BlankNoise Project:A fight against Sexual Harrasement

[sonika]

i remember whn i used to travel in delhi by public buses.. ppl touchin inappropriately is very common.. My funda was always to slap the guy.. or yell at him so loudly tht other ppl pushes him away.. i alwayz believed if one girl raises her voice then next time he won't try with others.. n ppl do help..
But i've seen with lotsa girls that they dun complain.. they try to avoid.. avoidin is not the solution... it just encourages ppl lk this to try it wd others...

[miltond]

Originally Posted by sonika

i remember whn i used to travel in delhi by public buses.. ppl touchin inappropriately is very common.. My funda was always to slap the guy.. or yell at him so loudly tht other ppl pushes him away.. i alwayz believed if one girl raises her voice then next time he won't try with others.. n ppl do help..
But i've seen with lotsa girls that they dun complain.. they try to avoid.. avoidin is not the solution... it just encourages ppl lk this to try it wd others...

When I saw this thread, I rem our Sat's discussion.

In Mumbai, supp one of the safer cities in India, travelling by train is supposedly very efficcient, but also very screwball. If you're a chick who has both your hands occupied, rest assured, some one will find an innovative way of bumping into you. The harassment isn't overt, but its harassment!

I think having sensitization classes in school is a good way to initiate people, caus it's a deep issue. have subjects like these instead of redundant shit like a 3rd and 4th language

[gaurav200x]

Originally Posted by miltond

Sexual harassment stems from sexual discrimination, which is omnipresent.

How do we stem sexual discrimination?

Hi milton...
It is true there are some pathetic souls who do this sort of behaviour.... but then they forget in the zest of taking revenge.... that their mothers and sisters are also ladies, who go out and can be a victim of such a sort of behaviour... They are mentally unstable people who have lost their conscience and are unable to understand this....

As for sexual discrimination.... i think it is more of a mind thing.... rather than anything..... tomorrow, if some b-school chucks me out bcoz it reserves a quota for girls, that doesnt mean i have to take out my frustration by groping some random girl i meet on the street.... One has to be logical and reasonable enough.... to be called as a man.... otherwise he is just like an animal.... and there is no treatment for a mad dog...!!

@Sonika slapping or yelling is fine... but u must differentiate between situations, because sometimes things happen unintentionally and arent what they appear to be...

[gauri227]

have had so many such incidents myself. the funny thing is even if you slap the guy/punch his nose hard like i've taken to doing, the sense of violation is so deep. but my constant wonder is, where is this depravity coming from?

[miltond]

Depravity, like sexual discrimination is omnipresent.

I think part of the reason people sexually harass other people (and it could be wither way around, but for simplicity, let's assume it 's a man harassing a woman) is because they have objectified the harassed. In this case men think of women as objects. Tradeable, expendable, fully own - able.

[gaurav200x]

Yes, quite correct..... depravity comes from all the reasons.... whether it be come sort of sexual discrimination or ditching or anything, which renders a man's mentality that all the ladies are b**ches.. He can become a sexual pervert and would not let those feeling vent away easily but will try to take revenge on the entire group...

Say eg, if a guy has been ditched by a girl for another guy, or he has been humiliated falsely or there was some sexual discrimination (as Milton said).. all these factors tend to shake their mentality into wrong-doing...

Another thing which can be attributed for such a decline is the influence of cheap media.... like movies... where female body is shown as a cheap means of entertainment... Now how can a guy remain mentally stable if such an offensive portrayal of female anatomy is put before him... Can u always blame him for becoming a lecher... I figure not.....

But then, causes are one thing and it is important that ladies should take preventive measures to ensure their safety

[gauri227]

prevention is something we do anyway....we try our best anyway. but nobody can begin to understand how much it constrains us. can't even take a walk alone if we feel like it at night without having some bastard gesticulate to invite us to the backseat of his car. it's when these basic freedoms start getting impinged on that you just feel so angry and tethered. which is very unfair and a terrible commentary on us as a society, which doesn't even afford one half of its population, basic dignity.
apart from countering with overt aggression of our own, isn't there a deeper malaise which needs addressing??

[gaurav200x]

Well gauri,
the scenerio is comparable with the political scenerio of our country....

Is it shitty? Yes
Are u do something to counter it ? Yes
Will it take time and patience? Yes

I can imagine the repressed anger in u people.... but there are so many thing which u need to consider before losing ur cool.....

Remember, no man is born bad.... It is the society, his living conditions, which make it adverse.... Yes, u are right that these scumbags can be found everywhere and they indeed are a hindrance to ur freedom, but to change the society, u need time and a bigger thing.... patience..

We arew talking of changing the mentality.... So first remove the elements which dirty this mentality.... like cheap movies (as i already said)

Can u do that? Take protest march against every producer who releases movies which can be truely called a soft porn.... u can't..... because there is a plethora of obstacles that way....

Another thing is, create awareness amongst people.... That we can do by talking, having discussions like these, so that they will come forward....

When u girls will have the awareness as to how to protect urself, then u wont desperate for anybody's help.... u wont feel dependent... on us...

Yes, i agree that u have the right to question.... Why is it like that? Why can't we have this basic freedom in free India? Why should we be have to live with fear constantly....

but once u have that awareness, u have solidified, u wont need to feel that fear... Life is full of dangerous obstacles, whether u r a girl or a guy, u cant afford to be callous even for a second..!!

[sonika]

Originally Posted by gaurav200x

@Sonika slapping or yelling is fine... but u must differentiate between situations, because sometimes things happen unintentionally and arent what they appear to be...

I know.. Tht was the reason my parents banned my travelling by public buses.. not tht i minded it

but ya.. there are certain situations u can hv advantage n certain whr u can't.
My take is if you've people around then definitely try yell n slap.. rest public takes care of..
but ya if you are in very deserted area.. call up your friends and family.. or carry pepper spray cans...

[sonika]

Originally Posted by gaurav200x

Another thing which can be attributed for such a decline is the influence of cheap media.... like movies... where female body is shown as a cheap means of entertainment... Now how can a guy remain mentally stable if such an offensive portrayal of female anatomy is put before him... Can u always blame him for becoming a lecher... I figure not.....

Saying that cheap media images are resulting in this kind of behavior is unacceptable.
There are lot of other guys watching same, do they behave in lecherous manner? This is just justifying his actions. Wrong is wrong. Just because he came out of a cinema hall watching scantliy clad females doesn't give him right to touch any other.
So lets atleast stop blaming media and look inside us.. If your actions are being influenced by media, how about watching Cartoon network or discovery?