Newsletter: September 2002: Commemorating the Central Park Attacks of 2000

This past June, The Street Harassment Project and NOW-NYC co-sponsored a rally to commemorate the Central Park attacks of 2000. The group was happy to host speakers from their own organizations as well as the Bronx Latina women’s group, Daughters of the Rebellion, and New York Men Against Sexism.

The Street Harassment Project views the events in Central Park two years ago as one of many recent public attacks on women nationwide, including Seattle Mardi Gras and Woodstock Ô99. Women live in fear of just this sort of incident, changing their routes, style of dress, mannerisms, and more to avoid being a "target". Of course they do; one of every four of them will be raped anyway.

What happened in Central Park on June 11 of 2000 to over 56 women could have been stopped and it could have been prevented. It could have been stopped by the many police officers that stood by allowing women to be assaulted. It could have been prevented if enough of us were determined to live in a culture where women are valued. Harassment and assault against women are learned behaviors. A man has no biological impulse to scream at a stranger walking by or to rip the clothes off a woman (at least, no more of a biological impulse than that of a man to kill another man). A lot must change in order to avoid teaching sexism to children.

Why has the Central Park incident garnered so much attention? Many suspect that its connection to the Puerto Rican Day Parade allowed the media to portray it as a "Puerto Rican problem." But the problem is misogyny, which has no ethnic or racial boundaries. The Street Harassment Project view the June 11 event as on a continuum of violence that starts with street harassment, continues with rape, assault, battery, and stalking, and ends with mass attacks.

Ms. Mock is a member of the Street Harassment Project. [[2] more]

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[1]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_author_104.html
[2]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_author_104.html
[3]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_article_108.html
[4]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_article_111.html

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