Stopping Sexual Harassment

“Tell me about the process of moving to the UK”, I asked my friend from Uzbekistan.

What do you think she replied?

Individualism, anonymity, the rarity of paying bribes, or some difficulties in adjustment? A man might say something like that. But women from patriarchal countries always give me the exact same answer:

“One thing I was shocked was that I could walk down the street without being harassed.

I started walking at a restaurant, coming back at midnight. I was scared, because there were drunks (students). And that signals somethings gonna happen, and in Uzbekistan the blame would be on me (“Why was she out at that time?”)

But those people didn’t even look at me!! And I was like wow! This is so cool. That’s so cool, so so cool”.

Sexual harassment persists in many parts of the world. A policeman in Fes (Morocco) stopped a young woman, asking to see her ID. After inspecting, he grinned, “OK, I’ll wait till you’re a little older”. Another time, a taxi driver wouldn’t let her leave the car till she gave her number. In Punjab, Calcutta and Haryana, women told me they were taught to look down, so to prevent male attention (and possible harm). By acting as ‘good girls’, they preserved social respect. For them, the most significant part of immigration was feeling unafraid while looking up.

European and American city streets weren’t always so safe

60 years ago, sexual harassment continued with impunity. London’s Fleet Street was a total boys’ club: women were treated as servile secretaries and sex objects. Men patted their bottoms, complimented their shapely legs, while monopolising important reporting.

A woman who attracted attention only had herself to blame: “What was she wearing?”, “Why was she out so late?”. Objectors were derided as killjoys: “it’s just a bit of fun!”. Fearing for her daughter’s safety, my grandmother imposed strict curfews.

How did Europe and North America become safer?

Before discussing all-important feminist activism, I think it’s essential to recognise its ideological foundations: 1960s counter-culture.

The Spirit of ‘68

In North America and Europe, university enrolment soared over the 20th century. Leaving their families behind, students enjoyed newfound fraternity and freedoms. The 1960s Counter-Culture challenged gerontocracy. Protests erupted against the Vietnam War; while Rock and Roll music celebrated a spirit of rebellion; and people got loose on recreational drugs.

This culture of youthful resistance was enabled by job-creating economic growth, urbanisation, democratisation, and universities. Students had the time, fraternity, and economic autonomy to think for themselves and organise for alternatives.

In Zurich, I interviewed a leading Swiss activist (now elderly). For her cohort, ‘68 marked a new era of secularism, liberal tolerance, individual rights, independent critique, and a growing belief that change was possible through mass mobilisation.

Russel Sage Foundation

Woman at a Love-In gathering at Elysian Park in Los Angeles, California by Lisa Law, 1968, via National Museum of American History, Washington DC

People dancing at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, 1969, via Woodstock.com

Sexual liberation did not guarantee female safety. Young women wanted to enjoy the night, like their male peers, but it was still a man’s world. Rapes and murders were frequently reported across Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Feminists Took Back the Night

In 1976, a Tribunal of Crimes Against Women met in Belgium. This was a people’s tribunal - much inspired by Bertrand Russel’s people’s tribunal on crimes in Vietnam. Over 2000 women from 40 countries came to share tales of abuse and demand public safety. And so began decades of feminist activism, to ‘take back the night’.

The Philadelphia Inquirer 1975

At hundreds of North American universities, women demanded “our right to be free from fear, to proclaim our refusal to live in cages”.

Take Back the Night flyer. University of Illinois Library.

After 14 women were killed in Montreal (1989), protests erupted across Canada. The third Friday of September was declared the evening for nationwide marches.

Take Back The Night march in Toronto, 1985. Photo credit: Toronto Public Library

What’s the point of marching and chanting?

Synchronous group activities facilitate group-bonding: a feeling of unity and strength. No longer alone and afraid, protestors realise their strength in numbers. Peer support emboldens a sense of righteous resistance, a belief that change is possible.

As detailed by two Swedish activists:

I stood in a square in a sea of women. Women gathered in their belief that we are just as valuable as men are. There were speeches, there was singing and it felt warm all over. I went from there as a strengthened feminist.

We are so many, we take care of each other… we take that place and feel the strength in doing that. I assume that many feel very strong and happy. And strong sisterhood.

Reverse Dominance Coalitions

Rising female labour force participation, free-thinking universities, democratic politics, a culture of litigation, and open media enabled myriad women to keep chipping away at the patriarchy.

A BBC journalist showcased sexist double standards by pinching men’s bottoms. It wasn’t ‘just a bit of fun’; it was assault.

“Women’s committees” assembled in the Greater London Council, Manchester, the Netherlands, and subsequently North America. They commissioned user studies on women’s safety. In 1985, almost 50% of women in Toronto said they felt unsafe in parking garages. Women reiterated fears of ‘perverts’ and ‘prowlers’.

Whitzman 1992

Patriarchs dragged their heels, but women kept up the pressure. In 1986, the US Supreme Court recognised ‘sexual harassment’ as a violation of Title VII. Within a year, reported cases surged from 10 to 624. Cases continued to multiply and garnered media attention; women claimed their rights and demanded respect.

Feminist marches, media critiques, municipal women’s councils, and litigation are all examples of reverse dominance coalitions. They were enabled by the spirit of ‘68 and democratic institutions. In Russia and China, by contrast, #metoo was suffocated.

Female Leisure

It is no longer remotely appropriate to pat a young journalist’s bum or compliment her bosom. Norms have changed.

Toronto today feels incredibly safe. East and South Asian female students walk freely, late at night and unafraid. This is an important aspect of gender equality:

Can a woman peacefully read in a book in a public space without worrying about social condemnation, harassment or assault?

Queen’s Park (Toronto), my photo

Queen’s Park (Toronto), my photo

I’ve just moved to Toronto! Do get in touch if you’d like to say hello. :-)