HarassMap is a volunteer initiative that works to end social tolerance for sexual harassment using digital tools to support a huge face-to-face community outreach initiative throughout Egypt.

We provide a way for victims to speak out, access services and document harassment and mobilize our communities to no longer tolerate harassers. We work street by street to activate bystanders against harassers and restore our dignity and pride.

Reporting Harassment – Victims and witnesses document what happened and where, either with an SMS to 6069, on harassmap.org, to #harassmap or by facebook.

Referral to Services – We respond to each report with instructions on how to access free services for victims: how to make a police report, legal aid, psychological help, self defense classes, etc.

Mapping Reports – On harassmap.org reports are verified then mapped. Each report appears as a red dot and shows the report text when clicked. This provides clear evidence for those who deny harassment exists and helps fight stereotypes about where, to whom and to what extent harassment happens.

Community Outreach – Using the map, 500+ HarassMap volunteers go out once per month to their own neighborhoods all over Egypt to ask shop owners, police, doormen and others with a presence in the street to be active and watchful guardians against harassers in their community. We also create “Safe Areas” in shops and vehicles.

Problem

“Naveen” was 16 years old when she was molested by her doctor and accused of bringing it upon herself; “Hoda” was 9 months pregnant when she was stalked going to work; “Sara” was groped under her shirt during a hair cut. None of these people reported what happened to them. Sexual harassment in Egypt has reached a crisis level. In 2008, 83% of Egyptian women surveyed were sexually harassed, 50% daily. 72.5% were veiled, and only 2.4% sought help from police. 62.4% of men surveyed admitted harassing women, and 61.4% of witnesses to harassment ignored it, with only 0.1% saying they tried to help (ECWR). The consequences of such constant exposure and constant risk, especially when the likelihood of receiving assistance from witnesses is low, have been found to include psychological, sociological, and economic, affecting not only the individual but the society as a whole. Not long ago, Egyptians were proud of the safety and dignity of our streets. Bystanders used to even chase harassers and shave their heads as a mark of shame, and harassment was rare. Yet today, no social consequences for harassers exist, and harassers are most often excused or ignored and victims are blamed instead. New laws have been passed but yield no change since individual police do not consider the issue important and are often perpetrators themselves.

Solution

In 2009, I heard about Ushahidi and Frontline SMS, which makes it possible for anyone to send reports of harassment by SMS or online, which then get mapped online anonymously. Since 110 of every 100 Egyptians own mobiles, and 1/2 are women, the potential was unprecedented. The NGOs were interested only in advocacy, so as 4 co-founders we developed HarassMap using online technology to support a huge offline community mobilization effort and public campaign. Reports: Victims tell us what happened and where online or by SMS, to help document the problem Victim services: Contacts for free offline lawyers, counseling, self defense, etc. sent by autoresponse Mapping Reports: Our online map communicates the true extent of the problem and breaks stereotypes that discourage people from taking action. Community Outreach: Our volunteers go out each month in their own neighborhoods all over Egypt with printouts of the map to ask shop owners, police and others in the street to stand up to harassers and create protected “Safe Areas” in shops that serve as shelters from harassers. This reestablishes social consequences for harassers. We are enthusiastic about suggestions, partnerships and ideas like: working with networks, NGOs and other activists on joint activities (art exhibitions, performances of HarassMap reports, open mics, graffiti campaigns, human chains (salasel); police outreach; research; #endSH blogging days; video competitions; self defense videos; and many more.

Example

We change the social acceptability of harassment that lets harassers harass and keeps victims silent by combining online and offline tools. HarassMap is the first to use Ushahidi to combine online/offline longterm. 1. Reporting: A victim or witness documents the violation by mobile or online. Ex: "Walking on Syria St in Mohadessin yesterday around 6pm and there were 2 boys, around 10 to 12 years old. They were kids so we didnt expect anything. When close to us one of them took his penis out and rushed towards us. Thanks for this initiative. We really hope it will spark the change" 2. Referral: We autorespond to each with info on getting free help from women's NGOs (police reports, lawyers, counseling, selfdefense) 3. Each report is mapped helping us fight inaccurate, widespread concepts about harassment (it only happens in cities or in poor areas or in rich areas or to girls in miniskirts, etc.) 4. Community Outreach teams, led by trained Community Captains, use the map to help mobilize bystanders in their own neighborhoods (people with presence in the streets, police, shops, etc.) to break the silence, reestablish social consequences and revive our tradition of guarding our neighborhoods from harassment by telling harassers to stop. This should never happen again: "Man on motorbike drove up behind me and grabbed me from behind. I shouted at him immediately and he casually drove away. There were about 10 people in the street when it happened, no one did anything about it or even had any reaction. This was right outside my apartment" 5. Public/media campaign

Marketplace

There are 17 NGOs on the NGO Task Force on Sexual Harassment working on advocacy for a new sexual harassment law and others partnering with the UNWomen’s Safe Cities Initiative on sexual harassment advocacy (both of which HarassMap is a member). The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights also works on advocacy. While these groups mainly focus on advocacy, HarassMap is the main group working with society. Rather than challenging our growth, we partner with them and with other initiatives in order to increase the overall impact of the movement. Ex: We publicize the services offered by the NGO task force; we're members of all networks including Safe Cities; we mobilize our volunteers for and help organize joint activities (art exhibition, open mics, performance of our reports, "salasel").