Local universities taking action against street harassment

It’s been going on for centuries.  But today women, including those attending the University of Akron and Kent State, are starting to answer back to the catcallers and lewd males who will not allow them to walk down the street in peace just going home after a class.   In many ways these women are saying, “No more.  My name is not ‘Hey, Baby.’”

“Street harassment” is defined as “unwelcome words and actions by unknown persons in public places which is motivated by gender and invades a person’s physical and emotional space in a disrespectful way.”   It has also been defined as “an appearance-related comment or noise made by a stranger in a public place.”

If it were just words, the complaints about “street harassment” would likely be far fewer, but of the 65% of women who report having been harassed in this manner, two thirds report the behavior goes beyond honks, whistles and directives such as “Come over here, Beautiful.”

Harassers sometimes follow those they taunt and become increasingly aggressive.  Many women report fearing the encounter would escalate into rape.   Women have experienced being touched (23%), flashed (14%) or forced to do something sexual (9%), according to the website, thinkprogress.org which reported on the “street harassment” epidemic in June 2014.

Women Report Comments Are Not Received as Compliments

Harassers often perceive their words as “compliments” and don’t see their conduct as wrong.  After all, they are merely telling a woman they think she is attractive.  Not so, say the women who receive the “compliments.”  It’s unfair for men to exert pressure on women to interact with men in a certain way, or to assume women will be receptive to every sexual advance made toward them, the think progress website authors noted.  “It is a damaging culture that disempowers women,” said Holly Kearl, founder of Stop Street Harassment and author of the new report.   She contends “street harassment” is a human rights violation because it connects to broader social issues.

The objection to the “compliments” has very little to do with the words themselves which are spoken to the woman walking by.   It is the expectation behind the words, that a man is somehow entitled to a smile, or some type of positive response, that creates a powerless feeling for the harassed person, Kearl said.

A Type of Sexual Assault

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “non-contact, unwanted sexual experiences” are the most prevalent form of sexual violence in the U.S.   “Street harassment” is viewed by many as a gateway to violence against women and as a type of sexual assault.

In Ohio, a person guilty of “street harassment” can be charged with various crimes depending on how far their actions progress.   The offense can be as simple as disorderly conduct and escalate to menacing by stalking, sexual imposition, indecent exposure and voyeurism.   The offender could also be prosecuted under Ohio’s bullying laws which prohibit harassment, intimidation or bullying.

In the past few years The University of Akron and Kent State University have widened their responsiveness to incidents of sexual assault on their campuses and have each formed a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).  At Akron U, SART’s goal is “to better coordinate the University’s existing response services to victims of sexual assault and sexual misconduct and to further improve education about, and responsiveness to Title IX issues which have broadened beyond athletics to more directly impact sexual/misconduct/gender equity issues.”

At Kent State, SART is described on its website (www.kent.edu/sart) as a first response team to incidents of sexual violence in the university community.  It ensures protocols are followed when an incident occurs and that services are victim-centered.   It also aims to educate the university community about personal safety and violence prevention and to provide anti-violence programming and support services, and to encourage all community members to speak out when witnessing violence.

Telephone apps are also being developed for women to use when they are walking around campus alone.  Most are designed to alert a number of friends and law enforcement about any dangerous situation.  Some are free and others are nominally priced.