New York City is gearing up for a citywide day of action against street harassment. Organizers and elected officials will gather at locations across all five boroughs on Wednesday to promote the city’s recently launched public survey.
It aims to track the prevalence and impact of street harassment on New Yorkers and could inform the city on what can and should be done about it. Anne Patterson, the deputy commissioner of community initiatives and external affairs at the Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence, joined Michael Hill on WNYC’s “Morning Edition” to discuss the effort.
The office co-chairs the city’s Street Harassment Advisory Board, which created the survey along with local community members and advocates.
The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Michael Hill: What does the Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence know about the current prevalence of street harassment in the city? Who does it affect and how?
Anne Patterson: The information we have now about the nature and the prevalence of street harassment is largely national data. Data that’s been collected by the University of California San Diego Center on Gender Equity and Health, along with the organization, Stop Street Harassment. That national information indicates that street harassment disproportionately impacts women, LGBTQIA, and other queer folks. It impacts people who have a religious faith that has a visible identification of that religion, as well as Black, Indigenous and other people of color. So that’s what the national information data indicates to us about the prevalence of street harassment and who it primarily impacts.
That’s a pretty large group that you’ve mentioned. What street harassment are we talking about here? What are the actions? What are the words?
We use a very broad definition. In the survey, we defined it as any unwanted language, gesture or touching that occurs on the street or in the public space.
What kind of information does this…
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