Getting Harassment on the Map

In Ecuador, India, and Egypt, a variety of approaches to sexual harassment in public are being explored. HarassMap"" is a tool for Egyptian women to protect themselves from sexual harassment. HarassMap, a private initiative run by volunteer activists, allows women who have been subject to harassment to report the incident anonymously by mobile phone SMS (text messaging), email, or online social networking sites. The information is compiled into a database that utilises open-source mapping technology to create a digital map of harassment "hotspots" in Cairo and other Egyptian cities.

According to one of its co-founders, Rebecca Chaio, "A main goal of HarassMap is to change the social acceptability of sexual harassment by breaking the silence… and by providing data to help tackle the problem.....The map will help women to avoid trouble spots…and will be provided to police and advocacy groups so they can increase their presence in these areas."

HarassMap utilises Ushahidi, a software platform initially developed to map citizen reports of post-election violence in Kenya in 2008 and used in Haiti to record citizen input in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. The software depicts the geographic spread and frequency of sexual harassment in real-time on a public website.

"A study published in 2008 by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights (ECWR) found that 83 percent of Egyptian women surveyed said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment, including groping, stalking, verbal abuse and indecent exposure. Some 46 percent of women reported being harassed on a daily basis.

The study revealed that, contrary to public opinion, the harassment did not appear to be a consequence of the woman's style of dress. Over two-thirds of victims were wearing the Islamic headscarf when incidents occurred.

Dozens of videos have been uploaded to websites to demonstrate the extent of sexual harassment and police lethargy in responding to complaints. The imagery, and a flurry of negative press reports, have shamed the government into taking the issue more seriously, say activists."

In New Delhi, India, new approaches to harassment on public transportation are being examined: "The Delhi state government has partnered with 'Jagori', a well-known non-governmental organisation (NGO), and UNIFEM to run gender sensitisation programmes for the state-run Delhi Transport Corporation, which employs 3,600 drivers and bus conductors.

According to a survey conducted by the Centre for Equity and Inclusion (CEQUIN), an NGO, 82 percent of Delhi's women see buses as the place they are mostly likely to be groped or sexually harassed." Surveillance cameras on buses and more stringent laws that would make sexual harassment a "non-bailable" offence are under consideration. An initiative called “Safe Delhi for Women” is seeing that more women are recruited into the police force and running programmes aimed at inculcating better public behaviour among young people.

In Quito, Ecuador, eight out of 10 people have suffered psychological, physical, or sexual violence, according to official statistics, with a majority of victims being women. Efforts are being made to make the city safer, particularly for young women. These include increased lighting in public areas and increased police patrolling. Seven "centres of equity and justice" have been operating in Quito for the past 15 years, to address the problems of gender violence and child abuse, as well as problems like human mobility and public spaces. Specialised police units and courtrooms have also been set up.