Ending street harassment: Iowa City forum aims to stop threats, catcalls

IOWA CITY - Stella Hart, a student at Drake University in Des Moines, was walking to class in 2010 when someone leaned out of their car and yelled something at her.

'I don't remember what they said, but I remember feeling really threatened by that and uncomfortable,” said Hart, now an Iowa City resident.

She called her mom, who told her to take it as a compliment. But Hart couldn't understand how a compliment 'could feel so awful.”

After hearing countless stories from friends with similar encounters, the 24-year-old said she wants to do something about it. Hart has organized an 'End Street Harassment in Iowa City” forum on Sept. 3 at the Iowa City Public Library where people can come to share their experiences with harassment.

Street harassment, according to Stop Street Harassment (SSH), is an interaction in a public space between two strangers that is unwanted, disrespectful, threatening and motivated by gender or sexual orientation. Street harassment can range from catcalling to physical or sexual harassment.

SSH founder Holly Kearl said harassment can also extend to individuals based on their race or socioeconomic class, but her efforts have focused on gender-related incidents.

A non-profit organization dedicated to documenting and ending street harassment, SSH released a 2,000-person national survey this spring that revealed 65 percent of female and 25 percent of male respondents had experienced some form of street harassment.

Kearl said the survey, conducted by GfK, is the first comprehensive national survey addressing the issue.

Street harassment has gained a lot of momentum through social media in the last few years, Kearl said, which she attributes to social media and more female representation in politics.

'It's so much easier for individuals to share their stories and keep the conversation going,” Kearl said. 'I think there's a lot more platforms for people to share their stories and to keep pushing the issue day after day.”

On the Iowa City event's Facebook page, online users have detailed their own experiences as targets of street harassment. 'I think it's a very relatable issue,” Hart said. 'I think a lot of people are going to find similarities in their stories.”

Yet advocates said it's an issue that remains underreported.

'People tend to just chalk it up to ‘that's what life is, that's just an experience that you should have.' But we know it's not,” said Jennifer Carlson, Rape Victims Advocacy Program executive director. 'People shouldn't have to live with street harassment.”

Carlson said RVAP's services include counseling and providing advocates to accompany someone who wants to report an incident to police.

Iowa City Officer Dave Schwindt said that when he first started patrolling downtown in January 2013, he had many complaints from downtown employers that female employees were experiencing street harassment, mainly catcalling, on the way to work. Schwindt said the offenders tended to be those loitering in the Ped Mall area along Dubuque Street.

Schwindt said he's seen a drop in complaints since the relocation of a free lunch program and police action on the sale of synthetic marijuana in area shops.

Schwindt admits his accounts are largely anecdotal and there are not specific numbers available on street harassment complaints.

Schwindt encourages people who have experienced harassment to contact officials, or RVAP, to seek help and possible legal action.

'If it doesn't get reported, we don't know about it and we can't address it and the cycle continues,” he said.

Hart said she hopes to hear from people who've been impacted by some form of street harassment at the forum. She also hopes to include bystander intervention training and to make sure people know their rights if they find themselves being harassed. Hart said if there's enough interest she wants to start a formal organization to continue the discussion on street harassment.

Kearl said it might take some time but she believes continued discussions will prompt long-term change.

'We're going to see a cultural shift,” she said.

IF YOU GO:

'What

: Ending Street Harassment in Iowa City

'Where

: Iowa City Public Library Meeting Room B

'When

: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3