This weekend: First Annual International Anti-Street Harassment Day

This is a guest post from Holly Kearl, women's rights activist and author. You can contact Holly at hollykearl-AT-yahoo.com.

As a college student at Santa Clara University in northern California, I faced street harassment almost every time I left campus on foot, including when I went for my daily run, walked to volunteer at a local domestic violence shelter, or took a bus to go to the mall with friends. The whistles, honks, pssts, and comments quickly became annoying, then infuriating. The harassment was such a constant part of my life that I couldn’t ignore it. My experiences led me to write a master’s thesis and then, when I discovered a lack of literature on the topic, a book on street harassment.

Across the last few months since my book came out, I’ve given talks about street harassment on college campuses in states as far flung as Alaska, Iowa, California, Maryland, and Georgia. No matter the size of the campus or its location, most of the women in the audience have stories of street harassment. From peers yelling at them from dorm rooms or fraternity houses as they walk across campus to adult men yelling at them from cars as the women wait for buses or walk to stores off campus, the harassment stories are similar and so are the outcomes. Students feel disempowered, upset, and they often try to avoid the harassment by changing what they wear, where they go, and when. This is not fair and it’s not right.

Street harassment is a global problem and it requires a global response. This Sunday, March 20, thousands of women and men across the United States and throughout the world will participate in the first International Anti-Street Harassment Day.

Women and men on many college campuses are participating, including in Delhi (India), Cape Town (South Africa), Toronto (Canada), Irvine (CA), Iowa City (IA), Harrisonburg (VA), and College Park (MD). Their actions include setting up tables to hand out anti-street harassment materials, posting fliers around campus with messages about ending street harassment, and blogging and tweeting about street harassment from wherever they are over their Spring Break.

There’s still time for you to decide to do something, too. Agree to talk to a friend or classmate about street harassment. Share your story online. Tweet about street harassment with the hashtag #antistreetharassmentday. If you have time hand out or post fliers or hold an informal meeting on campus where people can brainstorm how to address and end this problem in your community. Here are 10 ideas for action, the Facebook RSVP page, and sample fliers.

Reclaim your campus, reclaim your community and do something to end street harassment. Let March 20 simply be your starting point.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month - Take Action on YOUR Campus!

The month of October is overflowing with activities that student groups across the country are taking action on. For many of us, October signifies the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness month and gearing up to put on events that really highlight the impact it has in our communities. The first step in fighting this vicious violence is being informed and getting educated on the issue. According to YWCA, "one in three women has been the victim of domestic violence." Not only is this statistic saddening but also learning that "twenty-five percent of college women have been raped" is an issue we cannot blindly stand by!

Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender. It can happen to couples who are married, living together or who are dating. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels. It is everyone’s problem and has consequences for more than just the people involved.


To take action for Domestic Violence Awareness month, many activists partner with local organizations and shelters that support survivors through fundraisers, host clothing and cell phone drives, hold workshops about consent and the Violence Against Women Act, chalk the campus with statistics about domestic violence, and volunteer endless hours. It can also be as simple as holding a screening that talks about the issue with a thought-provoking discussion afterward because as cliche as it sounds, knowledge really is power. Wherever you are, speak up against violence in your community by becoming a hotline volunteer, attend a local rally, or inform yourself and the rest of your school about your campus sexual assault policy.

Use this month to make a difference in your campus community because it takes just one person to send the message that violence is not acceptable. It’s time to take back our community and end this cycle of violence once and for all.

For more information about domestic violence and available resources, please visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline (www.thehotline.org) and YWCA.

photo courtesy of flickr.com/zappowbang


This blog post is part of the October eZine. To receive our monthly eZine, click here.

We've Been Stupak'd

While women won big with health care reform, we took a hard blow when it came to comprehensive reproductive health care, and we are doing so again. However, this time there are no trade-offs.

As soon as next month, transitory health-insurance pools for those with pre-existing conditions will become available. Yesterday the NARAL released a statement that said the new temporary health care plans for high-risk individuals will not include comprehensive reproductive health care. It seems the White House Administration has put a total ban on abortion coverage (with the exception of cases of rape, incest, or if the woman’s life is endangered) even though there is not a single thing in the federal law that restricts the use of federal or state money for abortion coverage within the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plans (PCIPs).

This ban is in essence the same as the Stupak amendment which was defeated months ago. With the enforcement of this ban there is no way women will be able to purchase abortion coverage within the PCIP system even with their own private funds. Because these women fall in the high-risk category, they will not have options outside the PCIP system to find insurance coverage for abortion. That's why they are participating in the PCIP system to begin with, because they can't get coverage anywhere else! So in the end the government is completely denying these women of any possible coverage for abortion period!!

We did not work so hard to defeat the Stupak amendment, to so quickly and without any reason find a Stupak ban enforced now! As the Center for Reproductive Rights stated: "Healthcare reform was a tightly bargained piece of legislation - and with this, the White House is threatening to renege on a fundamental part of its bargain with American women and families who truly need coverage."

Join me in speaking out by telling President Obama that this abortion-coverage ban was not part of the agreement on health reform and that abortion coverage should not be excluded from the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plans!

Never Go Back - Talking Points on Stupak-Pitts

SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT! WE WILL NOT GO BACK!

Inspired by Ellie's email from this morning, we've assembled key talking points for you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

• Stupak-Pitts is a virtual ban on ALL abortions – in both the public option and private options!

• Stupak-Pitts will not end abortion– just your ability to access/afford one.

• Stupak-Pitts is a LONG TERM BAN – if it passes, it will affect generations of women to come!

• Under Stupak-Pitts, Women be limited in their ability to purchase coverage for abortions with their own money!

• Stupak-Pitts is a DENIAL OF CHOICE dictated by the Conference of Catholic Bishops and anti-choice lobbyists!

• Stupak-Pitts will deny abortion coverage for poor and middle-class women!

• Under Stupak-Pitts, women will LOSE existing coverage for abortion!

• Stupak-Pitts is BACKWARDS and re-opens the doors for new generations of back-alley

abortions!

• Stupak-Pitts could create a ripple effect - birth control coverage is the next choice to be

slashed!

• Stupak-Pitts is an obstruction to true health care reform!

• Stupak-Pitts is unacceptable, deplorable, and destructive!