Hollaback!: Activating Empathy on the Streets
Hollaback! is a movement to end street harassment powered by local activists in 45 cities, 16 countries, and in 9 different languages around the world.
About You
About You
First Name
Emily
Last Name
May
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Hollaback!
Organization Website
ihollaback.org
Organization Country
United States, NY, Brooklyn
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, NY, New York
Is your organization a
Non‐profit / NGO / Citizen sector organization
Your role in Education
Other.
The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with
Public (tuition-free)
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
How long has your solution been in operation?
Still in idea phase, but looking to launch soon
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
In about 60% of the 3,000 street harassment incidences submitted to Hollaback!, the person being harassed reports that witnesses existed – but failed to act. In a content analysis of these stories that is now being performed by Cornell University, the initial findings show that positive bystander responses made street harassment more likely to cease, but positive bystander responses were extremely rare. Street harassment has historically been normalized and underreported. As a consequence, most lack empathy towards victims and feel that intervening is “not their problem.”
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The “I’ve got your back” educational campaign is designed to build empathy by developing the capacity in students to emotionally connect with the feeling of being harassed or having someone they love harassed. Developed in collaboration with Green Dot, an award-winning bystander campaign based in evidence-based research, this educational campaign acknowledges the real concerns of students in intervention – including safety, shyness, and a fear of being made fun of—and teaches students to identify realistic intervention options including asking people who are harassed if they are OK, developing a distraction, or contacting authority figures. In addition, students will be invited to report their bystander interventions through our iPhone, Droid, and website in green alongside the thousands of stories of harassment already documented on the site in pink.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
An “I’ve Got Your Back” workshop is performed at Jose’s school on Monday. On Wednesday, he is walking to school when he hears someone yell, “hey baby, I want to hit that” to his classmate. He’s heard this man say things before, but he’s always felt scared to act because the man is much larger than him. This time, he keeps walking but when he and the girl are out of earshot asks her if she is OK. He offers to tell the teacher with her, and she agrees. When they get to school, they report the incident together. As it turns out, this man has been harassing several students on their way to school. The school principle addresses it by relocating the school crossing guard to the area where the man regularly harasses girls. Jose tells his story on ihollaback.org later that night. His story is posted, and the next day he receives an email saying that 327 people read his story and anonymously clicked the “I’ve Got Your Back” button in support of his actions. He feels good about what he did, and resolves to do it again. Others learn from his experience and replicate his behaviour, slowly shifting the culture that makes street harassment normalized and acceptable.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Hollaback! is the only organizational dedicated to ending street harassment internationally. The field of bystander intervention is larger, but Green Dot is one of the more widely adopted because it is based in research and is currently being studied by the CDC for it’s effectiveness. Other programs include MVP (Mentors in Violence Prevention) and UNH “Bringing the Bystander,” but neither are designed to build empathy among bystanders. To date, none of these programs have been brought to a public school environment.
Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
The “I’ve got your back” campaign will show bystanders how to intervene document their success using apps, maps, and blogs.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
This is the world's first formal street harassment bystander curriculum. It is designed to build empathy and inspire students to act.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The I've Got Your Back" campaign will launch on March 18th, so stay tuned!
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Year I: Program is piloted in 20 schools around the world, and 75% of the students declare after the workshops that they feel like it is "likely" or "very likely" that they will intervene the next time they witness harassment. Students tell over 100 stories of bystander intervention on ihollaback.org.
Year II: Program expands to an additional 20 schools around the world as more site leaders are trained. This year, 80% of the students declare after the workshops that they feel like it is "likely" or "very likely" that they will intervene the next time they witness harassment. Students tell over 100 stories of bystander intervention on ihollaback.org.
Year III: As bystander intervention increases internationally, the number of street harassment stories on Hollaback! begins to plateau.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Curriculum has been piloted in five public middle and high schools.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Curriculum has been finalized in coordination with Green Dot, site leaders are trained via webinar.
Task 2
An evalution is developed to measure the impact of the training.
Task 3
Schools are identified, students with the most social influence are selected to attend.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Workshops have been held in 20 high schools internationally.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Following pilot, site leaders set up a call to review evaluations and make program improvements.
Task 2
Materials are developed and translated for public schools to review, wider school outreach begins.
Task 3
Schools are identified, students with the most social influence are selected to attend.
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]
After launching ihollaback.org, we were struck by the number of rapidly increasing "pink dots" on our homepage - each one representing another incident of harassment. Simply put, we found it depressing. I asked our volunteer Esty, "what could we map that is happy?" She responded, "what about when people stand up for you? That's pretty awesome." We agreed to collect these stories and map them in green dots (because green looks good with pink). I began to ask around for best practices -- and quickly learned that there was already an organization called "Green Dot" that had a similar concept, except instead of mapping they did training and curriculum development. We attended their training, hit it off, and decided to work together. They have spent $20k in staff and travel to date on this collaboration.
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
To date, Green Dot has provided $20k in services for Hollaback! pro-bono. In Februrary of this year, they came to New York for one week to finalize the details of our partnership, including the curriculum, resources, and co-branded. Hollaback! depends on our community partnerships in all 44 cities that we serve to compliment and strengthen our work.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]
Hollaback! is managed by two full time staff, executive director Emily May and international movement coordinator Veronica Pinto. Emily is a trained Green Dot trainer and Veronica will be trained this April. Emily is responsible for developing the vision behind the project, Veronica will execute the workshops, and the tech will be completed pro-bono by our lead developer and Atlanta site leader, Jill Dimond.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
We need additional funding to expand our capacity and continue to support our robust team of volunteers and site leaders, who collectively provide over $4 million in in-kind services to the organization annually. We are happy to help others with brand strategy, volunteer coordination, individual giving, and on-line organizing.
