#fuckyeahmaps

“The law often overlooks harm to women. One such harm is the harassment that women face when they travel along city streets and appear in other public places. This street harassment can have profound effects on women’s full participation in the public sphere.”

-Cynthia Grant Bowman, Harvard Law Review

Definition of Street Harassment. 

“Verbal and nonverbal markers… wolf-whistles, leers, winks, grabs, pinches, catcalls, and street remarks…includ[ing]

‘Hey, pretty,’ ‘Hey, whore,’ ‘What ya doin’tonight?,’ ‘Look at them legs,’ ‘Wanna fuck?’ ‘Smile for me, baby,’ ‘Come here, girl”

-Deidre E. Davis, Gender Struggles

My Objective:

Use Harlem/Hamilton Heights between 137th and 160th Streets as a test site for the collection of data on street harassment that in a larger study could be used to analyze populations that are disproportionately affected by harassment and locations where interventions would be most effective

Abbreviated Methodology

Methodology.

Observed data collected for incidents not involving myself between April 13th and April 27th on sunny days between 7:00 AM and 1:00 AM, using iPhone 4 with Google Drive Spreadsheet and free GeoMarker App for coordinate data. Data from walking, following Broadway and walking down numbered streets.

XY data plotted, symbolized based on type of harassment (leering/aggressive staring, catcall /whistle, insults or threatening /intimidation)

Land use data overlayed with points, as well as subway station locations, and locations of bars/liquor stores.

ACS 5-year Estimate pre-joined with TigerLine shapefile from Census.gov, NYC PLUTO LandUse Manhattan Map, from Dept. of City Planning, Bar/liquor store data from Reference USA

Maps made by Rachael Dottle

Some Takeaways

3 out of 50 harassment events occurred within 150 ft. of a bar

7 out of 50 harassment events occurred within 200 ft. of a bar,

Additionally, 33 of 50 harassment events occurred around the one train subway stops at 137th, 145th and 157th streets