after all.
Unfortunately this is also the season when to be a woman also means putting up with a hell of a lot more street harassment. Although a year round problem, there's something about the sunshine that seems to make it all the more prevalent. Having the audacity to bare a little more sweaty, burned or goose-pimpled flesh in the hope of topping up Vitamin D supplies is traded off with more unwanted attention.
Street harassment comes in all shapes and sizes, and some of it may seem harmless enough and be delivered with only the best intentions. Some of it less so. Ranging from whistles and teeth-kissing to down-right scary or offensive remarks, one thing that is universal, is how annoying it can be. If it was the odd polite compliment here and there, it would probably be tolerable, but during the summer months it can be a virtual trial to navigate the streets without harnessing the opinion of some male or another. At best it's annoying, at worst it can make women feel vulnerable and threatened.
Only yesterday after sitting and having lunch with a friend in the park I was walking home when a man who I'd never met before came up to me, put his hand on my arm and said "Ooh you've caught the sun!". Harmless enough you may think; but firstly, NO, you may not touch me, random man... and secondly, can you imagine what would happen if he'd done that to another man? I'm sure the redness of his punched face could only match the redness of the sunburn. It made me feel pretty angry, and I didn't want to feel angry, it was a lovely sunny day.
This is the thing though, because street harassment comes in so many forms and not all women are bothered by it - yes, sometimes can even be flattered by it, and will have possibly learned to tune it out over the years and ignore it; it has never been tackled properly as an issue. There is also the factor that it rarely happens if a girl is walking with a male friend, so it is hard for men to understand the scale of it - especially if they are the sort of man who wouldn't harass women themselves - because they don't often witness it.
So this is what I propose. I would like to do a project about street harassment in all its forms, to gain opinion from people who experience it. For the month of July all I want is for women to document the harassment they get. Harassment, in this instance, being defined as:
- Any comment or vocal call from someone who you don't know that serves no specific purpose (such as being asked the time or directions) other than to get your attention.
- Unwanted physical contact or invasion of your personal space that isn't unavoidable, such as being followed, having someone press up against you, being touched without permission etc.
- Sexist remarks from people you may or may not know, that you feel wouldn't be directed at someone of a different gender: for example - being told to smile, comments on clothing etc
- Direct violence, or a threat of violence to your person.
For one month I would like at least 20 volunteers to fill out a diary, comprised of a logging sheet I will provide, documenting their experience of street harassment and I really need your help. I will then use the data to try and get a proper discussion started about street harassment and what can be done to tackle the problem.
I will also provide a short questionnaire where you can provide your views about street harassment in general. If you like you can just do the questionnaire. Although women tend to get more attention in summer, I am deliberately NOT going to be asking "what were you wearing" as part of the log, as I feel this is detrimental to the issue. You can face harassment whatever you are wearing and I want to make it clear that I am not "slut shaming" or victim blaming.
Although this is a problem mainly faced by women (cis and trans), the project is open to volunteers of ALL gender and gender expression. The project is open to people of all sexualities, all ethnic backgrounds and ages. This is not a paid position, you can withdraw from the project at anytime, and although your data may be used publicly, your name and details will always be kept confidential.
If you would like to be involved, or learn more, please email me your contact details at idloveababycham@hotmail.com putting the subject matter STREET HARASSMENT JULY. I will accept all volunteers, and June 30th 2013 is the deadline for getting involved.
I cannot do this without people getting involved. Hopefully you will find it interesting, and I can go on to do some good with the findings.
Please pass this blog post on to as many people as you can as I would like to get a wide selection of people involved and from many different age ranges. If you think anything in particular should be addressed in the project, or you think I have missed anything out or misrepresented anything in my proposal please email me or comment below.
Many thanks!
Pip xxx
