Birmingham UK Hollaback!

Lois’ Story: I wish they knew how it felt.

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:26:24 +0000

I was walking to a restaurant for a friend’s birthday meal when a car zoomed past, sounding its horn all the way past me and my friends, with a passenger hanging out the window leering at us.

I wish I could catch every man who has sounded his horn at me in one of his quiet, thoughtful moments and bellow threats down his ear. When I hear a car horn, I don’t hear a compliment, I hear “Today your appearance has given me sexual gratification. Feel ashamed.” I wish they knew how it felt.

I've got your back!

Lauren’s Story: It’s uncomfortable beyond belief.

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:16:52 +0000

Some guy made a lewd comment about my tights on saturday. I’ve actually become wary of leaving the house because if you don’t get a comment, you get a carhorn or something, and it’s uncomfortable beyond belief.

I've got your back!

Yemen women use digital tech to improve society with ‘Safe Streets’

birminghamuk — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:02:34 +0000

An excerpt cross-posted from the Women’s News Network

To push for safer streets in Taiz City, Ghaidaa al Absi, a rising group of 200+ women have brought attention back to the issues of women and Yemeni society. Persistent problems of street harassment throughout regions in the Middle East were discussed openly during a recent world conference on women in Istanbul. But what are the solutions?

The 12th AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development) International Forum on Women’s Rights, April 19 – 22, recently provided a dynamic space for open discussion on issues facing women in Yemen and throughout the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Activism and action were highlighted.

As part of the work for ‘Defying the Silence’ in Yemen, Absi’s goal has been to train over 200 women to become ‘experts’ in using open source online digital publishing tools as they become active voices for their communities using digital cyber-activism.

“Society accepts it and women expect that they will be touched and talked to,” said Absi at the AWID conference.

Continued reports of harassment in Yemen’s capital city of Sana’a has brought Maeen district police chief, Ahmed Al-Tahiri, to step up efforts to catch and prosecute predatory acts against women on the streets. Despite this promise for stepped up efforts, most men who are reported on sex-harassment charges often have their case caught up in what Sana’a policewoman Bushra Al-Khawlani explains is a process of office “referals’ where a case is referred from one department to another with often little to no final punitive measures being made against the offender.

Currently Yemen does not have any specific legislation protecting women from sexual harassment.

Using Google maps, Wiki and Facebook, numerous Yemeni women cyber-activists are currently now working with other activists to stop the abuse on the streets as they seek solutions, in spite of mobile challenges in certain areas and a lack of sustained internet connections they are working together to bring impact to the issues. Their work is based on efforts to improve, change and remove strife for women in the region.

“Every day I walk in the streets, and every day I face sexual harassment. Unfortunately, it becomes daily life, and we women are forced to adapt to it either by being silent or yelling at the harassers,” shared Absi in a February 2012 interview to highlight the conditions many women face on the streets as they go about their daily routines.

Stepped-up efforts by the women under a recent micro-grant by the Tactical Technology Collective (TTC – Tactical Tech), along with the organizational leadership of Absi, are now working toward solutions. TTC is an online digital resource that shares open source toolkits, guides and information for cyber-activists worldwide. Through the TTC program grant the Safe Streets website has produced an interactive map that now reveals ‘real-time’ locations where sexual harassment on the street has been reported by women throughout the Yemeni region.

Mrs A’s Story: I Wish there was no drunken men hovering around bus stops bothering people

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:25:37 +0000

Drunken guy drinking hassling some girls wearing hijabs standing at the bus stop. Asked them if they were ok to try and diffuse the situation but he seemed to think that because I was also wasn’t in a hijab that I would want to chat to him and shake his hand ugh (and also drunk nasty stranger, dont call me “BAB”). Telling him to go away was obviously useless but that’s all we could say. In the end a guy from the newagents I think, came over to lead him away. Very grateful he stepped in.

Wish there was no drunken man hovering around bus stops bothering people. Wish the police had been around, maybe I should have called them?? You can’t ring 999 I’m sure they tell you off if it’s not an emergeny, who should I ring?

I've got your back!

Mrs A’s Story: I Felt so scared that they were going to continue their abuse or worse, but desperately wanted tell them what I thought of them.

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:47:41 +0000

Walking down Holliday Street in Birmingham just by the registry office, a red car full of guys drove past and shouted some form of “complimentary harrassment” and then when I didn’t respond called me an ugly slag or something. I kept walking and they kept driving but then when I came out from under the bridge by Centenary Plaza I saw they had pulled up on the side of the road. Felt so scared that they were going to continue their abuse or worse, but also so desperately wanted to go up to the open car window and tell them what I thought of them.

I decided to just take a picture on my phone as I crossed the road and walked away from them.

Been hollered at by people in cars/walking many a time and it never gets easier. Always feel threatened, intimidated and degraded.

I've got your back!

Ellie’s Story: He started offering me cash for sexual favours

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:46:51 +0000

Some idiot started following me towards my home, from the train station at approx 1500 hrs yesterday.
He asked if I had a boyfriend, which I told him I did.
He asked for my number and I refused to give it to him.
Then he started offering me cash for sexual favours, increasing the amount each time.
I screamed at him to get out of my face, which eventually he did.

WelshFaery’s Story: Something inside me wants to scream, shout and fight (and Hollaback!) at any pervert who thinks it is okay to behave that way

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:04:18 +0000

I have been quite lucky in that my mum always promoted my sister and I to go to self-defence classes and karate, so even though I was stunned rigid when I was sexually assaulted on holiday in Turkey those instincts seemed to ‘wake up’ so I could scream abuse at the attacker and fight him off (it was reported to the Police).
One night walking back down through central Birmingham from a heavy metal club I was looking after my (very drunk) friend when all our other group of ‘friends’ just left us because my drunk friend was ‘too slow’ (thanks very much!). Still watching out for my friend who was a bit all over the place (she had just given her favourite lighter to a bunch of complete strangers) I felt something was suddenly ‘off’.
Two men were walking towards us – one was staggering drunk and shouting incoherent but aggressive abuse seemingly directed at my friend.
My brain could not seem to catchup with what was happening, but I knew it was bad. About 2 metres from us the screaming drunk lunged towards my friend with a fist – my reaction was instantly to step forward (from the side) and punch & push him in the chest. My friend is about 5ft so maybe he thought she was an easy target – I am about 5ft9 and he hadn’t seemed to reckon on me getting involved, so the look of utter shock on the bastard’s face as he just collapsed into his friend was very satisfying. They both fell into a wall and I shouted something at the more sober one like ‘Control your Fucking Friend!’.
The next day my friend (with a very sore head) had no memory of the journey back. She was very shocked that the group of people we had been with had just left two women alone in the centre of town. She admitted to me that she has been attacked before and just freezes because she is afraid of getting hurt defending herself. I admitted that I fear that too but there is that ‘something’ inside me that wants to scream, shout and fight (and Hollerback!) at any pervert who thinks it is okay to behave that way. My friend was very grateful that I had stayed with her and reacted when she was threatened. We have been best friends since – but I did have to explain several times that she had given her lighter to a bunch of bemused strangers(!)

Back to Basics: What is Street Harassment?

birminghamuk — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:18:53 +0000

Back to Basics: What is Street Harassment?.

Alexa’s story: Apparently because I don’t find blatant sexual harassment and unwanted touching just hilarious I clearly need a humour transplant. Who knew?

birminghamuk — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:01:21 +0000

A group of men in the Sunflower Lounge about a year ago thought it was really funny to dance up against me while I stood at the bar with my back to them. I kept looking back with a disgusted expression but they carried on when I turned back. In the end I turned around to the nearest one, pointed in his face and shouted so I could be heard over the music that if he carried on doing what he was doing I would f*cking kill him.

Surprise surprise the response from the little w**kstain? To hold his hands up and say “Oh we’re only having a laugh, where’s your sense of humour?” Apparently because I don’t find blatant sexual harassment and unwanted touching just hilarious I clearly need a humour transplant. Who knew?

Alexa

Kali’s Story:An older man attempted to put cash into the top of my skirt.

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:44:43 +0000

In Flares last night, I was dancing with my boyfriend at the bar while we queued. An older man (40+ to my 20-something) attempted to put cash into the top of my skirt. When I gave him the ‘shocked and disgusted’ look, he tried to tell me it was just a joke. I don’t get the humour. I must be dancing like that in order to arouse him, rather than for my own enjoyment? Was this a form of slut-shaming, ie, “you look like a whore”?. I kept the shocked and disgusted expression on my face until he turned to … Continue reading →