Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Courage Campaign: CTA aims to eliminate street harassment
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Melissa Wasserman
2014-11-24

This article shared 3791 times since Mon Nov 24, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


The Red Line serves as a lifeline to Chicago native Kara Crutcher and among the Windy City's noise, she aims to silence street harassment with the Courage Campaign: CTA.

"The basis of the campaign is to raise money to create, produce and print advertisements that will go on the CTA in the train stations, on the busses and on the trains," Crutcher said. "We're promoting awareness, we're providing a safe space for people to come and share their opinions and build off each other."

Crutcher grew up in Rogers Park, off the el's Howard stop. For her safety and by her mother's instruction, her daily commute was lengthened as she traveled on a red line train and bus, with a walk, to her alma mater, Francis W. Parker High School in Lincoln Park, and back home. As a child, Crutcher remembers riding public transportation with her sister 10 years her senior and people saying things. Then riding solo beginning at the age of 14, Crutcher experienced her first and most haunting incident of street harassment. A man followed her off the rails and onto a No. 147 bus on her way home from school.

"That was the first instance that really stands out because it was really scary," said Crutcher.

Crutcher still relies on the el and now her home stop is at Argyle. The Courage Campaign: CTA, she explained, sparked from two things: a rant to her best friend after a woman among a group of men said something vulgar to her on the street and seeing a picture her college roommate posted on Instagram of an advertisement on a train somewhere other than Chicago encouraging respect for female commuters. As a result, Crutcher was driven to have her hometown depict solidarity and respect in order to create a safer daily commute for everyone.

"It's an issue of feeling humiliated and ashamed and helpless and that's what links all of these things under street harassment," said Crutcher.

The campaign is Chicago-based with a national ideal. The group's mission is "to raise funds for advertisements that advocate respect for all while using public transit."

The campaign, Crutcher said, is small in the bigger issue of everyday street harassment. Calling the group's work a discussion and art with a message; she emphasized the main message is "to be courageous."

"It's very easy to be anti-harassment, but nobody is anti-courage and with the name of the campaign, it fundamentally resonates with people and in a way they're more receptive to it," said Crutcher. "We're here to make everyone feel safe, encourage you to stand up for yourself, and encourage communal effort for everyone to stand up for everyone."

When walking and being courageous, she remembers her dad's advice "keep your head up, kid."

"In my opinion, what's most intriguing is the amount of people who have similar experiences on public transit and/or have witnessed them, but still feel uncomfortable standing up for others in those bad situations," said Crutcher's best friend Leslie Olive, who has been part of the Courage Campaign: CTA since its inception and has also experienced multiple instances of street harassment.

Currently, the team behind the effort is made up of about 20 people of various ages, ethnicities, genders and backgrounds. The group projects themselves through word of mouth and social media platforms among other sources. Donations are collected through GoFundMe.

"I like being a part of the Courage Campaign and I hope we grow into a large organization that helps people from all communities, especially women and the LGBT community," said Olive, who identifies as bisexual. "It's great to meet so many people who believe in us and want to support us in any way possible."

Aside from helping generate the project's name, Olive helps in facilitating meetings, taking minutes, social media, answering emails and most other general operations. Crutcher said the Courage Campaign: CTA continues to grow and is still recruiting people to help fundraise, create advertisements, send out initiative information and maintain the social media sites.

"There's definitely a for-us-by-us component to all of this," Crutcher said.

The supporting groups and organizations that have reached out thus far include: Holly Kearl with Stop Street Harassment based in Washington, D.C., Hollaback!'s national and local branch, Scheherazade Tillet with A Long Walk Home, Francis W. Parker School, Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery and Julia Strange with Collective Action for Safe Spaces out of Washington D.C.

Crutcher reported the group has been in contact with the CTA's advertising company Titan Worldwide and has submitted ads to be reviewed, while more ad content is brainstormed.

"I believe this campaign has a great opportunity for outreach and to go to different avenues [such as] bullying, LGBT and other forms of social justice, but all of them will take courage and using courage as the backbone for our campaign will open so many doors," Olive said. "With all the hard work we have been doing, I am excited to see what opens up next!"

To get involved and for more information, email ctacouragecampaign@gmail.com, or find them on Facebook or follow on Twitter @couragecta. Donations can be made through: www.gofundme.com/couragecta .

Intimate partner

violence report out

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs ( NCAVP ) has released the report "Intimate Partner Violence in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer ( LGBTQ ), and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2013."

NCAVP's 2013 report do


This article shared 3791 times since Mon Nov 24, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies
2024-03-15
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition'
2024-03-15
Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece
2024-03-14
Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit
2024-03-11
On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

"X" gender marker now available on Illinois driver's licenses and state ID cards
2024-03-11
After several years of preparation, the Illinois Secretary of State's office is has been making the X gender designation available for non-binary residents and others not utilizing the M or F designations, since the beginning of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor
2024-03-08
Hanania Ben-Shimon—the gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recently—published a post in which he pleaded that his ...


Gay News

Court blocks Texas attorney general's demand for PFLAG data
2024-03-01
From a press release: AUSTIN, Texas—Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexel on March 1 blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General's Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily haltin ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy'
2024-03-01
Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


Gay News

Appeals court allows Ind. ban on gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-01
On Feb. 27, a federal appeals court in Chicago allowed Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care to go into effect, removing a temporary injunction that U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued last year, ABC News ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill
2024-02-29
On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Trailblazing judge and attorney Patricia M. Logue passes away
2024-02-26
The Honorable Patricia Logue ("Pat" to her friends, Trish" to her family) was a brilliant lawyer, a trailblazing jurist and a hero to the LGBTQ community. Pat's legacy includes numerous landmark cases she litigated over her ...


Gay News

Federal jury finds man guilty of killing trans woman in landmark case
2024-02-24
In a groundbreaking case, a federal jury in Columbia, South Carolina found Daqua Lameek Ritter guilty of killing transgender woman Dime Doe after deliberating for almost four hours, The State reported. It is the first time ...


Gay News

Unprecedented Alabama Supreme Court ruling undermins access to family-building healthcare, GLAD responds
2024-02-23
--From a press release - Feb. 23, 2024 (Boston) — Today, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) issued the following statement from Polly Crozier, GLAD's Director of Family Advocacy, on the Alabama Supreme Court decision ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.