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Rebecca Chiao: Shaming Street Harassers with Social Media and Community Outreach

3-15-2012

By Alison Searle
Human Rights Defenders

Honoring Inspiring Women for Women's Month and International Women's Day

When Rebecca Chiao moved to Egypt to work with the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights, she was surprised to find that she would be working for her own rights as well.

Rebecca, an American who has lived in Cairo since 2004, encountered the everyday menace of street harassment. She learned that the problem was endemic and had gradually become accepted. Victims are blamed for their harassment, and bystanders are reluctant to prevent or stop it.

A survey taken by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) in 2008 found that 83% of Egyptian women and 93% of foreign visiting women experienced harassment.  Harassment ranges from cat calls to groping to sexual assault, and can happen to women anywhere and at any time, during a walk to work or a quick trip to the grocery store.

Rebecca decided to take action.  In December 2010, just before the Egyptian uprising, she launched HarassMap, an initiative that uses social media to draw attention to street harassment and coordinate outreach activities in the streets to encourage bystanders to protect victims. HarassMap is an online tool that allows women to anonymously report harassment via text message so that incidents are publicly reported, but the victims do not feel at risk.  The site pinpoints “hot spots,” areas where harassment is most prevalent.

The majority of HarassMap’s work, however, lies in follow-up and outreach.  Volunteers make calls to local shopkeepers, police and neighbors to explain why and how they can make their communities safe for women.  The site also provides counseling on how to file a police report, services for psychological support and self-defense courses.  In an interview with the Toronto Star, Chiao explained: “We’re working one neighborhood at a time.  We don’t expect to change things overnight, but we’ve had a lot of support and attention even in cities outside Cairo.”

As HarassMap becomes more visible in the wake of regional uprisings, the word is spreading to neighboring countries, and more women are banding together to combat harassment.  As we celebrate Women’s Month this March, we celebrate leaders like Rebecca Chiao, who are working on making the world a safer place for women.

To learn more about the effort to end street harassment, you can attend the event “From Cairo to DC: A Discussion on Street Harassment” on March 19, 6:30-8:00 p.m., as a part of International Anti-Street Harassment Week, co-sponsored by Human Rights First.


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Posted in Blog | 2 Comments »

  • http://www.meetusonthestreet.org HKearl

    Rebecca and the HarassMap team are truly inspirational! For people who want to attend, here is more info:
    Location:
    YWCA National Capital Area
    2303 14th Street, Washington, DC 20009

    Speakers:
    * Sawsan Gad will discuss street harassment in Egypt and efforts to address it through a HarassMap tool
    * Dienna Howard will talk about her experiences dealing with harassment as a black woman, finding support for dealing with harassment, and how her harassment experiences differ in various parts of the DC area.
    * Holly Kearl will speak about International Anti-Street Harassment Week and touch on anti-street harassment efforts in Afghanistan and the UK
    * Twanisha Mitchell will focus on ideas for activism.
    * Layla Moughari will talk about street harassment she’s faced in both Iran and DC

  • disqus_6Ts2H5ksZ5

    This is a great project. It would be important to implement this site or something similar also in other countries or cities. For example in New Dehli.