HOLLABACK! CHENNAIFIGHTING STREET HARASSMENT, ONE STORY AT A TIME

ABOUT USThe Chennai chapter of the global Hollaback! movement was launched in December 2011 by Prajnya.

Hollaback! Chennai is one of five Hollaback! chapters in India. The other four are in Chandigarh, Pathankot, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Our aim is to get as many people as possible to share their stories of street harassment, using our website and smartphone app.

Our team consists entirely of volunteers, who are responsible for moderating submissions to our website, updating our social media pages, and finding new ways to start conversations on street harassment offline.

THE WEBSITE

SUBMITTING YOUR STORY

THE SMARTPHONE APP

WHY SHARE YOUR STORY?

Street harassment is one of the most underreported crimes across the world. This is because perpetrators are often strangers and can usually escape with relative ease.

In India, there is a tendency to trivialise these offences by referring to them euphemistically as ‘eve-teasing’. Women are often told that street harassment is ‘a part of life’ and are thus advised to stay silent about it.

Hollaback! Chennai’s mission is to break this silence. We believe that talking about street harassment, either as a victim or a bystander or simply as a concerned citizen, in an open, supportive and non-judgmental forum, is the first step in the fight to end it. Moreover, for a victim of street harassment, speaking out against one’s harasser is not only cathartic, but also empowering.

We also believe that stories can change the world. The flagship Hollaback! chapter in New York City has demonstrated that by collectively speaking out, we can grab the attention of law enforcement officials and policy-makers, alert them to the prevalence of these crimes, and inspire them to take action.

MOVING OFFLINEBesides our online efforts, we also engage in on-the-ground activism.

We do this primarily through our public education initiative, which mainly consists of workshops on street harassment at local colleges. We have also tried to reach out to other audiences – for example, we spoke to nearly 15 different batches of students at the Alliance Française de Madras earlier this year.

Other offline activities include our ‘Hollaback! Fridays’ event series at Distil, Taj Connemara, which featured female-fronted bands performing on ‘Ladies’ Night’ over five weeks. We distributed handouts on street harassment to customers, and had the opportunity to start new and interesting conversations on the issue.

As part of Prajnya’s 16 Days Campaign against Gender Violence this year, we launched our ‘Safer Spaces’ initiative, which calls on local businesses to pledge zero-tolerance to sexual harassment on their premises.

FIND US!

Web: http://chennai.ihollaback.org

Email: chennai@ihollaback.org

Facebook: Hollaback! Chennai

Twitter: @chennaiholla

THANK YOU!