MEET THE TEAM
Maya Tutton
Co-Founder
Hiya! I’m Maya Tutton (she/her), Co-Founder of Our Streets Now. I believe in a whole-society approach to ending public sexual harassment, tackling the roots of this problem and aiming to create a world in which we all feel safe in public.
Gemma Tutton
Co-Founder
Hi! My name is Gemma and I’m queer intersectional feminist. I started Our Streets Now with my sister Maya because I was sick and tired of being told that PSH was my fault and I should "take it as a compliment." As an athlete, I hope that women and marginalised genders will be able to exercise in public without fear of harassment.
Kriziabel Alqueza
Graphic Designer + Illustrator
Hello! My name Kriziabel, a graphic designer and illustrator from Greece. Having found my voice through design and discovering that I can express my thoughts clearly through it, I hope I can use design to advocate for women and girls to be able to walk in a public space safely without them needing to worry about getting harassed. I am grateful and honoured to be part of the Our Streets Now team. I do believe that OSN will make a positive change in society and be a prime example for other countries to follow.
Jess Leigh
Campaigner
Hello! My name is Jess and I am an intersectional feminist and campaigner for Our Streets Now. I am especially passionate about mental health and the education around PSH. Using my experiences from the charity sector and working on girl rights for the last few years to advocate and campaign for the prevention and awareness of all forms of PSH.
Issy Warren
Campaigner
Hello! I’m Issy and I work on the secondary education team at Our Streets Now. We provide training and resources for teachers to enable them to teach about harassment and challenge its root causes. My favourite part of the role is working with school pupils and hearing about their ideas for change.
Alice Bell
Digital Research co-lead,
Academic team
Hi, I’m Alice! I work as a social researcher, with experience in a range of participatory methods. My research interests are largely inspired by intersectional feminist approaches, seeking to promote social justice by challenging the power imbalances in dominant forms of knowledge production. I’ve long admired OSN as the youth-led movement embodies these values, so I joined its academic team to work alongside like-minded activists to share and build my enthusiasm in the power of research to inspire social change.
Alice Nuttall
Campaigner and Writer
My name is Alice, and I’m a freelance writer and feminist who tries to apply intersectional and inclusive feminism in my work. I completed a PhD in English Literature at Oxford Brookes, where I looked at postcolonialism and gender in YA fantasy, and I now write novels, comics, and articles. My feminism is a hugely important part of my writing, as I believe that our stories have the power to change society, and I am very proud to write for Our Streets Now.
Chiamaka Elumogo
Head of Facebook and Twitter
My name’s Chiamaka (also known as Amaka) and I run the Facebook and Twitter for Our Streets Now. I’m currently studying medicine, but have been passionate about activism for as long as I can remember. As a proud intersectional feminist and anti-racism campaigner, OSN is a cause I wholeheartedly support; women and girls deserve to feel and be safe!
Sophie Kathleen
Illustrator and Head of Design for OurStreetsActivists
Hey! My name’s Soph and I’m a queer Illustrator, activist and small business owner currently based in Surrey. My work focuses on my passion for feminism, LGBTQIA+ empowerment and climate justice. I am so honoured to be a part of the Our Streets Now team and believe art is such an important form of activism. After following the campaign for some time now I’m so happy to be supporting the amazing work that’s being done. PSH is something that affects me and every woman I know, it's time to change that!
Sravya Attaluri
Creative Director
Hi! My name is Sravya Attaluri and I’m an independent illustrator and artist interested in creating art that raises awareness about mental health, self-care and intersectional feminism. I believe art has the power to educate and motivate and I want to use my skills to increase visibility of the fight against public sexual harassment and give a voice to marginalized members of our society.
Ellen Bell-Davies
Campaigner
Hi, I’m Ellen and I am one of the Higher Education campaigners for Our Streets Now. I am currently studying at UCL and am passionate about cultivating a left wing, intersectional feminist political environment at universities where students can engage in campaigns such as OSN. I believe that universities and the students within them hold a lot of power and thus can be used as vehicles for social and political change. I am excited to mobilise this power by working with students across the UK in the struggle to end Public Sexual Harassment.
Renata Guimarães Naso
Academic Researcher
Hi, I am Renata, a Brazilian and intersectional feminist, also a psychologist. Currently, I am doing a PhD in Gender Studies at SOAS - University of London, where I am investigating the experiences of Brazilian women situated in different gender, racial, class and sexuality contexts when confronted with sexual harassment in public spaces in the city of São Paulo. I am analysing these experiences from the theoretical perspectives of both embodiment/disembodiment and within the broader cartography of power involving the construction of women’s bodies in Brazilian society.
Pheebs Jameson
Campaigner/Online PSH
Hellooo! My name is Pheebs and I sort of became an “accidental activist”. I am a trainee youth mental health worker and I do all sorts of bits and bobs around sexual violence de-stigmatisation, mental health education and body acceptance. I strongly believe in intersectional feminism and defeating misogyny in all the forms it comes in. Especially online harassment. I am honoured to campaign and work with Our Streets Now!
India Ysabel M
Social Media/Campaigner
Hey, I’m India and I’m an activist with a special focus on intersectional feminism and anti-racism. I’m thrilled to be working with Our Streets Now as I believe education forms the basis of cultural progression and that’s exactly what we’re doing here. Public sexual harassment has negative long-term affects on people so i’m glad to be part of change I want to see.
Chanel Purewal
Campaigner
Hi! My name is Chanel and I am a passionate intersectional feminist who studied Criminology and Sociology. As a campaigner and activist, I am interested in raising awareness with councils and within the area of transport so that people feel safer. I am so proud to be working with Our Streets Now as I truly believe in the significance of creating legislative and cultural change, and raising awareness in order to tackle Public Sexual Harassment.
Helena Wacko
Campaigner
My name is Helena and I am one of the Higher Education Campaigners for Our Streets Now. Currently, a student at UCL, I believe students deserve to feel safe on their way to university as well as on campus. I also believe the different ways PSH shapes student experiences, from feelings of safety to mental wellbeing, need to be taken seriously. I am eager to work alongside students across the UK to create intersectional feminist spaces at universities in the work against PSH!
CJ Simon
Co-Head of Multimedia
Hi, I’m CJ Simon and I’m one of the multimedia leads for OSN.
Currently a second-year Politics and International Relations student at the University of Sheffield, my passion for politics has led to an interest in how media shapes the world around us.
A playwright, poet, and podcaster by trade, I hope to support OSN in combating Public Sexual Harassment by deconstructing the narratives that normalise PSH.
Anya Chung
Student Activist, Campaigner and Social Media Team
Hey! I’m Anya, and i’m an intersectional feminist and student activist. Since 2019, I have been part of the incredible team here at Our Streets Now, working on the campaigning side of things and social media. I’m really passionate in particular about underage harassment and the impacts it has growing up. I believe that Our Streets Now is a positive force for educational, legislative and social change. Women and girls deserve to feel safe, women and girls deserve to be safe.
Hannah Provisor
Artist
I’m Hannah Michelle and I’m an illustrator and writer! I use art as activism to talk about various social causes dear to me, such as women’s rights and safety, ditching the gender binary, and ending antisemitism– as well as other forms of discrimination, inequality, and oppression. I’m passionate about empowering women and girls and validating them in their experiences of the world. I illustrate public street harassment stories, design infographics, and create other media for the campaign! I’m thrilled to be amongst the talent, compassion, and ambition of the Our Streets Now team!
Anki Deo
Campaigner
Hi, I’m Anki, a French, Spanish and PSHEE teacher in London and I work on the Our Schools Now campaign. I went into teaching because I believe in the power of education to bring about social transformation, and Our Schools Now is an organisation that creates transformation in all facets of education: students, teachers, parents and government.
Having conversations with young people about sexual violence and its intersectionality is the best way to create cultural change and ensure that the future is different.
Mia Sale
Illustrator and Designer
Hi! I’m Mia, I’m a feminist illustrator and designer.
I have always really struggled to accept the state of the world in which we live and the way certain genders, ethnicities and other minorities are treated.
This is why I am excited to be a part of Our Streets Now.
We will bring about real change.
Asha Askoolam
Writer
Hi, I’m Asha! I’m an editorial assistant and a writer. I have always loved writing and reading, especially in areas around race, gender, sexuality and class. I’m so proud to be a part of OSN and OWN to educate myself and spread awareness to others. We live in a world that allows women and young girls to be treated terribly by society, the law and those that uphold the law. PSH plays a big part in rape culture and it is about time that we stopped it. Women deserve to feel safe. Let’s create a future where women and girls no longer have to take the long way home with their keys between their fingers.
Emily Garton
Co-Head of Instagram
Hi, I’m Emily and I’m a third year English student at the University of Nottingham! I became a Higher Education Ambassador for OSN last year and set up ‘Our Streets Now UoN’ in February 2021.
I am now also Co-Head of Instagram and I have loved being a part of such an amazing community. I am also Women*’s Officer in my Student’s Union and am editor of an online magazine called Her Campus Nottingham. I am excited to see us beginning to bring about real change and am keen to see where this leads us in the future!
Hani Thapa
Writer Our Books Now/Our Words
Hello!
I’m Hani (pronounced Honey), a writer for Our Books Now. I studied English Literature at university and unsurprisingly I’m an avid reader. I’m particularly interested in stories about oppressed people and marginalised communities. As someone who is passionate about challenging gender and racial inequality, I’m extremely proud to be a part of Our Streets Now and Our Words who are paving the way to an intersectional future!
Evie Nichols
Writer / Education Researcher
Hello, my name’s Evie.
I write for Our Books Now and do primary education research. Currently reading History and French at University, I’m passionate about unravelling the misogynistic cultural attitudes which surround PSH. If PSH is a product of misogynistic culture, it’s only by changing this culture that we will truly put an end to it. After having experienced PSH on numerous occasions - and read countless testimonials from others - I'm convinced that PSH reflects something which is pretty deeply wrong with our society. It must be stopped!
Ammaarah Faisal
Higher Education Research and Academic Lead
Hi! I’m Ammaarah and I’m the HE Research and Academic Lead. I’m also an MSc student at Birmingham City University studying Forensic Psychology.
I’m excited to combine my research background surrounding VAWG with real work in higher education to enact a change in the way these institutions are currently set up.
As a Bangladeshi woman, I’m particularly happy to be working in an inclusive and intersectional team to ensure we address the needs of everyone who experiences sexual and gendered violence.
Stephanie Moumtzis
Media and Social Media Lead for Our Schools Now
Hi, I’m Stephanie and I’m an intersectional feminist.
I’m with the Our Schools Now team on our communications and social media activities.
I’m passionate about the importance of education in creating societal change, and about making schools a safer place for all.
Sophie Frankpitt
Linguist and School Resources Development
Hi, I’m Sophie. I volunteer for the education team, Our Schools Now, and I mainly help to create lesson plans and resources for schools.
As a Linguistics undergraduate, I’m particularly interested in how we can use language to explore narratives around PSH, and the importance of actively promoting anti-sexist language within schools.
I’m a passionate intersectional feminist, and I’m super excited to work with Our Schools Now.
Katie Lancaster
Higher Education
Communications Lead
Hi, I’m Katie and I run communications for the Higher Education team at OSN. I’m currently studying Philosophy and Theology at the University of Oxford, specialising in feminist theology and Goddess worship.
Having followed the campaign for many years, I’m hugely excited to be working with OSN to bring about tangible change for young people of marginalised genders, and tackle the patriarchal barriers currently in place in institutions across the UK.
I believe that student communities and Higher Education Institutions have the power to be hugely influential vehicles of social change, and I’m thrilled to be working with young people across the country to get our voices heard!
Tessa McLaughlin
School Outreach
Hi, I’m Tessa, a Head of History and secondary school teacher passionate about working with students to initiate the cultural changes for a future without Public Sexual Harassment.
I’m excited to work with Our Schools Now to ensure that more schools are knowledgeable and equipped to support students and to have these conversations for far reaching change to exist.
Tessa McLaughlin
School Outreach
Faith Oliver
Head of TikTok
Hi, my name is Faith and I am the Head of the Our Streets Now TikTok, as well as being a Social Work student. I am honored to be part of the Our Streets Now team, and I firmly believe that people coming together as a collective voice is a real driver for social, cultural and legislative change.
Board of directors
Claire Barnett
Our Streets Now Board Chair
Claire Barnett is an award-winning leader and campaigner for gender equality. Currently she serves as Executive Director of UN Women UK, where she has created flagship campaign 'Safe Spaces Now', transforming public spaces to prevent sexual harassment and improve safety for women, girls and marginalised people.
Prior to joining UN Women UK, Claire led work on gender equality at McKinsey, including as an author of The Power of Parity - examining the macroeconomic effect of accelerating gender equality on UK GDP. She has advised global business leaders on topics from strategy to ESG to ethics, and has worked to further women's rights from microfinance in Brazil to access to social protection for UK youth.
Claire has been an Our Streets Now supporter since the campaign's earliest days and is excited to be part of this next phase in the organisations journey.
Georgie Laming
Georgie is a campaigner and public affairs specialist. She's spent the last decade working directly with those with lived experience of issues ranging from housing to gender equality at some of the biggest campaigning organisations in the UK. Georgie is passionate about supporting communities to build power as they campaign for change.
Sunil Chityal
Our Streets Now Treasurer
Sunil is qualified Chartered Accountant with many years of diversified financial management experience for world leading companies in the manufacturing, logistic, FMCG and service industries. Sunil is a highly motivated strategic finance professional with a focus on Strategy, Change Management and Transformation. He has total commitment and passion for a collaborative, transparent and honest approach to developing, implementing and delivering success with strong expertise in transformation through true partnership and enhanced relationships. He is on the board of a number of non-profit organisations and charities, supporting them in both a finance and non-finance capacity.
Sunil is passionate about eliminating public sexual harassment, as well as any violent behaviour against women and girls in all its forms. He is married and has a young daughter.
Deeba Syed
Deeba is senior lawyer at the historic women’s rights charity, Rights of Women. In 2019 she set up a brand-new employment law advice line for women experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, funded by TIME’S UP UK the Justice and Equality Fund, and is the only service of its kind in England and Wales.
Deeba is an employment qualified solicitor, originally training in the financial sector. She is an experienced equality and women’s rights campaigner and activist. She has previously worked in politics, communications and the charity sector.
Laura Ottery
Our Streets Now Secretary
Laura is a corporate governance professional with experience of supporting and advising Boards and senior leaders on a wide range of issues.
Her previous experience adds skills in strategic planning, risk management and efficient administrative processes to the OSN Board.
Laura has previously held voluntary positions as a charity Trustee, school governor and volunteers as a mentor for the Young Women’s Trust. She is passionate about ending public sexual harassment and creating safer communities for all.
Tom Hunter
Tom is a political consultant who focusses on education and skills policy in the UK - from the early years, through to university and adult education. Within his day-to-day role, he provides advice and political intelligence to charities and organisations within these sectors, so that they can pursue their policy and campaign aims.
He brings skills and experience in research, policy and communications to the OSN Board, as well as strategic planning and public affairs, thanks in part to his work on political campaigns for issue groups and political candidates.
He has been active in youth affairs for more than a decade, and continues to volunteer with charities, such as Samaritans, and as a mentor for the Social Mobility Foundation - his interests revolve around improving outcomes for young people. Tom describes himself as an intersectional feminist, and is passionate about tackling public sexual harassment, as well as violence against women and girls in all its forms.
in the PRESS
If you would like to learn more about our campaigns and feature us, please contact us at MediaOSN@outlook.com
I NEWS, 2022
Make sexual harassment a criminal offence to help tackle violence against women and girls, say 87% of UK women
"i’s finding that 87 per cent of women believe in this legal change, accompanied by the Law Commission’s support for our proposal, sends a clear message to the government that the time for change is now."
These Sisters Were Sick Of Being Catcalled. Now They’re Fighting To Make Street Harassment A Crime.
VOGUE, 2020
The fact that we don’t all enjoy our time in public space equally, without fearing harassment, is unjust.
HUFF POST UK, 2020
Public sexual harassment is an incredibly threatening thing to experience. It makes us feel powerless, objectified, hurt, and angry.
REFINERY 29, 2020
DAZED, 2020
When people say, ‘you should take it as a compliment’, I think they have absolutely no idea of how graphically sexual and frightening a lot of these comments are.
Sisters campaign against gender-biased street harassment.
BBC, 2020
You can get fined for dropping litter, but not for harassing a schoolgirl.
THE TIMES, 2019
Street harassment of young girls should not be normal.
I won't rest until it's illegal.
THE GUARDIAN,
2019
Girl Catcalled when she was 11 launches bid to make it illegal.
METRO, 2019
GURLS TALK, 2019
We deserve to feel safe on our streets.
STYLIST, 2019
Why you can get fined for dropping a cigarette on the street, but not for harassing women.
ON the RADIO
Stopping street harassment with the Tutton sisters.
GINA'S GAME CHANGERS
'We're told to smile whilst it happens':
Campaigner aims to end street sexual harassment
Period sex, women and insomnia, street harassment.
WOMEN'S HOUR, BBC
Women speak out about harassment and safety fears
Our StANCES Now
Abortion and reproductive
rights
We believe that bodily autonomy is a fundamental human right, and that this includes full and free access to all forms of reproductive healthcare. We also acknowledge the colonialist history of contraception and reproductive healthcare, as outlined by the Decolonising Contraception Collective, and support all work towards ensuring that reproductive healthcare is safe, accessible, affirming and based on principles of bodily autonomy and consent.
We believe that abortions are healthcare, and should be free, safe, decriminalised and easily accessible to everyone who requires one. We believe that there should be no stigma surrounding abortion.
We believe in the rights of all people, including young people, to access contraception, abortion and reproductive healthcare. We believe that young people know their own medical requirements, and condemn any and all attempts to undermine Gillick Competence.
We believe that reproductive rights also include the right to conceive and to complete a pregnancy, safely and with full social support. We are aware that many marginalised groups have been denied access to this kind of healthcare (for example, lesbian couples who wish to access IVF, Black women being five times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, disabled people being stigmatised for wishing to become parents, and trans men and non-binary people who risk misgendering during antenatal care). We support all actions that address these inequalities in reproductive healthcare.
Police abolition and
criminalisation of PSH
Our overarching goal has been and always will be to end violence against women and girls. The way we contribute to achieving that goal is by campaigning to end Public Sexual Harassment (PSH); one of the most common forms of violence against women and girls.
In order to reach this goal, we have to harness the tools of the society in which we reside - our current means of doing so involve education (Our Schools Now), publicity and awareness (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook - @OurStreetsNow), and in the UK we are aiming to introduce legislation to make PSH a criminal offence.
Let’s be clear about one thing: OSN is pro-defunding the police and ultimately pro-police abolition.
In our changing world we aim to adapt our means of ending PSH to the processes of society; meaning if abolition is achieved then we are prepared to shift the actions of the campaign to fit that model of society (for example: invoking the concepts of community retribution, and amplifying our efforts in education and awareness).
For now, however, one of the most effective routes we can take to end PSH is by making it a criminal offence which challenges not only perpetrators but the culture which normalises this behaviour. In a society structured by law, the absence of legislation around PSH is notable. It is a direct product of the normalisation and passive acceptance of violence against women and girls in our society.
Women, girls and marginalised genders deserve to feel safe and be safe in public.
PSH terminology
Public Sexual Harassment (PSH) comprises unwelcomed and unwanted attention, sexual advances and intimidating behaviour that occurs in public spaces, both in person and online. It is usually directed towards women, girls and gender diverse people; however, it can be experienced by all. PSH is carried out because of gender discrimination and/or power dynamics. It perpetuates an environment and culture that disregards historically vulnerable and oppressed groups of people, diminishing their sense of self-worth and denying equal access to public space.
PSH is an intersectional issue. How a victim’s identity characteristics intersect, for example through race, disability and sexuality, can compound their experience of PSH as perpetrators exploit the many vulnerabilities in a victim’s identity. Not all experiences of PSH are the same. However, they are tied together by the core power dynamic in which the harasser seeks to dominate the harassed.
Making sure the language we use when talking about violence against women and girls (VAWG) translates its true nature is paramount to effecting a culture change. We cannot euphemise this violence. This is why Our Streets Now does not use the word ‘catcall’ or ‘wolf-whistle’. We are not animals, we are human beings seeking to exist in public spaces without feeling unsafe. We believe this term trivialises, normalises and silences victims’ experiences. It takes away from the damaging nature of PSH, making people more likely to ignore the problem and even worse, victim-blame.
The term public sexual harassment also highlights the intrinsic link between all forms of VAWG, such as workplace harassment and domestic abuse. These are not separate issues; they have a common root, namely power over marginalised people and male violence. We strongly believe in the continuum of gender-based violence (Kelly, 1988) and that tackling sexist comments and the objectification of women in society will reduce all forms of VAWG.
BLM Support Statement
We wholeheartedly support the Black Lives Matter movement.
We condemn the killings of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and so many others as a direct result of systemic racism. We recognise the deeply embedded structures of anti-Black racism across the world and in the United Kingdom.
Black people are discriminated against at every level of society, and racism exists not only on an individual level, but is structurally and systemically embedded into our society. As a UK-based organisation, we feel it is especially important to recognise the role of the British Empire in spreading violence and oppression to a quarter of the world’s territory.
We must also highlight the history of slavery. These histories live on in and through our institutions and collective consciousness. We support efforts to decolonise the curriculum both at school and higher education levels.
Standing with
Sex Workers
Our Streets Now stands with sex workers.
We believe we should listen to sex workers and their demands, including the call for full decriminalisation. Sex workers deserve equal access to justice, health care and other services. Both SWARM and the English Collective of Prostitutes call for decriminalisation, for reasons you can read about here. As SWARM clearly states: “we assert that no one can label us victims and use our experiences to silence us, because we’re resourceful, resilient and the experts on our own lives.”
We recognise Amnesty International’s statement that sex workers face high rates of human rights abuses, which are due to factors from gender-based violence to discrimination to criminalisation. Multiple forms of intersecting discrimination are often at play, from transmisogyny to racism to migrant or other status, combining to deny sex workers full human rights and resources. We must listen to sex-worker led organisations and work together to end gender-based violence.
Our Streets Now welcomes suggestions, criticism and feedback from sex workers on improving the inclusivity of the campaign.
Political Affiliation
Our Streets Now is not affiliated to any political party.
We believe that violence against women and girls should not be a partisan issue and welcome support from any and all democratic representatives.
Activism and commissioning our campaigners
Activists have changed the world on a whole range of crucial issues, from obtaining the women’s vote to making gay marriage legal, yet we are among the lowest paid workers, often not paid at all. What’s more, it is often oppressed people who engage in activism, people who are less likely to be in better paid jobs. Therefore, if people want to collaborate with us and commission someone from our team, we believe that if they have the means, they should pay us!
The Our Streets team is a group of volunteers who pour their hearts and souls into changing the world, so it is a safer, better and fairer place for all.
We must remember that activism is only needed in the face of struggle and oppression, and sometimes it feels like we are fighting for bare necessities. It’s incredibly empowering but we should not have to spend so much time and energy in educating, sharing and justifying our traumas, especially not for free.
Trans-inclusivity
Our Streets Now is a trans-inclusive campaign.
Public sexual harassment (PSH) is carried out because of gender discrimination and/or power dynamics. The reason the campaign employs gendered language (eg violence against women and girls) is to demonstrate how PSH is fundamentally an issue of misogyny and men’s entitlement to women’s bodies. This applies to anyone who faces misogyny because of their actual or perceived gender. Trans women and femme-presenting non-binary people face high levels of misogyny. Their experiences must be at the centre of the work to challenge violence against women. Of the 350 transgender people murdered in 2020 because of transgender violence, 98% were trans women or trans feminine people. Black and migrant trans women of colour are even more likely to face violence because of the intersecting forms of discrimination they face.
There is a disturbing trend of transphobic movements appropriating narratives around gender-based violence to justify the exclusion of trans people from public spaces. Our Streets Now strongly opposes transphobia or trans-exclusion in any form, and supports the rights of trans people to access public and/or single-sex spaces.
Finally, Our Streets Now supports the campaign to reform the Gender Recognition Act (GRA). The requirement for trans people to live in the ‘role’ of their new gender for two years before gender recognition is degrading and further exposes them to discrimination. We support the rights of trans people, including trans youth, to access affirming healthcare, including puberty blockers. We believe that removing access to healthcare, in addition to being against recommendations from medical experts and organisations, is against the principles of bodily autonomy.
Our Streets Now welcomes suggestions, criticism and feedback from the trans community on improving the inclusivity of the campaign.
Anti-Racist Statement
We live in a structurally and systemically racist society.
Our Streets Now recognises this and commits to doing all it can on an organisational and individual level to highlight and challenge the racism embedded in our society.
As an organisation working in violence against women and girls, we must recognise the dual discrimination that women of colour face. In VAWG, we are aware of the continual exclusion of women of colour, and Black women in particular. We recognise that the #MeToo movement was started by a Black woman, Tarana Burke, whose work and contribution has been consistently erased.
In the specific context of public sexual harassment, women of colour experience not only higher rates of public sexual harassment, but the type of harassment is often more targeted and more damaging. Racial language is coupled with sexist remarks. The process of adultification also means that Black women in particular are sexualised at younger ages. We must centre these experiences of harassment in our work.
In terms of Our Streets Now in particular, we recognise the role of white privilege in the campaign’s reach. Our two co-founders being white is central to our demands being challenged less and listened to more. We have a duty to recognise the privilege which the white members of our campaign hold. We must also do more to consider how this privilege operates in and through our organisation. Studies show that performative white allyship can actually lead to burnout in anti-racist activists of colour. Those who hold white privilege within the organisation must therefore not only recognise their privilege but actively work to become anti-racist allies. Holders of white privilege must listen to people of colour and platform their words.
Our commitments are:
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To centre the disproportionate violence that women of colour, and in particular Black women, face
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To highlight the intersecting discrimination of both sexism and racism that women of colour face when publicly sexually harassed, as well as other forms of discrimination they may face (ableism, Islamophobia, anti-semitism).
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To ensure that women of colour are key members of our organisation across all teams
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To make specific types of anti-racist work mandatory for all those who identify as white within the organisation
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To support anti-racist activists and work across our social media platforms, particularly work by people of colour and especially Black people
We firmly commit to these actions, and make them public with the explicit aim of being held accountable. Our Streets Now welcomes suggestions, criticism and feedback from people of colour on improving the inclusivity of the campaign.
BAME Statement
Here at Our Streets Now, intersectionality is integral to everything we do. Part of that includes recognising nuances in language, which is why do not use the acronym BAME.
BAME stands for “Black and Minority Ethnic”, and is a term widely used, especially in the UK.
However, we feel this term can be harmful and dismissive, as it homogenises the experiences of an incredibly diverse demographic of Women, Girls and Non-Binary people.
It also centres Western Whiteness as the norm, or default.
Black, Muslim, East Asian, South Asian, Latinx and every intersection of these women/nb people face different types of PSH and gender based violence. Grouping these people together under an umbrella term like BAME is doing a disservice, as it disregards the diversity of experiences these groups face based on this aspect of their identities.
CONTACT US
Please email the relevant address below:
MEDIA
MediaOSN@outlook.com
SOCIAL MEDIA
BLOGS, PITCHES
ourstreetsnowblog@gmail.com
CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS, COLLABORATIONS
osnpartnerships@outlook.com
RESEARCH, ACADEMIA
osnacademia@outlook.com
OUR WORDS
osnourwords@outlook.com
For anything else, email ourstreetsnow@hotmail.com
@ourstreetsnow
@ourstreetsnow
@ourstreetsnow
Our Streets Now