Harassment While Traveling: How to Respond

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Harassment While Traveling How to Respond

• Tenille Dukes
• Natalie Barrera

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Presentation Objectives

• Increase awareness regarding harassment issues
  for travelers
• Help you understand and address harassment
• Prepare you for a successful trip

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For Formal Complaints

• Report all perceived incidents of sexual
  harassment regardless of who the offender may be.
  
• Individuals who either believe they have been
  sexually harassed or have witnessed sexual
  harassment should discuss their concerns with
• The Program Coordinator of the host country
• The DePaul Professor/Field Leader
• The DePaul Study Abroad Director- Sharon Nagy
  (snagy_at_depaul.edu)

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Harassment Travel Stressors

• The stressors of travel are many
• You are often exhausted
• Your vulnerability is heightened by culture shock
  
• Your physical appearance and self presentation is
  likely to draw attention to you as a foreigner.
• You are away from your customary support network.
• Language and cultural differences may limit your
  understanding of comments and actions.

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• In this context, harassment can be an additional
  stressor affecting your travel experience.
• Harassment is a typical occurrence. Recognizing
  its existence is an important first step.

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Common Harassment

• You might encounter at least one the following
  forms of harassment
• Verbal harassment in public--catcalls
• Approaches for sexual favors
• Staring
• Requests for dates
• Stalking or following
• Groping
• Flashing

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Be Prepared

• Be aware and alert. Know your surroundings.
  Have a map. Act like you know where you are
  going even when you dont. Project confidence.
• Know how the public phones work. Buy a phone
  card if necessary.
• Have enough money to get out of a bad area of
  town.

• Observe your local counterparts and try to adopt
  similar body language and behavior.
• Dress appropriately. Dont wear shorts,
  sleeveless or halters unless the local men/women
  do.
• Travel with others.

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How to respond as it happens

• Ignore the harassment
• Feign confusion or lack of understanding
• Remove yourself from the situation
• Reinforce your statements with strong body
  language
• Eye contact, head up, shoulders back, a strong,
  serious stance
• Don't smile. Timid body language will undermine
  your message.  Repeat yourself if necessary.

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Get support afterwardsEmotional support is
important

• Tell someone you trust about what happened (host
  parent, Professor or Program Coordinator)
• Look for peer support
• If others have the same problem, consider
  collective solutions.
• File formal complaint if its pervasive sexual
  harassment

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Enjoy your Study Abroad Trip!