“HarassTracker” website for the protection of women and raising public awareness

A group of feminist and social activists launched what they named HarassTracker website containing a map that tracks incidents of harassment in an attempt to raise awareness on this condemnable manifestation. By visiting http://harasstracker.org one can view the areas, addresses and types of harassment incidents reported by victims or witnesses. One of the co-founder of the project, Nay Raii, explained that documenting the occurrences of harassment can assist women by warning them of certain places with high rates of such incidents. “Daily testimonies can help us in our advocacy cases and in the protection of women, as well as in pressing the government to meet our demands,” Raii pointed out, suggesting for example the issue of street lights as a preventative measure against harassment.. As for the long-term goal of the website, Raii further clarified that it aims “to open a debate about harassment and shift the public discourse from blaming the victim and talking down the subject to exposing the causes and potential interventions,” as she said. Raii finally expressed her hopes that the initiative will deliver the desired outcomes, and will be a starting point for stretching the services to all of Lebanon. (Al Akhbar, February 25, 2016)