County launches action day against catcalling

Comments like "Hey sweetie!", "Stop right there!" or whistling behind, intrusive glances and unasked-for remarks: Many people - especially women - experience situations like this every day. What could be meant as a supposed compliment is not one. Never. It is sexualised verbal harassment - so-called "catcalling". This year, for the second time, there is a nationwide day of action against this in June, on which the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg also wants to draw attention to the issue.

Many young people affected
"The term "catcalling" has not been around for long, but the phenomenon itself has been around all the longer," says the district's women's representative Beate Friedrich. According to a study by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, 44 percent of women and 32 percent of men in Germany experience situations in which sexist signs and assaults are addressed to them. Young people are particularly affected. "We want to make situations like those that happen to thousands of people every day visible - and therefore call on everyone to share their stories and experiences with us."

Share your experiences anonymously
Those affected can share their experiences with the staff at the Women's and Equal Opportunities Service by sending an e-mail to keinkompliment@lkwafkb.de - without any obligation and anonymously. A description of the situation with place and date is sufficient. No personal details need to be given. "We will collect the stories for a year and, of course, treat them confidentially - and then write them on the ground with chalk at the locations of the events without naming names on the occasion of the action day next year in June," deputy women's representative Miriam Drüppel describes the action. If necessary, the women's and equal opportunities department will of course support the victims.

"Why are we doing this? We want to make it clear that sexual harassment does not start with a touch, but with whistles, pick-up lines and comments. This awareness is often missing," she explains. The aim of the campaign is to make those affected able to speak out and to encourage them not to simply accept catcalling and also to promote civil courage. "Ideally, the aim is also to mirror the perpetrators' behaviour - in the hope that it will become very clear to them how out of place such behaviour is." The email is now open for entries - and will be for a year. Until May 2024. On 14 June 2024, the stories will then be made visible anonymously in public space.

Online reading on 9 June
There is already another event on the day of action this year: On 9 June, an online reading will take place at 6 p.m., organised by Simone Semmler, initiator of the "#keinkompliment" campaign and Equal Opportunities Officer of the City of Salzgitter: The author and cultural and literary scholar with a focus on gender studies Hannah Klümpers will read from her book "Catcalls - Words are Harassment, too". Those interested can register for the reading by emailing miriam.drueppel@lkwafkb.de and will then receive the access link.

Keywords:

Women and Equal Opportunities Service #keinkompliment Together against violence