Mar 25 2014.
views 6466Street Harassment is something that almost every woman has faced at some point in their lives. For most women it’s a daily occurrence. You walk on the road amidst numerous comments directed at you and somehow they are preconditioned to just ignore and walk by even though it affects them, because you are aware of your pounding heart, clenched teeth and cringed body, yet we come to terms that “ is not a big deal,” “ boys will be boys”, “ this is the culture” and numerous other reasons. It may not as be as violent as a rape or domestic abuse but any woman who has been harassed on the streets or while they were travelling in a bus will you tell you that it is not only very traumatic but also demeaning and insulting to feel that strange men have the power to treat you that way.
“RESPECT” Campaign against Street Harassment and Verbal Abuse in Sri Lanka was initiated by Nisha Aryal from Nepal and Sashee de Mel, who faced a number of incidents while they were travelling around the country that really forced them to stop and think about street harassment. With the end of the war and with so much resources directed at promoting tourism we thought Sri Lanka is finally becoming a country which is safe for women to travel by themselves, without male company. But they soon found out this was not the case. Sashee says “In at least two locations we were followed by vehicles driven by men. They did not just follow us for a few blocks but down entire streets and in some occasions stopped the vehicle in front of us blocking our way. The interesting part is that all this was happening in broad daylight and everyone around us was watching what was happening without offering us some help or even a look of disgust towards the driver. Once we started sharing our experiences with our friends we realized that this is an issue to so many girls and women out there Some had even experienced cases of public masturbation, exhibitionists and grabbing of body parts – examples of extreme cases of street harassment and were furious that nobody seems to be doing anything about it.”
How, When, and Where can the public get involved?
To start off the campaign an Open Forum discussion will be held on on 30th March 2014 at the Galle Face Green at 4.00pm. 30th March marks the beginning of the International Anti-Street Harassment Week so our event will be a part of the larger movement against Street Harassment which is called ‘ Meet us on the street’. We deliberately picked Galle Face Green as it is one of those locations where street harassment is very common. We hope to bring together both men and women from all walks of life to discuss various aspects of this issue. We have also invited subject experts on gender studies and women’s studies to attend this event.
Also we are on Facebook. We have a page – Respect: Stop Street Harassment – which people can ‘like’ and connect with us. It is meant to be a space for men and women to share their experiences of street harassment. We also want to make it a knowledge hub so that people can learn how to react and confront street harassment and information about the complaint mechanisms available.
8 Comments
ultimate says:
Mar 25, 2014 at 12:00 amhmm, ok.. then why do women dress in an inappropriate manner?? They expect it is it?
maneesha says:
Mar 26, 2014 at 12:00 amCan't agree more with this artical. We are a society that boasts our culture and relligious values but are mothers can't walk to the shops without having some lewd comment being directed at them. Have never experienced this type of harrasment in so called uncultured western countries.
Respect says:
Mar 26, 2014 at 12:00 amUltimate: Please explain what you mean by "inappropriate" ?
Respect says:
Mar 26, 2014 at 12:00 amUltimate: Please explain what you mean by ' inappropriate' ?
Anu says:
Mar 26, 2014 at 12:00 amI salute the work of this collective and pledge to support. Finally, we are seeing the dawning of peace in this country - and how can we let a group of uncultured, chauvinistic cowards, really, make girls and women, irrespective of age and social strata, feel uncomfortable and insecure. Is this the Sri Lanka we want for our daughters - certainly not. Street harassment is a violation of so many basic human rights impinging on the right to dignity. The perpetrators, largely male, need to know thi
bingo says:
Mar 26, 2014 at 12:00 am@ultimate....so u only harrase cuz the women dont dress properly??? well dude...u should know how to control your emotions..remember you have a woman ...your mother at home..also I would like to tell you that though some women dress properly they are been insulted..What if women insult men for what they wear...eg:pants on their butts' almost falling... lol...
ultimate says:
Mar 29, 2014 at 12:00 amwoah.. woah.. hold on guys.. @Respect. @Anu What i mean by inappropriate is that women nowadays dress in extremely tight clothing or Transparent clothing or revealing outfits... This is being considered as one's rights.. But they are unaware of the fact that the route cause of harassment is solely due to this act... Women do not value their own self, the modelling industry has made them into a commodity, hence the reaction seems to be inevitably in a negative way to society. One of those impac
sth says:
Sep 23, 2016 at 01:42 amIts important to teach men to stop sexualizing the human body. We dont dress to get harrassed, we dress for us, how we feel is right. Our clothes dont determine our value, neither do you. We get to choose the criteria as to how we are valued, and clothes are definitely not it. Can you please tell me why even in Middle Eastern countries men still harrass women who are dressed in the full Niqab? How in winter why rape rates does not fall in North America? Can someone explain to me how women are still harrassed in broad daylight in public? Regardless of how we are dressed, we are still harrassed. So no, our clothes dont determine how much WE respect ourselves and it shouldnt determine how much YOU should respect us either. Stop dehumanizing women. Stop objectifying and sexualizing the human body. Learn to respect women regardless of where they are, what time it is, how they dress or how they act. Consent = respect.