The Book

Very few books have been written about the widespread problem of men harassing women in the street just because they’re female. That’s why I decided to write one.

My ground-breaking  book, Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women (Aug. 2010, Praeger Publishers), is available online! Order it today on Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

The book’s narrative is informed by more than 1,000 women’s experience, collected through informal online surveys and this Stop Street Harassment Blog. Also, more than 20 anti-street harassment activists contributed their ideas on how to work to end street harassment.

I conclude that ultimately, we need a full-blown global anti-street harassment movement to truly end this epidemic, and I hope this book can inspire activism on all levels. We need academics conducting research, activists tackling the issue in their communities, educators discussing it in their classrooms, non-profits including it in their work, legislators passing anti-harassment laws, and the average person sharing stories. Most of all, we need men to stop harassing women.

The book received mention in many media outlets, including: the Washington Post, Guardian, Salon.com, MSNBC, New York Post, Boston Globe, Psychology Today Blog, Feminsting, Yahoo, Bust Magazine, Ms Magazine, and El Diario

Praise for the Book:

“When I started reading, I remembered a few times I had been harassed on the street, but then other incidents came flooding back.  I had almost forgotten the acute discomfort ranging from annoyance to fear and I still try avoid situations where this might happen..  The book covers all aspects of street harassment extensively, both in the US and abroad,  and also gives practical strategies on how to avoid and how to respond to a variety of street harassment.  It also tells what strategies are already in place and how to deal with street harassment in terms of group and political action.  If you are a woman, or if you have women in your life as well as young girls, this is a “must read” book.”

Bernice Resnick Sandler
Senior Scholar, Women’s Research and Education Institute, Washington, DC

“Whose streets? Our streets! Holly Kearl’s new book is the manifesto for a new movement afoot–one dedicated to making sure that women get to walk around in the world without the constant inconvenience and injustice of street harassment. She not only documents the prevalence of gender-based street harassment–an unprecedented effort–but points the way towards liberation.”

Courtney E. Martin
Author of DO IT ANYWAY: The New Generation of Activists and Editor at Feministing.com

“I suggest that everyone—women and especially men (because street harassment needs male allies)—pick up a copy of Kearl’s book to understand the complexities of street harassment and why it should not be ignored any longer. More importantly, though, after reading Stop Street Harassment, think about what you can do to stop street harassment in your own community. Because street harassment is not going to go away—and the time to take action is now!”

Book Review on Gender Across Borders

“This book is a must-read for students on college campuses and may be suitable for inclusion in a women’s studies, gender studies, or sociology course. While focusing on a specific version of street harassment—that perpetuated by men on women—it opens the reader’s mind to how pervasive the problem is and illustrates how deeply rooted gender segregation is in America. Its goal is to awaken (and reawaken) readers’ desires to work toward a more progressive society where women and men see each other as humans rather than as objects for individual or public consumption. The book should incite activism and civic engagement on campus to bring positive changes in an area that affects many women’s daily lives.”

Book Review for Association of American Colleges and Universities

“Public space should be safe space. But all-too-often it’s not. In her important book, author Holly Kearl explains how street harassment interrupts the basic right we all have to move freely through our everyday lives. Stop Street Harassment provides powerful information about gender-based assault and helps us put an end to this problem — now!”

Shira Tarrant, Ph.D
Author of Men and Feminism
Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
California State University, Long Beach

“”Holly Kearl has written a thoughtful and important book.   She not only compellingly establishes the breadth and the depth of the serious problem that is street harassment, but offers sensible, practical, and successful strategies and solutions.  Stop Street Harassment is reassuring and empowering.”

Nancy Unger, Ph.D
Professor of History, Santa Clara University

“Lots of people talk about sexual harassment and what to do about it, but Holly Kearl not only expertly diagnoses the roots of this seemingly intractable problem, she offers a comprehensive and instantly accessible set of solutions.  For anyone concerned about making public spaces safe and welcoming, this book is indispensable.”

Hugo B. Schwyzer, Ph.D
Pasadena City College
http://hugoschwyzer.net

Upcoming Book Events:

• Feb. 1, 2011: Speaker at Northern Illinois University, Heritage Room in the Holmes Student Center, 7-9 p.m.
• Feb. 2, 2011: Speaker at the Illinois Institute of Technology, 1 p.m.
• Feb. 22, 2011: Speaker at the Domestic Violence Task Force Meeting of the Office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stinger
• Feb. 24, 2011: Speaker at James Madison University, VA, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
• March 15-16, 2011: Speaker at Georgia College & State University, TBD, Milledgevill, GA
• March 19, 2011: Speaker at the University of Maryland, College Park, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• April 1-2, 2011: Presenter at the University of Texas, Austin (tentative)
• April 7, 2011: Speaker at the University of Illinois (tentative)
• April 8-10, 2011: Speaker at the AAUW Wisconsin State Convention
• April 11, 2011: Speaker at the AAUW Minneapolis (MN) Branch meeting, 1 p.m.
• April 12, 2011: Speaker at the AAUW Makefield (PA) Branch’s annual meeting, Yardley, Pennsylvania, 7 p.m.
• April 16, 2011: Speaker at the AAUW New York State Convention, Long Island, New York
• April 17, 2011: Speaker at the AAUW Long Island (CA) Branch meeting, 7 p.m.
• April 30 – May 1, 2011: Speaker at the AAUW Michigan State Convention, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Past:

• Jan. 14, 2011: Talk with CHAMPS group at UCIrvine, 11:45 a.m.
• Jan. 13, 2011: Book talk at UC Irvine, 8 p.m.
• Jan. 13, 2011: Speaker at a stalking awareness panel at University of California, Irvine, 5-8 p.m.
• Dec. 14, 2010: Stop Street Harassment book giveaway and chat about street harassment during AAUW’s Cocktails and Convos at Nage, Washington, DC, 5 – 7 p.m.
• Dec. 11, 2010: Panelist on Hollaback’s webinar Demystifying the OpEd, noon EST – open to anyone to participate. For details, contact Kira at Kira DOT Zmuda AT gmail DOT com.
• Nov. 23, 2010: Panelist at the 3rd International Conference on Women’s Safety, Delhi, India
• Nov. 13, 2010: Book signing at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Denver, CO, 12:15 p.m.
• Nov. 11, 2010: Workshop co-presenter with SAFER at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Denver, CO, 10:25 a.m.
• Oct. 28. 2010: Testifying at a public hearing about street harassment, 1 p.m., 14th floor committee room at 250 Broadway, NYC
• Oct. 21-22, 2010: Talks at the University of Iowa. The talk open to the community is Oct. 21, 7 p.m., 100 Philips Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City.
• Oct. 16, 2010: Talk at the Library of the University of Alaska, Anchorage, 5-7 p.m.
• Oct. 14, 2010, Talk at University of California, Santa Barbara, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 13, 2010: Book talk at Village Books, Pacific Palisades, CA, 7:30 p.m.
• Oct. 12, 2010: Talk with Los Angeles area AAUW members, Pasadena, CA, 7 – 9 p.m.
• Oct. 10, 2010: Talk with Stockton area AAUW members, 2 p.m., Dameron Hospital Annex, 445 West Acacia Street, Stockton, CA
• Oct. 9, 2010: Talk with San Jose area AAUW branches, 1:30 p.m., 1165 Minnesota Ave., San Jose, CA
• Oct. 8, 2010: Panelist at Santa Clara University Women and Gender Studies 30th anniversary event, 4 – 6:30 p.m.
• Sept. 10, 2010: New York City Book Release Event at Bluestockings bookstore, 7 p.m.
• Washington, DC, Book Release Event at George Washington University, September 2, 2010, 5 p.m. EDT
• Author talk at Garden City Library, Garden City, UT, August 4, 2010, at 4 p.m.
• Speaker at Walter Reed Medical Center, July 19, 2010.
• Workshop co-presenter with Holla Back DC! at the AAUW-NASPA National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, College Park, MD, June 4, 2010.