[SandyO says--add Street Harassment to Bullying as topics we all need to strike DOWN! It's about time we wiped out these intimidating actions. SPEAK UP SPEAK OUT!]
I have had the honor to meet with the founder of the Hollaback! chapter here in Mexico City, called AtreveteDF. A fairly new addition to the national and now global work that Hollaback! started in 2005, AtreveteDF is a growing force in the anti-street harassment movement. To mark International Anti-Street Harassment Day today, I invited AtreveteDF to write a guest post sharing its work and vision, especially in relation to the need to address this issue with young people. Below, readers will find both English and Spanish versions of AtreveteDF's guest post. Please note that due to safety concerns, AtreveteDF contributed their post anonymously.
Education Against Street Harassment
One memory remains from a recent visit to a soccer stadium here in Mexico. Two kids, who were about 6 or 7, were shouting -- in an almost eloquent manner -- quite derogatory and objectifying comments to the cheerleaders and other women in the stadium. They also made comments directed at the players of the opposing team regarding homosexuality and their supposed "lack of manliness" as well as to members from their own team when players failed to score. People passed by and laughed; most men and women seemed to applaud this behavior, and nobody, including myself, asked them to be respectful or otherwise.
Today is International Anti-Street Harassment Day. When we speak of the daily realities many women and LGBTQ folks face when they walk down the street, let's not forget to mention the children and youth who learn how to repeat these behaviors from the widespread sexual violence in our communities, the media, their homes, streets and schools.
While verbal harassment disguised as a compliment is not considered by many as sexual abuse (though it is by law in Mexico
"No fue romantico en aquel entonces, no es romantico hoy"; "It wasn't romantic back then, and it's not romantic today."
City), it is the beginning of a chain of gender-based violence that leads tofemicide. Cases of violence against women have been treated with impunity here in Mexico; in other words, it is normalized and ignored. This is the message, subliminal or otherwise, that is portrayed to the children of our community. If you're a man the thinking might be: "It's ok, no big deal," and if you are a woman, the thinking might be, "Well, what can you do about it?"
We also know that in terms of machismo, "one is not born but made." During the years of childhood and adolescence, there is much that can be done to counteract the collective forms of reaffirming masculinity that is perpetuated by both men and women in our society.
Any educational effort to promote equity should consider the different cultural and educational environments we navigate so that messages of respect towards women and for diversity constitute are accounted for. At a UNESCO meeting on masculinity and culture of peace it was mentioned that coupled with teacher training on effective methods against sexism, homophobia, and racism, measures should be taken "to reduce hierarchies and gender antagonisms at all levels of social life [such as] the public arena, mass media, the private sphere, the workplace, and institutions." Moreover, within schools, talking about gender as only an isolated topic should be avoided, and instead incorporated into discussions about equity, peace, and respect within the curriculum since all subjects include themes that touch on both men and women.
Ileana Jiménez (Feminist Teacher) told me how her male students' perception of street harassment changed when they listened to the experiences of their female peers during a workshop with Emily May, founder of Hollaback; for these boys to realize that this was a daily reality for their peers caused a real impact, as many had never stopped to think about the issue.
For this very reason, I strongly believe that sharing personal stories about street harassment is essential to demonstrating how gender-based violence and discrimination are more common than they appear. They are proof that these compelling realities for women and LGBQT folks should not go unnoticed, especially since they are such an important element of the widespread violence in Mexico.
AtréveteDF (Atreverse means "to dare")
At the end of last year, I discovered the Hollaback! blog and decided to reach out to the New York Hollaback! team to open a
"No Soy Tu Mami," (I'm not your 'mami') from AtreveteDF's Latin American sister counterpart in Buenos Aires.
Mexico City chapter. We've always known that founding it would be controversial, particularly because of the fact that since Mexico has one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, some think there are more important issues to deal than street harassment. Many people consider the "compliments" that call attention to women subject to interpretation rather than degrading; others believe that they part of a culture of courtship and "picardía."
Clearly, this is not so, since now there is a Mexico City law specifying that forms of sexual abuse in public places range from leering, comments, suggestive gestures, and touching. Even with this law, AtreveteDF believes that there are cultural limitations to this legislation since women are often questioned and made to feel guilty when they share a story or complaint about harassment and/or sexual abuse.
We would like to reiterate that the AtréveteDF/Hollaback! movement around the world is not anti-man, but instead, anti-harassment. We recognize that not all men harass women and many are aware of its impact and work against it. We firmly believe that sharing stories and ways to deal with street harassment en masse is an effective way to raise awareness about social problems that are frequently made invisible.
When voices come together, it leads to creating and modifying public policies as well as to creating supportive communities for those who are made to think that their experience of street harassment has no value or that they are responsible for what has happened to them.
Dare to tell your story and let's walk our streets without fear.
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