Wednesday, July 30, 2014


“I just felt this knot of injustice in my stomach”...


I was walking home after work yesterday. My journey always takes me through a small square with a few shops and a pub. Outside the pub was a group of about 6 or 7 men. I hadn’t noticed them at all when they started calling out “”titties”" and “”hot titties”" and other offensive sexual remarks in a very aggressive manner. I looked around and could see they were staring at me. I walked away at first but it made me so angry that I decided to confront them about it. All they did was to deny they were talking about me but every time I walked away they started shouting it again and were always looking at me when they did so. I told them I found it offensive and abusive. There must have been a part of them that recognised they had done something wrong because they denied it.
After the confrontation I felt incredibly vulnerable and shaken. I couldn’t stop myself from crying even while I bought my dinner in the shop. When I got home I called the police to ask if it was possible to report it as a crime, was it even a crime to begin with? I was given a crime reference number and two police officers were sent round to see me. They took as much detail as possible although they warned me that there might not be anything they could do. But they did say they would go round to the pub and talk to them if they were still there or even talk to the pub owner.
After seeing the video of the woman who secretly videoed her street harasser and posted it on the internet I tried to do the same thing. However in my shaken state I only took their picture but it did allow me to show this to the police. They told me that this behaviour used to be illegal but wasn’t any longer but in some cases they could be charged with anti-social behaviour.
I am not by nature a confrontational person, so for me, going up to a group of middle aged men was very intimidating and left me more shaken and upset than perhaps I would have been if I’d just walked by. However I would have been more frustrated with myself had I tried to ignore them and not stand up for myself. I just felt this knot of injustice in my stomach at the way they felt they had the right to speak to people like that. At how they targeted a woman on her own, probably assuming I would try and just walk away from them.
I am not ashamed to say that had it been the middle of the night without anyone else around my self preservation would have kicked in and I may just have tried to ignore it. But I now know that calling the police is an option even if they can’t do that much to help and if it had been the middle of the night, this behaviour might have been considered more threatening.
I still feel angry and upset about what happened but I’ve had so much support from my friends saying that it was brave of me to stick up for myself that I feel slightly more vindicated.
Thank you
Madeleine
Location: Hampton (London), UK

Esto pasa tan a menudo en nuestras vidas que se vuelve insoportable, al punto que el miedo se apodera de nosotras, esto es injusto y ridículo, buscamos paz y tranquilidad en nuestras vidas pero este comportamiento de algunos hombres rompe nuestros sueños; hace unos meses mi hija fue asediada por 7 estúpidos saliendo de una tienda en pleno día, no quiero que el miedo se apodere de ella como yo lo tuve por años, cuando era asediada en los buses y en las calles.
Sylvia.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

OrangeDay!!


Tomorrow is UNiTE campaign #OrangeDay!

This month on #OrangeDay we’re highlighting violence against women and girls who work in the informal economy.

Violence against women in the work place takes place in all countries throughout the world, though women and girls in the informal economy are at particular risk. Though they play a vital role in the world’s workforce in roles such as domestic workers, waste pickers or street vendors, they work in unregulated conditions and are not protected by employment laws, leaving them at risk from exploitation and abuse.

Essential to combatting this violence is to ensure that women and girl workers are aware of their rights and have the power to assert them. Take action to show your support to end violence against women and girls working in the informal economy. Find out about resources that exist to support women’s economic empowerment and strengthen legal protection of women and girls in the work place!

Anna Alaszewski
Say NO – UNiTE Team, UN Women

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Wednesday, July 02, 2014


YO FIRMO.


El gobierno español impulsa una ley que pone en riesgo la salud, la vida y merma la libertad de las mujeres restringiendo el acceso a servicios de aborto seguro y legal.