Dear Supporter,
A few years ago we collaborated with researchers to figure out the simple question: does sharing your story with Hollaback! matter? Research by Sassafras Tech Collective and Georgia Tech shows:
“We found that by visiting the Hollaback! site, participants of our study were able to problematize their experience with street harassment. Before visiting the site, some participants thought that harassment was just a part of life that they had to endure. But by posting their story on Hollaback!, participants were able to problematize their terrible experiences and see it as part of a larger injustice.”
One participant writes:
“Posting it did a weird thing to me though…I used to be able to brush off a lot of the stuff I get on the street and at work, because I’ve been getting it consistently since I was in high school, but now I think it means something more to me to be able to just walk down the street and be left alone.” Posting stories also transformed the way that participants felt and thought about their experience:
“I became more sure in my conviction that I was right to consider what happened was really, really wrong. Not to just accept it as part of life.”