Photo: Kacie Lyn Kocher and Caroline Turner (Hollaback), Egyptian woman using cell phone (Getty Images)
Women are taking their safety into their own hands, literally, by tweeting, texting, emailing or calling in their location when sexual abuse or harassment occurs.
In Egypt, everything from annoying hooting and hollering to rape can now be documented with a dot on the color-coded and searchable map at HarassMap. Riding the tide of the recent Egyptian uprisings, the site is using social media to empower women. When a woman calls in an incident she is also given advice on filing a police report, finding a self-defense class or getting psychological support.
Photo: Map of sexual harassment activity in Egypt from October 2004-July 2011. (harassmap.org)
The vast majority of females in Egypt (83%) have been sexually targeted to some extent. Unfortunately, we aren't immune to sexual harassment here in the states, either.
Like HarassMap, Hollaback! encourages females in the U.S. and abroad to voice their stories and pinpoint harassment hot spots on a map.
Photo: Current Hollaback map tracking sexual harassment through shared stories. (Hollaback.org)
Native Texan and current Istanbul resident Kacie Lyn Kocher founded Hollaback! Istanbul. “We are transforming Istanbul’s love for gadgets, smartphones and social media into the vehicle for awareness and social change, fighting sexism, racism and homophobia on the streets,” she said.
Hollaback! has created a movement to encourage women and the LGBTQ community to mobilize against sexual objectification. “I was fed up with hearing other people's opinions of my body,” said 17-year-old Caroline Turner from Cold Spring, New York. “I was angry from listening to my friends tell me about the creeps on the subway touching them or taking pictures of their bodies. But most of all, I was enraged by the lack of response to the problems we were facing.”
Feeling the same? Spot something in your community? Join the movement, and Hollaback! below.
actTAKE ACTION!
Hollaback!
Share your story, donate or just spread the love on Twitter. There are many ways to Hollaback! at creeps on the street.
