The Berkshire Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force will present a webinar from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29, via Zoom, with activist-artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, author of âStop Telling Women to Smile: Stories of Street Harassment and How We re Taking Back Our Power.â
Fazlalizadeh will discuss and illustrate her work interviewing women from diverse backgrounds about the harassment they experience in public spaces. The webinar is the culmination of Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities during which two dozen local groups have read and discussed Fazlalizadeh s book.
The webinar is free and open to the public. Closed captions, American Sign Language and Spanish interpretation will be provided. To register for the event, visit tinyurl.com/2f4xw43v.
When is a catcall not âjustâ a catcall? Every. Single. Time.
Sexual harassment comes in many forms, but the most widespread is gender-based harassment in public spaces, often referred to as street harassment.
Many donât take street harassment seriously as a form of violence, but thatâs a mistake. Catcalls and wolf whistles are not compliments; they are not about desire or appreciation. Like other forms of gender-based abuse, they are a means of humiliation, domination and control. And they always include the threat of possible physical violence.
Street harassment is a near-universal experience for women and gender-nonconforming people. According to the advocacy group Stand Up Against Street Harassment, 78 percent of the worldâs women experience it, and lest you think otherwise, itâs 78 percent for American women, too. It happens in the city; it happens in the country. It happens when we walk alone at night; it happens in packed subway cars in the midd