Black Women Are Running for Resistance Boston’s Charles River at 6 a.m. on a summer day when she noticed an approaching runner pulling down his shorts. “At first I thought he was just fixing himself or having a pee emergency,” the personal trainer says. But, no—he was flashing her, Polansky realized after he exposed himself to her again as they passed on the path.
She wasn’t having it.
Polansky chased after the flasher and confronted him—asking his name, grabbing his arm to keep him from running away and yelling to bystanders to call 911. No one did. While Polansky dialed it herself, the man fled.
A surveillance video of the incident that police released to help identify the suspect went viral. There’s something so surprising and satisfying about watching her fearlessly chasing down the suspect (something police don’t recommend, by the way). It should be noted that Polansky is 6-foot-1, very fit, and an ex-member of the Israeli military trained in Krav Maga. But she insists her reaction wasn’t because of her military background. “It’s just my personality,” she says. “If I’m in an uncomfortable situation, I want to confront it and deal with it.”
What surprised—and really bothered—her is that no one helped.
Unfortunately bystander inaction is common—and it only emboldens harassers and would-be criminals. “Crowd mentality is a very powerful thing,” says Paul Grattan, a policing fellow at the National Police Foundation and a sergeant with a major metropolitan police force. When no one else is responding, others are inclined not to respond either. But once one person takes action, others are likely to as well.
“Stand up for somebody who’s in need because it will almost always cause others to stand up for them—and you as well,” Grattan advises. It’s effective because it immediately tells the target that someone cares and is there to help them. “And it tells the harasser that there’s more than one person here who wants nothing to do with them,” he says. “There’s no doubt about it that there’s strength in numbers.”
That’s the idea behind Hollaback!, a people-powered movement to stop harassment. Cofounder Emily May says she was getting harassed on New York City streets a few times a day—including while running—in 2005 when she helped start the organization, which trains people on how to respond harassment.
“We still live in a world that’s pretty sexist and racist and homophobic… and certain folks feel a desire to be really explicit about those implicit biases,” May says. She believes street harassment comes from a place of wanting to make others feel less-than. “Like, let me remind you that even though you may feel really strong right now while you are running, you are actually weak because you are still a woman,” she says.
But Hollaback! strives to transform the culture that perpetuates harassment and violence and recommends these “Five Ds” for bystander action. Remember them the next time you see a fellow runner being harassed.
Direct
Say something quick, clear and firm to confront the harasser to directly intervene. (Examples: “Hey! That’s not okay.” “Leave them alone.”) Then go check on the target to see if they’re okay and ignore the harasser to avoid getting into a back-and-forth, which may escalate the situation. Only insert yourself if you feel secure because the harassment can turn onto you. This is particularly true for women, May says.
Distract
Interrupt the incident to help derail it. Engage with the target while ignoring the harasser. Ask the runner for the time or directions or pretend you know her and start talking. “It will eventually just sort of drown out the person doing the harassing,” May says. Or even tell the runner quietly, “I’m going to run with you until he goes away.” “Creating a distraction can also mean physically getting in between those doing the harassment and their target,” May says. For example, run between a runner and a car that’s following her—if there’s enough room and you feel safe. “It doesn’t have to be an assertive thing,” May says. “We have seen people just pretend like nothing is going on—they just happen to be standing there. But it de-escalates the situation. The person doing the harassing is like, ‘Oh, I can’t see them as well anymore.’”
Delegate
Recruit someone else to intervene. Look for an authority figure—a park ranger or police officer—or call 911. But check in with the person being harassed first (if you are able), May says. “Some people—particularly people of color or undocumented immigrants—may feel less safe with police presence,” she says. Another way to delegate: Recruit other nearby runners or bystanders and team up to use the Ds—for example one of you can Distract while one of you Documents (see next).
Document
Is someone already helping the runner? Do you feel safe? Then take a video of the incident with your phone. If you’re in the harasser’s face about it, though, it becomes a Direct intervention, which could potentially escalate. So keep your distance and be discreet if necessary, pretending you’re just playing with your phone. If the harasser is in a car, try to get a clear shot of the license plate. Also aim to capture landmarks such as street signs in your frame and state the date and time clearly as you record. After the incident give the video to the target and let her decide what to do with it—including whether to share it with authorities or on social media.
Delay
Harassment on the run often happens quickly—a passing insult, a sudden grope or flash. If you can’t act in the moment, check in with the target after the fact. “Just asking them if they are okay can have a huge impact on them,” May says. “It makes them feel like they are less crazy. If you experience harassment and everybody around you pretends like nothing happened, it’s like, ‘Wait, what? Why doesn’t anybody care that this just happened to me?’”
Aia Polansky, 34, says she was running along. Master the Half.
