Berkley Center

Jordanians define verbal sexual harassment in the same way that Americans do: any comments or verbal noises made to someone because of his or her gender which include joking, questioning, making suggestive remarks, teasing, and catcalling, among other things. In America, harassment is illegal and is looked down upon socially. In Jordan, however, verbal sexual harassment is an accepted part of life, and few men or women actively try to combat it on a day-to-day basis.

Verbal sexual harassment is extremely common on the streets of Amman. This includes catcalling, insults, compliments, and random marriage proposals. These gestures are aimed at any and every woman who passes by a group of men; it is not limited to those girls who look very foreign or wear clothing that could be construed as inappropriate. Men on the streets even verbally sexually harass girls who do wear the headscarf and have completely covered themselves.

We recently watched a video produced by a Jordanian woman that addresses the issue of verbal sexual harassment. In the video, many different viewpoints were introduced as to why men feel the desire to say these things as women walk by. Many men said that the girls appreciate the harassment because it lets them know that the men think they are pretty. Others said that the girls they harass deserve it for putting on too much make-up or showing too much skin. Still others said that they only harass girls who were completely covered because so much was left to the imagination about what the girl looked like. And still others said that harassment was the only way to meet girls. The woman who made the video and interviewed the men pointed out that most girls do not appreciate the harassment, but the men did not believe her. Most women simply ignore the harassment, which has led to the social belief that it is acceptable and just part of life.

In its most basic form, the acceptability of the verbal sexual harassment results from the cultural view that public spaces are men’s spaces and private spaces are women’s spaces. Women have control of the home while men go out and work. Women frequently hang out with female friends in someone’s home over a meal that one of them has prepared while men go to clubs to chat. The harassment comes from the male desire to continue to "own" the public space, and the lack of reproach for it comes from the idea that women do not have an equal share in the use of public space. While many men adore their wives and daughters, they do not make the connection that if they find it acceptable to harass women on the street, other men will do the same to their wife and daughters.

As a woman who has lived in this city for two months and is also frequently a target of these forms of verbal sexual harassment, I believe that the men of the city are doing a good job of keeping ownership over their public space. I know many girls, both American and Jordanian, that do not go onto the streets on their own because they do not want to be harassed. They do not feel unsafe with the harassment, but they still do not wish to deal with it on a daily basis. Even when girls go out in groups, men will still verbally sexual harass them, but the harassment is easier to ignore when you have someone to talk to.

In order for this to change, the society as a whole needs to view public space as something shared between the genders. There are many men that I have met that already view things this way and refrain from verbal sexual harassment; however, more must think in this way in order to elicit a change. It has not been and will continue to not be enough for women to speak up against the harassment to groups of women. Men must criticize other men when they harass women in this way, and women must inform the men in their lives about the negative effects of harassment. Otherwise public space will not be shared equally, and women will continue to feel the need to make plans at home or only venture out in groups.