IN ARGENTINE cities, piropos,
or catcalls, are as common a sound as honks and sirens. They can be as subtle
as the pop of a kiss from a lorry driver or as menacing as a shout of, “Oh God,
if I got my hands on you…” Some men think these are compliments. Mauricio
Macri, Buenos Aires’s mayor (and probable candidate in this year’s presidential
election), said not long ago that “secretly, all women like it when you catcall
them.”
Most emphatically disagree. In a
survey of Argentine women conducted by Interamerican Open University last year,
72% said they had recently been catcalled. Nearly two-thirds said the advances
made them feel uncomfortable or worse. It took the case of Aixa Rizzo, a
college student, to make this a political issue. She posted a video recounting
that electricity workers near her house repeatedly intimidated her. One asked
his companion, “Where should we take her?” As he approached, she shot him with
pepper spray. At first, the police refused to take her complaint. The video has
been viewed more than 500,000 times since she posted it in April.
Now, lawmakers have introduced a
flurry of bills to outlaw catcalling in three legislatures, those of the city
and province of Buenos Aires and the national Congress. While their details
differ, all punish street harassment, defined as unwanted verbal or non-verbal
attention, with fines and community service. A few mandate jail time for the
worst cases. One objective is to make women aware that such behavior “is
violent and shouldn’t be tolerated”, says Victoria Donda, a congresswoman who
wrote the national bill.
If Argentina criminalizes
catcalling, it will be joining a Latin trend. Peru’s Congress enacted a law
outlawing street harassment in March; Panama’s is debating one. Abuse of female
politicians in Bolivia became so severe that many gave up after one term in
office. In 2012 the government passed a law making harassment of politicians a
crime. Such laws draw inspiration from measures outside the region. In 2011 the
Council of Europe approved a convention that calls for punishment of unwanted
behavior, including speech, “of a sexual nature”.
Skeptics doubt such laws can be
enforced. So far, the European convention has had no apparent effect in
countries that signed it, according to Holly Kearl of Stop Street Harassment,
an NGO. Advocates contend that catcalling laws can discourage macho behavior
that leads to worse crimes. Last year 27 women a day were sexually assaulted in
the province of Buenos Aires.
“By no means can one law change an entire
culture,” admits Ms Donda. But, she thinks, it is a start.
