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HOLLA ON THE GO: “It’s not that not enough women fight back, but rather that not enough people stick up for them.”

Published on October 16,2012 at 2:30 pm in Uncategorized, no comments 

On my way home from a party tonight, my boyfriend, a male friend and I were crossing the road to Camden Town underground station in a rush to make sure we caught the last tube train. As we crossed the road, a group of drunk, “jokily” aggressive guys ran across the road in the opposite direction. My boyfriend and my friend were ignored, however one of them found the time to drag his hands across my chest as he ran past. I am short, and I was wearing a dark, thick winter coat buttoned up. He must have thought about where to place his hand. I couldn’t do anything for a split second as I was so shocked. When I recovered enough to realise how angry I was, I turned back and shouted “fucking losers!” I wish I’d grabbed his hand and bitten on it. And then kneed him in his crotch, hard. My friend, who had seen what had happened (my boyfriend didn’t), congratulated me for shouting back at the guys, as he thought not enough women fight back. But that made me think, why didn’t he say anything? It’s hard to fight back when something like that happens to you, even when you want to, because you are so paralysed by the shock. It’s not that not enough women fight back, but rather that not enough people stick up for them.

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Some Hollaback facts:

- Street Harassment has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with power. Whether it's "Hey baby girl" or “You’d look good on me,” groping, public masturbation, or worse, these “compliments” aren’t about flirting or about chivalry either.

- If it makes you feel uncomfortable, it's not okay.

- If you feel intimidated, you DON'T need to 'take it as a compliment.'

- Street harassment is a gateway crime that makes other forms of gender-based violence OK.

- Studies conducted show that between 80-90% of women have been harassed in public.

- Street harassment may be the social and cultural norm, but it is far from OK. Street harassment teaches us to be silent, that taking action will only escalate the situation. While this isn’t bad advice, it has led us down a dangerous road. Ultimately, perpetrators realise they won’t be held accountable and continue to harass.

- Hollaback! was designed by a group of young people who were tired of being silenced and sought a simple, non-violent response. What has emerged is a platform where thousands of stories of street harassment have been told.

- We believe that by continuing to tell and map these stories, our voices will chip away at a culture that makes gender-based violence OK. Together we have the power to end street harassment, one Hollaback at a time.

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