In Senegal, it can be whistles, inappropriate remarks, ” friction in transport, assaults. The street harassment suffered by women in the public space in Dakar is at the center of an artistic and research project, called “Territories”. It includes in particular an exhibition, which has just opened at the Henriette Bathily Women’s Museum, on a phenomenon so far little explored in Senegal.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idrac
” Street harassment is so misunderstood that there is no word to define it in Wolof “. A woman, in the city, standing and wrapped in a survival blanket: this is the poster for this exhibition, at the Women’s Museum Henriette Bathilywhich includes photos, drawings, texts or videos.
At the origin of the project, the French artist Sophie Le Hire: ” The objective was really to highlight this problem already, the fact that when you are a woman and you go out in the street, you don’t feel safe. So, we had to try to understand why, what is at stake. Me, my impetus is first of all artistic, it was to imagine the city as a living being. It’s a metaphor for the abuser. »
The “Territories” project also brings together experts -psychologists, sociologists, urban planners and even lawyers-, for a collective reflection on the phenomenon of street harassment in Dakar.
” They reflected, they questioned, interrogated and they wrote. And we will add to that a questionnaire, a field survey of 350 women who testified. What this project tries to do: open a dialogue that would identify the problem and suddenly, be able to change it, be able to solve it “, details Ken Aïcha Sy, cultural actress.
An exhibition aimed at women, men, young people, and also at institutions. The exhibition “Territories” is until May 15 in Dakar.
• A phenomenon also present in the DRC
Quantifying street harassment is difficult, especially in the DRC. For Chantal Faida, a member of civil society and a specialist in gender issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are few figures. She explains the reasons.
We lack cases of denunciations. For most women, they are silent. That’s kind of the problem we have. And we have no figures in terms of denunciation. So there are no reliable statistics in the DRC. There is really this problem of raising awareness to denounce any case of harassment in the streets in Kinshasa. So, from the moment you don’t know that it constitutes violence, then it’s very difficult to be able to denounce it to the competent authorities. However, there are still some victims who are beginning to become aware and say: stop. There are some women who start saying: I control my body, I control my clothes, I don’t need someone to give me advice on how to dress that I haven’t asked for.
Chantal Faida, member of civil society